In 2025, the startup ecosystem has continued to evolve rapidly, driven by cutting-edge innovations and strategic funding moves. London-based Tracelight, an AI-focused startup, has emerged as the latest pioneer in the fintech sector, securing a €3 million seed funding round to transform the financial modeling landscape. This development marks a pivotal moment in the integration of artificial intelligence in structured business processes, particularly in financial modeling.
As entrepreneurs and startup founders, there are strategic lessons to be learned from Tracelight’s journey. From funding hacks to product innovation and strategic partnerships, let’s dive into the key takeaways, along with a guide to scaling your startup efficiently.
Insights at a Glance: Tracelight’s Journey
- What Happened?
- Tracelight, founded in 2024 by ex-McKinsey consultant Peter Fuller and former Jane Street engineer Aleksander Misztal, raised €3 million in seed funding to enhance its AI tool for financial analysis.
- Biggest Innovation:
- An Excel-native AI engine using Large Language Models (LLMs) to automate and augment financial modeling tasks.
- Key Backers:
- Chalfen Ventures, Acequia Capital, Entrepreneur First, and prominent angel investors like Charlie Songhurst (ex-Microsoft).
- Impact:
- The startup reports 90% time savings on financial modeling tasks for early beta testers, disrupting a traditional yet outdated business task environment.
- Takeaway for Entrepreneurs:
- Focus on solving well-defined, widespread problems within industries ripe for innovation but resistant to radical workflow changes.
7 Strategic Lessons for Founders Watching Tracelight
1. Focus on Solving Everyday Problems
Tracelight identified a niche within finance, making Excel models faster and less error-prone. If you're starting a business, look for the problems professionals complain about every day and explore how emerging technologies (like AI) can simplify those workflows.
2. Invest Smartly in Seed Funding
Securing funding is an art. While the funding environment in 2025 remains competitive, tools like the F/MS AI Grant Finder and Application Writer helped founders like Peter Fuller gain financial backing. Learn how to spot available grants or seed-stage investors, as Europe continues fostering an innovation-friendly funding landscape.
3. Excel at Integration Without Disruption
Tracelight’s Excel add-in leverages existing workflows rather than forcing new systems, ensuring easier adoption. Build tools that play nice with existing infrastructure within your chosen industry to maximize adoption rates.
4. Develop With Targeted Customer Feedback
Tracelight reports early traction with investment banks and private equity customers. Always test your product with actual users before scaling.
5. Leverage AI Tools Like PlayPal for Growth Hurdles
When building your business, tools like PlayPal can act as an AI co-founder, offering personalized advice, generating SOPs, and helping validate ideas. PlayPal boosts efficiency and grows with your startup.
6. Remember, Strategic Partnerships Are Key
Tracelight collaborated with prominent investors and key angels like those from Entrepreneur First. Build relationships that can provide capital AND expertise to boost your business.
7. Understand the Power of First-Mover Advantage
Excel has remained relatively untouched for 40 years. Approaching a niche market with the first cutting-edge solution offers you significant leverage. Look into mature industries with little innovation as startup goldmines.
How to Apply for EU Startup Grants in 2025: A Step-by-Step Guide
Execution is everything when grants are on the table. Efficient access to funding could be your lifeline as it was for Tracelight. To increase your chances, follow this structured plan:
Step-by-Step:
- Utilize AI Tools
- The F/MS Grant Finder identifies the ideal EU grants for your startup and even drafts the application, streamlining the process.
- Research Terms
- Always align your funding needs with grant purposes. For example, Tracelight’s AI development was an excellent match for tech innovation-focused capital.
- Craft a Stellar Application
- Be specific. Grant reviewers appreciate startups with realistic goals and a clear plan. Use AI tools like PlayPal for feedback after your draft.
- Highlight the ROI
- Show the funders what’s in it for them, whether it’s societal impact, return on investment, or job creation.
