In 2016, Liz Fritz and her husband Doug seized the chance to fill a need in the independent financial advisory space: advising advisers who were overwhelmed by the ever-expanding array of fintech options.

The Fritz duo combined his experience as a chief technology officer with her background in marketing and public relations to launch F2 Strategy. The firm’s core service examines an advisory firm’s current technology platform and then builds a “technology road map.”

“It all starts with who they are as a firm, and it evolves into ongoing engagement and innovation,” she said. “The technology journey hits on every part of the client relationship.”

Fritz vividly recalls the early days of the business, when she and her husband scrambled to work on their new venture when the kids were in bed and at school. The boost, she said, came from the global pandemic, which forced everyone to lean more on technology.

“Covid really accelerated the demand for digital, and that’s continuing to this day,” she said. But high-tech continues to evolve along with high-touch.

“Gone are the days when you go into the office and get a warm cookie and talk to your adviser,” Fritz said. “You need to translate that warm cookie to a digital experience.” — Jeff Benjamin