Paul Kelbie is the co-founder of Incentifi, a workplace wellness platform that rewards employees for healthy habits with members-only travel savings and points to future trips.
In September 2026, the company opened its UK beta program with its first group of employers including Enzo Tech Group, Primis Talent and MS Webb, as investor Marcus Watson joined its backers. This follows a £150,000 pre-seed round announced in January, backed by Bioniq co-founder James Hardy, who also joined as a strategic advisor.
Based in London, he told Business Matters how his key recruitment and training career as a travel agent led to a simple question: if travel can drive productivity, can it drive health?
What are you doing now at incentivefi?
I am the co-founder of incentive. We are a self-funded behavioral reward economy that turns well-being into real travel and financial value. The idea is to offer employers a low-cost subscription that combines member-only travel savings with a health and wellness rewards system. In essence, employees can immediately save on travel while earning commissions for future travel by building healthier habits.
Every day together with my co-founder, James Barrington Madders, participate in everything and wear as many hats as possible. No two days are the same, but we have regular calls with the team to stay aligned and keep moving forward.
A lot of days have been spent chatting with partners and brands, exploring new opportunities and making sure everything is ticking together as it should, so it’s pretty full most of the time. However, when we were still babies, my main role was to win clients and build brand awareness.
We recently launched our beta program, which is a huge milestone for us. Currently, we ensure that more than 150 employees are currently using the application to its potential, and we are increasing our client base.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
Before incentifi, I ran a specialist recruitment-to-recruitment (R2R) business, building long-term relationships with clients and managing teams in London and Manchester.
During the lockdown, I trained as an independent travel agent, initially to save money while on vacation, and I quickly started booking clients, including saving one client several thousand pounds in a Mykonos villa. Direct experience that sees how much travel means to people and how practical the savings can be, combined with my recruitment background, where the culture of incentives drives results, forms the foundation of incentives.
I met my business partner, James, who runs the London travel and hospitality management company 2Vegas, when delivering incentive travel for clients reinforces the pivot from a labour-intensive concierge model to a scalable subscription platform that connects travel and well-being.
Incentifi started as something completely different: James and I were booking travel sales incentives for the company. We see a gap. Businesses can use travel to motivate their teams, and they work harder, focus more and show up. Travel and sales incentive trips are used by many companies to improve productivity, so we thought: “If we can drive productivity, can we drive health?”
Who do you admire?
This is very difficult to answer, because there are so many people I have met along the way who have inspired me. However, I really like people who come from nothing and build everything from the ground up.
He thought of a simple idea, never gave up and did it. It takes a lot of strength to do it, and it’s inspiring to see people grow their businesses. Basically, I admire the underdog who never gives up.
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
I am excited and always grateful to have co-founded incentives. It’s a vision we believe in, and it’s great to see how it’s come from just an idea on a piece of paper to where it is today.
Of course, running a business has its ups and downs, but I’ll keep doing part-time recruiting a little longer to keep my personal finances healthier. I always know that things happen for a reason, that’s why everything happens the way it’s supposed to and it helps the business to be where it is today.
What defines the way you do business?
I love talking to people and networking. Every moment when I’m not building incentives, I’m building relationships. I also know my team personally.
You have no idea the power of small talk and how much people appreciate it. I am always inspired by everyone I meet.
I also believe that responsibility is everything. If something goes wrong, it is very important to take responsibility.
What advice would you give to someone starting out?
If you have an idea, get validation early on that it’s considered a good idea by others, not just you working on your own work. You also have to believe in your ideas. Then, if you have it, be patient and don’t give up.