Authsignal

In Founder Focus we introduce entrepreneurs and change-makers working on innovative startups, social enterprises and SME’s around Aotearoa New Zealand.

At a glance

Founders: Justin Soong and Chris Fisher

Business: Authsignal

Founded: 2022

HQ: Auckland

Can you tell us a bit about your business?

Authsignal is a drop-in solution allowing businesses with large customer bases to rapidly uplift their security of their customer accounts while maintaining a slick customer experience. Authsignal does this by introducing passwordless and biometric technologies like passkeys boosting the trust and safety of a platform. On top of the most modern authentication technologies, Authsignal’s flagship no-code rules engine allows non-technical teams to configure and customise their customer experiences and the level of security controls suited for each customer interaction.

What’s the backstory for your business idea?

Authsignal was born out of our founder’s experience in rapidly scaling consumer FinTech businesses. It’s no surprise that as a platform acquires new customers at scale, and expands globally, cybersecurity risks and fraud risks get bigger. The problem of needing to adapt to the constant evolving nature of cybercrime and balancing the customer experience for good customers was lived and breathed and very difficult to get right. Often complex engineering and subject matter expertise are required to maximise the outcomes for risk management and customer experience. Authsignal consolidates the learnings from scaling consumer FinTech, simplifies and consolidates the complexity into an easy-to-use product, one that our founder wished they had at their disposal.

What programmes, learning or mentoring, or resources have been of assistance so far?

There’s a quote by a great hockey player called Wayne Gretsky, “You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.” I (Justin) live by that and encourage everyone to just do it, take the shot.