My catalyst: a security breach waiting to happen
The spark for Fyio didn’t come from a tech lab; it came from a moment of genuine concern for my family’s safety. When my husband transitioned from the military to his first role in the private security industry, I watched him navigate systemic processes that were at breaking point.
To secure his job, he was required to share his most sensitive personal information such as clearances, identification, and service records – what is now commonly referred to as personally identifiable Information (PII). The only way he could send them was through standard, unsecured email. As someone entering the security sector, the irony was glaring; he was essentially handing over the keys to our identity via a medium that was wide open to being hacked, leaked, or intercepted. It was a massive security blind spot that felt fundamentally wrong.
A realisation borne from experience: the cost of “digital chaos”
At the same time, in my own career as a life insurance adviser, I was seeing the human cost of this chaos every day. I sat with families who wanted to protect their futures with life insurance or critical illness cover but hit a brick wall time and time again because they simply couldn’t find their documents.
Birth certificates, previous policies, medical records—everything was scattered across physical drawers, old hard drives, clunky storage systems, and forgotten passwords. This wasn’t just a UK problem; it was a global crisis of accessibility. People were missing out on vital protection for their families because the burden of managing their own data was too high.
A clear vision for Fyio: if you own a smartphone, you will have the power to protect your personal data; if you own a business, this is a unique insurance policy
I realised that if a military professional and a financial adviser were struggling with this, the rest of the world stood no chance. I made it a mission to talk to as many people as possible, of all ages and from all walks of life, to understand the problem better. Those conversations confirmed my belief that there was a global need for a tool that was:
- Simple: To remove the “document panic” I saw in my insurance days.
- Accessible: Information available whenever and wherever life happens.
- Secure: To ensure no one risks their identity through unsecured email.
I believed the solution lay in a platform that enabled ‘paperwork’ to be managed simply and securely in a digital age, incorporating a document ‘share’ function that allowed data to be viewed by a third party at rest rather than copied, shared via a link or third party channel. All personal data would sit securely within one unambiguously locked ecosystem putting the data owner firmly in control of their own data.
Building Fyio
Fyio (For Your Information Only) is the solution made reality. We designed a simple user interface to be as intuitive as it is impenetrable. What might look like a simple digital filing cabinet is essentially a protected digital ecosystem to manage personal paperwork and documents. Whether you are transitioning careers, protecting your family’s legacy, or simply trying to navigate a complex world, Fyio ensures that your most important information is exactly where it should be: safe and found in one place, accessible 24/7 and still in your control when ‘shared’.
A chance encounter at Paddington Station that accelerated the journey
I knew I couldn’t solve a global problem alone. Then, Fate stepped in at Paddington Station.
I met Sarah Wrixon right there on the platform. The conversation started because her father was struggling with a train app—a perfect, real-time example of how technology often fails the very people it’s meant to help. We struck up a conversation, realising almost immediately that we were looking at the same broken world from different angles. I learnt Sarah was a PR and brand specialist who had built her own award-winning consultancy and knew this was a meeting of serendipity, especially when I discovered we had a Treehouse in common. The co-working space she had founded and worked from was called The Treehouse, as was my house!
We stayed in touch, meeting up soon afterwards in London to dive deeper into the vision. Sarah loved what Fyio stood for; she saw the heart behind the hustle.
The power of maturity and experience
We were a perfect match, and together we have built a unique app used by thousands of people and a transformative tech platform for enterprise use. As two mature, female founders we certainly didn’t fit the hoodie-wearing tech-bro stereotype, and I believe that has been one of our greatest strengths. We brought decades of real-world experience, empathy, and a calm, pragmatic approach to the early development stages. A solution like Fyio cannot be rushed – its premise is too serious.
Our vision is that Fyio will become part of everyday language. A word synonymous with personal document and data sharing in the same way that WhatsApp is to instant messaging. Our mission is to put everyone back in control of their own personal data. We are immensely proud to have been recognised by Tech100 as a rising star, to have been selected from hundreds of entrants for the national Fintech Wales Foundry, and to have been featured in the Financial Times as the fintech solution to managing ‘paperwork’ in a digital age.
A unique product incorporating security by design
Fyio provides a secure digital ecosystem where individuals and businesses can store, verify and share sensitive documents. Fyio core features include a protected personal data vault, controlled time-bound document sharing, integrated identity verification, automatic document naming and filing, and full visibility over who can access information. The enterprise version, Fyio Pro, enables organisations to securely manage contractor and employee documentation while reducing administrative burden and compliance risk.
