Giving Good Businesses a Fair Go

I love my job because it’s not just a job, nor my career, but a calling. I left journalism for something so much more rewarding: backing good business.

I love my job because we’re helping businesses get what they need to achieve. Through technology, we’re levelling the playing field. Because every good business deserves an equal chance to succeed.

In the past, you needed assets to access finance. Business owners had to put up their home to get a loan. We exist to make sure every good business gets a fair go, regardless of your age, background, education, or net worth. Who cares where you went to school or how much your home is worth? We certainly don’t.

I love my job because we’re creating the future of business finance. Traditional lenders run on legacy technology, outdated tools, and manual calculations. With artificial intelligence, automation and machine learning, we’re helping more good businesses, at greater speed.

I love my job because we’re building technology from the ground up. We started off tinkering with existing solutions. We quickly realised nothing commercially available could help realise our vision. We saw a gap in the market. And a market in the gap. We needed to build something tailored to a unique Australian business community. Ours is an economy defined and driven by SMBs. Good businesses deserve as much as that.

The history of the world is the story of those who've had the tools to build wealth. And then there's those who don't. So, we're pushing for more, where others simply won’t. Technology helps to open that door. Because if you build it right, technology can become a tool for equality. We've built out the capability, so it doesn't matter if you own a home, or know rich folk. We'll help get your business on the road.

Such as Jasmine, a tanning technician who has built a seven-figure business in beauty:

In 2016, I was rebranding, and the banks didn't want a bar of me. When the banks don't want to give you a great rate because you don't own property, it's just so hard in business. If you didn’t support me, perhaps we wouldn’t have the products we do today.

And fairtrade pioneer Nicole, who after trial and taste, invented the world’s first vitamin tea:

Unsecured finance is important, because as a founder, you don’t want to be under the stress of offering security, neither can every founder offer security. You open up entrepreneurship to more people.

I love my job because we're removing barriers that stand between business owners and their financial prosperity. Every single day. Asset security is a barrier to entry, that’s why we don’t ask for it. Business finance should cost less. We saw a big problem with small-print fees, so we don’t charge 'em. And we won't change that. We use technology and force of will to bring down costs for our customers, so they have more flexibility in their life, as well as their business.

I love my job because we talk to people, like real people. Financial services companies have traditionally talked at their customers, rather than with them. Through our products, online, over the phone – we speak to you like a well-informed friend – not a standoffish branch manager, snooty banker, or VC in a vest. We use everyday words that everyone uses at home. Ours is a jargon-free zone. Simple swaps, such as, ‘help’ instead of ‘assist’ and ‘give’ instead of ‘empower’, help us stay on mission. Make finance more accessible. We don't use complicated language that only finance people understand. We want our customers to feel like they’re smart enough to understand what we’re saying, for a simple reason: they are.

I love my job because it’s only the beginning. We began with business loans, but we have so many more goals to reach. It’s not just a job, career or a calling – but a duty – and carries even greater responsibility in a post-pandemic world. We’re imagining a more equitable Australia where every good business has the opportunity to grow, achieve and succeed. Is there anything more rewarding?