- Practice Pitching
- Even though grants don’t always require verbal pitches, being able to clearly present your case helps during calls for clarification or additional details.
Bonus: Top Startup Mistakes to Avoid
1. Ignoring Detailed Documentation
Don’t skimp on legal reviews. An emerging service like AI Startup Lawyer can simplify document review and negotiation for founders.
2. Overloading MVPs (Minimum Viable Products)
Avoid building overly complicated prototypes that lose focus on core features.
3. Misaligned Teams
Use networks like F/MS to find teammates who share your startup vision.
AI Spotlight: PlayPal – Your AI Friend
PlayPal, created by Violetta Bonenkamp (creator of Fe/male Switch), is a unique AI mentor for startup founders, providing conversational advice customized to your business needs. From startup problem-solving to relationship advice, PlayPal has you covered.
Discover PlayPal's Features:
- Project Management Assistance
- Grant Application Support
- Mental Resilience Tips and Encouragement
- Financial Planning & Analysis Insight
More businesses turn to AI companions in 2025 as startups recognize mental and strategic resources as critical. Learn more at Fe/male Switch.
Conclusion: What Tracelight’s Success Means for You
Tracelight’s astonishing journey demonstrates that 2025 belongs to entrepreneurs who can:
- Identify niches
- Leverage generative AI
- Navigate seed-funding hurdles strategically
Startup founders can learn to embrace available resources, validate their business ideas persistently, and adopt a smart funding mindset. For example, the F/MS Grant Finder can connect you to grants with the click of a button! It’s your game to play.
As Violetta Bonenkamp always says, “Every problem has a solution waiting to be found.”
So get creative, stay focused, and let Tracelight’s €3 million victory inspire your own AI-powered rise in the competitive startup ecosystem!
FAQ
1. What is Tracelight, and what does the company do?
Tracelight is a London-based AI startup that develops tools to make financial models easier to build, use, and trust. Their primary product is an Excel-native AI engine that leverages Large Language Models (LLMs) to automate financial modeling tasks. Visit Tracelight’s official website
2. Who founded Tracelight and when?
Tracelight was founded in 2024 by ex-McKinsey consultant Peter Fuller and former Jane Street engineer Aleksander Misztal.
3. How much funding has Tracelight raised?
Tracelight secured €3 million in Seed funding in August 2025 to enhance its AI-powered financial modeling solution. Read more about Tracelight’s funding
4. Who are the key investors backing Tracelight?
The €3 million seed round was led by Chalfen Ventures, with participation from Acequia Capital, Entrepreneur First, Inovo, and angel investors like Charlie Songhurst and Suhit Gupta.
5. What problem does Tracelight aim to solve?
Tracelight addresses outdated workflows in Excel-based financial modeling, automating error finding, formatting, and analysis tasks to save time and increase reliability. Learn about Tracelight’s impact
6. How does Tracelight’s technology work?
Tracelight uses AI-driven Large Language Models (LLMs) to interpret and automate complex spreadsheet logic within Excel, enabling substantial time savings and task accuracy. Explore Tracelight’s technology
7. What industries and professionals can benefit from Tracelight?
Tracelight targets investment banks, private equity professionals, corporate finance teams, consultants, and professional services firms that rely heavily on financial modeling. Learn about the use cases
8. What feedback have early users provided about Tracelight?
Early adopters, including investment banks and private equity houses, have reported over 90% time savings on repetitive financial modeling tasks.
9. Does Tracelight require users to shift to new systems?
No, Tracelight integrates as an Excel add-in, allowing professionals to use the tool within their existing workflows without disruption. Learn how Tracelight integrates with Excel
10. Why is Tracelight’s product considered innovative?
Tracelight is among the first to operationalize generative AI for structured, logic-bound tasks in finance, solving problems that traditional AI tools haven’t addressed effectively. Read more about the innovation
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond and launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch. The Fe/male Switch team is located in several countries, including the Netherlands and Malta.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 3,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.