One of the challenges often thrown at us by potential investors is how we are planning to compete with the likes of Dropbox. Our answer is that we’re not! Fyio was designed as a data protection tool, not a collaboration tool. Security was built in by design from day one enabling a third party to view data but never to own it, render or manipulate it. In our early testing phases when we spoke to hundreds of ordinary people, the most common response was that they couldn’t believe something so simple, safe and feel-good to use hadn’t already been invented. I’m very proud of that.
What drives me
Entrepreneurial instinct: I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart. I don’t just see products; I see global opportunities. When I started this, I didn’t have a technical background or a polished 100-page business plan. What I had was a conviction that this needed to exist on a global scale—and the grit to go out and make it real.
Navigating the headlights: Building a tech company without being a “tech person” meant driving into the unknown. I had to trust my gut, take the right advice at the right time, and figure out the path as I went. I didn’t let the lack of a roadmap stop me; I just kept moving forward until the way became clear.
Building a dream team: I knew my vision was only as strong as the people standing next to me. My focus became finding the absolute best talent to plug the gaps in my own experience. I hunted for the right developers and specialists—people who didn’t just have the skills, but who truly “bought in.”
From concept to reality That’s what our early investors saw. They didn’t just invest in an idea; they invested in the momentum and the powerhouse team I was assembling. Today, that group of experts has become a unified, world-class team. We’ve turned that initial vision into a sophisticated reality, and we’re just getting started.
My philosophy: You don’t need an MBA or know how to write code to change an industry. What you do need is vision, grit, resilience and enough self-awareness to know what you know and know what you don’t know. And for the things you don’t know, find and incentivise the best possible talent you can. They say it takes a village to raise a child and the same can be said for growing a business.
Delivering the Midas Touch
Fyio is the ‘Gold’ of the digital age. Protecting personally identifiable information is a massive, global pain point.
The digital world has become a minefield for our personal data.My vision for Fyio App is simple: if you own a smartphone, Fyio gives the power to protect your data. Privacy shouldn’t be a luxury or a technical challenge—it should be a universal right. By putting the Fyio App in the hands of every smartphone user, we are creating a global shield.
If you own a business, Fyio Pro will liberate your business from the inherent risks and administrative burden of managing personally identifiable information.
I want to make the world a better place for everyone on the planet. While Fyio may be powered by world-class engineering, the heart of our vision and mission is human. It’s about security, peace of mind, and building a future where technology serves the person and the business, not the other way around.
Why is the MENA region the ideal location to expand Fyio?
Vision, infrastructure and scale. These are the decisive forces that make Abu Dhabi the natural base for Fyio’s expansion. The UAE has a clear national ambition to lead the digital economy, supported by one of the world’s most advanced digital government ecosystems. Positioned at the crossroads of rapidly growing mobile-first markets, it offers extraordinary reach. Despite wider regional disruptions, the country’s commitment to innovation, investment and long-term technological leadership remains unwavering.
For a digital personal data protection platform like Fyio, the region presents a rare convergence of demand and readiness. Governments are accelerating the transition to paperless systems, populations are overwhelmingly mobile-first, and organisations are becoming increasingly conscious of the risks surrounding personally identifiable information. These forces are creating a powerful market pull for trusted digital platforms that enable people and businesses to manage, secure and share critical data safely.
Fyio aligns naturally with this transformation. As governments and enterprises move away from physical paperwork, the need for secure digital identity and document ecosystems is growing rapidly. Initiatives such as UAE PASS show the scale of ambition across the region and the appetite for trusted infrastructure that gives individuals control over how their information is accessed, shared and verified.
Abu Dhabi also offers something rare: an ecosystem intentionally designed to help technology companies scale. Through Hub71, startups gain access to capital, partnerships, and structured market entry support alongside practical incentives such as housing, office space and healthcare benefits. I am truly excited to have applied to the 2026 Access Programme, which focuses on accelerating growth-stage companies with global ambitions.
Finally, Abu Dhabi is not simply a destination; it is a launchpad. From here, companies can scale across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA), where digital infrastructure is modernising rapidly and demand for secure data ecosystems continues to rise. For Fyio, the opportunity is clear: build in Abu Dhabi, collaborate across the region, and help shape a future where individuals and organisations remain firmly in control of their own data.
Where can readers find out more?
