Success in 2025: Trends and Strategies for the Future The CEO and co-founder of a leading credit platform discusses the key trends, economic challenges, and strategic decisions that will define entrepreneurship in 2025.

In this Entrepreneur UK interview, Alex Naughton, CEO and co-founder of London based Qlarifi, a buy now, pay later (BNPL) credit database, shares his perspective on the entrepreneurial trends set to drive success in 2025, with a focus on strategic decision-making and adapting to economic shifts. He also reveals how his company is positioning itself for the future and attracting top talent in a competitive landscape.

What trends do you expect to drive UK entrepreneurship in 2025?
I expect to see a growing emphasis on businesses that can assist in data cleanliness, accuracy, and aggregation. While artificial intelligence (AI) applications have exploded, they are only as effective as the data they are built on. Many large enterprises face a significant transitional challenge when it comes to cleaning up and structuring their data. That's a primary reason why we built our architecture from the ground up to ensure the highest levels of data accuracy and structure. By prioritising clean, reliable, and well-aggregated data, we enable our partners to make smarter decisions and unlock the full potential of AI-powered insights. As AI adoption accelerates, businesses like ours that are built on the principles of clean, structured data will play an increasingly critical role in shaping the entrepreneurial ecosystem of 2025.

How are you preparing for economic changes in the new year?
At Qlarifi, we recognise the challenges posed by lending in these uncertain economic times. Our strategy focuses on enabling BNPL providers to better assess risk in real-time, helping them maintain responsible lending practices while ensuring consumers have access to the best products. By leveraging innovative data solutions, we're positioning ourselves to support businesses and consumers through economic uncertainty.

What challenges do you foresee with talent management in 2025?
Obvious challenges will always be the balance between in-person and flexible working. We've taken a very flexible approach in order to attract the best talent and serve a global market. However there is also a challenge of competition in the data science and engineering space - so we have prioritised the ability for highly talented individuals to take on the fundamental design and build of a best in class product. We ask ourselves, if we were not constrained, what would best look like and shoot for that. This attracts ambitious minds.

How will AI and automation impact your business strategy next year?
AI and automation will play a crucial role in shaping our business strategy next year, as they will for most industries. For Qlarifi, the focus is on building a platform that maximises flexibility, enabling us to integrate and leverage both current and future AI tools effectively.

From refining processes like data ingestion, aggregation, and furnishing to improving the accuracy and efficiency of our insights, AI has the potential to enhance every layer of our operations.

Most importantly, for consumers, AI and automation will simplify access to critical financial health information. By streamlining and personalising how this information is delivered, we aim to empower consumers with clearer, faster, and more actionable insights.

What's your approach to securing funding as we enter 2025?
We are focused on finding investors who align with our vision of not only creating a more transparent BNPL ecosystem but also improving how the entire credit reporting ecosystem operates. Our approach is to attract investors who understand the transformative potential of our work and are committed to supporting our journey toward creating a fairer and more efficient credit ecosystem.