Professional Overview
Joshua Wyss is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Inclined Technologies, a fintech company headquartered in Sausalito, California. He has held this position since the company's founding in March 2020. Inclined focuses on innovating within the whole life insurance market, a space worth approximately $150 billion in the U.S., by offering a technology platform designed to deliver better long-term financial outcomes for policyholders. The company leverages Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) models to provide revolving lines of credit backed by whole life insurance policies.
Company Highlights and Market Position
- Inclined successfully closed a $15 million Series A funding round in September 2022. This capital raise was led by HSCM Ventures and supported by investors including Anthemis and others involved in the life insurance and fintech sectors.
- The funding aims to accelerate Inclined’s mission to “democratize” the whole life insurance policy market by providing liquidity solutions that enable policyholders to unlock more value from their existing insurance investments.
- Inclined employs approximately 22 U.S. employees and is recognized as a notable fintech firm within its niche, having been featured in American Banker’s Best Places to Work in Fintech 2024.
- The company is positioning itself as an innovator in a relatively untapped lending space—providing loans collateralized by whole life insurance cash value.
Professional Background and Education
- Joshua Wyss holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics and Economics from the University of Michigan (1993–1997).
- Prior to co-founding Inclined, Wyss accumulated substantial experience in investment management. He held various roles including at Balyasny Asset Management L.P., a prominent investment firm based in San Francisco.
- Early in his career, Wyss worked as a Portfolio Manager at Seasons Capital (2004–2010) and before that as an Analyst at Standard Pacific.
- He also holds a second CEO role at Granite Peak, indicating active entrepreneurial engagement beyond Inclined.
Industry Insight and Role Relevance
- Wyss’s career blends deep investment management expertise with fintech innovation, targeting financial products involving alternative assets such as insurance policies.
- His leadership at Inclined leverages this dual expertise to address inefficiencies in the life insurance funding market, positioning the firm as a strategic partner for policyholders looking to optimize asset liquidity.
- The company’s use of a revolving credit product secured against whole life insurance policies points to Wyss’s interest in merging sophisticated financial structuring with technology to unlock value.
- Inclined’s recent capital injection and employee growth underscore its scaling phase and emphasis on market penetration within life insurance fintech.
Additional Context
- Joshua Wyss is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, an important fintech hub, facilitating access to relevant networks and capital.
- While Inclined’s leadership team includes co-founders such as Mark Shaw (also a known co-founder of Strava) and Graham Gerlach, Wyss’s role as CEO and co-founder makes him the primary strategic driver.
- Media coverage frequently highlights Wyss discussing the trillion-dollar cash value embedded in U.S. whole life insurance policies, confirming his deep market understanding and fintech vision.
- The company was noted for its innovative approach to democratizing access in a historically underleveraged segment of the insurance and lending space.
Summary:
Joshua Wyss is an experienced investment management professional turned fintech entrepreneur. As Co-Founder and CEO of Inclined Technologies, he leads a company backed by significant venture capital to deploy SaaS-enabled lending solutions targeting the sizable whole life insurance market. His educational background in mathematics and economics, combined with prior portfolio management roles, underpins a strategic approach to value creation through financial innovation. Inclined’s recent $15 million Series A funding and recognition within fintech circles position Wyss and his firm as prominent players in the niche intersection of insurance and fintech lending.
