FNG has learned that former Autochartist and oneZero executive Bazil De Bruyn has launched Elevate Edge (website elevate-edge.xyz), as a strategic technology and services advisory firm for online brokerages, prop firms and banks. Based in Limassol, the firm helps financial businesses identify where technology, external providers and commercial services are draining capital, slowing growth or creating operational risk. It then connects them with vetted providers that address those specific problems.

Elevate Edge starts with a business diagnostic and stays involved through vendor selection, commercial agreements, onboarding and post-deployment ROI review.

The Cost of Procurement Failure

The problem is familiar. Gartner found that only 48% of enterprise digital initiatives meet or exceed their intended business outcomes.

Cross-industry research also shows the cost of weak procurement, contract management and poorly used systems:

• Capital erosion: Poor contract and vendor management can reduce annual revenue value by up to 9%, according to World Commerce & Contracting.
• Resource waste: More than 30% of enterprise software spend remains underused or unoptimized, according to Flexera.
• Time lost per employee: Misaligned systems and complex processes cost employees nearly seven hours of productivity every week, according to Freshworks. That is close to a full working day lost per employee, each week.
• Failed implementations: Freshworks also found that companies waste roughly $1 of every $5 spent on software through failed implementations, underused tools and unexpected costs.
• Agreement leakage: Poor agreement management is estimated to cost the global economy nearly $2 trillion in lost economic value each year, according to Deloitte and DocuSign.

These are enterprise-wide findings, not studies specific to brokerages or prop firms. But they show the scale of value at stake when technology is chosen without a clear commercial case, implemented without accountability, or left unreviewed after go-live.

“In brokerage and prop trading, technology procurement is not just an operational line item. It is a core driver of margin,” said Bazil De Bruyn, Founder of Elevate Edge. “Start-ups and mid-sized brokers regularly burn critical capital on software that never returns its cost. Elevate Edge removes that gamble. We audit the business first, identify the immediate catalysts for growth, and connect leaders with solutions that can deliver measurable ROI.”

Start With the Business

Elevate Edge begins with a diagnostic. De Bruyn works with founders, CEOs and senior leaders to identify revenue leakage, operational bottlenecks, fragmented systems, compliance pressure and missed growth opportunities.

The diagnostic can cover core trading and operational infrastructure, as well as providers behind CRM, liquidity, payments and banking, compliance, cybersecurity, data and analytics, AI, marketing, PR and media, corporate events, client engagement, trader education and community.

Only then does Elevate Edge introduce relevant vendors. This gives leaders a basis for comparing providers against business requirements, integration needs, implementation demands and expected commercial outcomes, rather than relying on a demo alone.

“Most firms do not need more software,” De Bruyn said. “They need clarity. They need to know what is leaking money, what is slowing growth and which partner can fix it.”

Due Diligence as a Service

Each vendor considered for the Elevate Edge portfolio is assessed on three pillars:

• Leadership integrity: founder experience, operational track record and direct involvement in the business.
• Product value: technical differentiation and a credible path to real-world results.
• Client health: client retention, churn and verified reference accounts.

Unlike traditional software brokers or lead-referral networks, Elevate Edge remains accountable after the introduction. It participates in commercial discussions, supports agreement structures, tracks onboarding milestones, helps resolve execution roadblocks and conducts post-deployment ROI reviews.

“A vendor relationship should not end when the contract is signed,” De Bruyn said. “The real test is whether the solution works, gets adopted and delivers the return the client expected.”

Vendor Risk Is Now a Growth Risk

Brokers and prop firms depend on connected providers across trading platforms, CRM, risk monitoring, liquidity, payments, banking, market data, compliance, cybersecurity and back-office operations. They also rely on providers for marketing, client engagement, trader education and community.

When a provider underperforms or fails to integrate with the wider operation, the impact can include onboarding delays, operational friction, compliance exposure, payout problems and lost clients.

A 2024 Finance Magnates and Avelacom survey found that 64% of senior prop-trading executives expected above-average conditions for the sector in 2025, a period when many firms were planning further investment in technology and services.

“Prop firms and brokers are not buying isolated tools,” De Bruyn said. “They are building the operating system for their business. Vendor selection is now a resilience decision.”

Built in the Industry

Before founding Elevate Edge, De Bruyn spent nearly a decade at Autochartist, where he was the main commercial engine behind its growth through to its acquisition by oneZero Financial Systems in February 2025. He then served as Director of Business Development at oneZero, a leading global provider of multi-asset trade execution and risk-management technology.

“Start-up brokers are fighting to reach sustainable growth,” De Bruyn said. “A bad vendor takes capital away from that goal. A good one helps fund it.”

Who Elevate Edge Is For

Early-stage brokers and prop firms can use Elevate Edge to reduce expensive trial and error before committing scarce capital to technology or services that may not fit their business.

Scaling firms can use it to address fragmented systems and evaluate providers as operations become more complex. Larger brokers and banks can use it to build a shorter, stronger vendor list for procurement and board reporting.

“Too much of this market is extractive,” De Bruyn said. “Elevate Edge is built for alignment: good vendors, serious financial businesses and transparent commercial outcomes.”

About Elevate Edge

Elevate Edge provides strategic technology and services advisory and a vetted vendor portfolio for online brokerages, proprietary trading firms and banks. The firm supports business diagnostics, vendor selection, commercial alignment, onboarding oversight and post-deployment ROI review.