Suggestions
Sho Sugihara
Co-Founder at Fuse (YC S24)
Sho Alexander Sugihara is the Co-Founder and CEO of Fuse and Pave, fintech companies focused on improving financial inclusion and credit accessibility.13 Born in Japan, Sugihara started his career in microfinance and worked with NGOs worldwide before becoming a consultant at McKinsey.13 In 2017, he co-founded Pave (formerly Portify) through Entrepreneur First with Chris Butcher.3
Sugihara's entrepreneurial journey has been driven by a desire to address financial inequality and create a more inclusive financial system.3 Under his leadership, Pave has evolved from a B2C product to offering B2B credit analytics services through their platform, Fuse.3 This expansion aims to help businesses assess customer cash flow, affordability, and creditworthiness more efficiently.3
Key aspects of Sugihara's career and companies include:
- Education and early career: Worked with The Big Issue in Osaka and an NGO in São Paulo, Brazil.4
- Professional experience: Consultant at McKinsey for three years before founding Pave.4
- Company evolution: Rebranded from Portify to Pave, focusing on credit building without increasing debt.3
- Recent developments: Launched Fuse, a B2B credit analytics services platform, in 2025.35
- Leadership roles: Director of Fuse Analytics Limited (appointed April 12, 2024), Pave Partner Services Limited, and Pave Fintech Limited.2
Sugihara's approach to entrepreneurship emphasizes the importance of adapting to market changes, building a productive team, and maintaining a strong social mission.34
Highlights
Yesterday I had a chance to raise my concern with Andrew Griffith, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, that the UK is becoming less appealing for startups 📉
I made a post back in March that I wouldn't have started Pave in London 6 years ago, if the city were like it is now (link below).
Adding to this, we've experienced extremely slow response times from the FCA, putting brakes on the pace of innovation, together with new and disproportionate scrutiny towards startups from HMRC on innovation tax credits. Both are in contrast to stated ambitions by Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt.
I'm writing a letter to Andrew Griffith to expand on these points, as I want to help turn this tide. I suspect the FCA/HMRC bits may resonate with other founders. DM me if you want to contribute.
A big thank you to The Centre for Social Justice and Matthew G. for convening a space where such questions can be raised. Have a great weekend all 🙏
https://lnkd.in/eQ89qHEF
