Considering the fierce competition in the business world, how would you highlight the factors that made your business stand out and why did you seek investment?
The business world is competitive, but we all seek the same things: an easier life, profits, controlled risks, and novelty.
Lenderwize stands out because it is a new asset class to invest in, and is based on a human necessity: making phone calls. Telecom Wholesale is a B2B Industry worth £108B, which stably grows 9% per year, and which is insurable. As experts in Telecom, Lenderwize is solving a major problem in the Industry, that of lacking working capital. Since Large Telecom Operators like Vodafone pay on 60 days whilst suppliers must be paid on 7 days, there is a cash flow gap of 53 days. SME Telecom Operators cannot increase their revenues and margins if they do not have enough working capital. Banks barely understand this digital commodity, hence it is perfect for alternative finance, and borrowers are happy to pay above market interest rates.
Lenderwize sought investment from Angels Den to develop our service which matches and de-risks Lenders to Borrowers (Telecom Wholesalers), investing in a FinTech platform, marketing, and processes. Thanks to this investment in equity of Lenderwize, we have since obtained a funding facility for $50M from institutional lenders and created a sales pipeline of $33M from prospective borrowers.
With over 90% of our funded deals still trading, we know from experience that having an active angel investor on board increases the chance of success. What kind of impact did the investors have on your business?
Lenderwize cherishes active angel investors, to date. Whilst we do not need further equity investors, we seek expertise, business contacts, ideas, and know-how. Our project is very ambitious and we can only achieve our true potential with the contributions of experts. The scope of our services will touch FinTech, InsurTech, Blockchain, Payment Processing, Mobile Banking, Nanopayments,and API integrations. We already have brought on board angels with expertise in some of these fields, and we welcome more. Our ultimate goal is to create the firstMobile Interest Generating Savings Account and to exit in Silicon Valley in 4 years, after having coupled Telecom to Finance, on a mobile phone. This potential will only be reached if we have the right angels, who share our vision.
Any of our 20.000 investors will probably say that one of the most important aspects is that people invest in people. How do you motivate your team for outstanding long-term results?
With sweat equity, incentives, regular meetings with Management, Board Members and Shareholder „get-togethers”. And with tangible results which increase the company’s value, every 4 months.
What piece of advice would you give to other entrepreneurs looking for an investor?
I highly recommend entrepreneurs to seek funding on Angels Den. It’s very active, successful, and practical. The Angels cover multiple fields, hence there is a broad scope of expertise, in addition to funding.It’s goal-oriented and doesn’t consume your time in theoretical exercises.
In more general terms, I also believe that an entrepreneur should seek an investor with a few key points in mind:
- keep overhead costs very low
- don’t invest in technology until you have a proven and revenue generating model („buy, then make”)
- - seek breakeven as quickly as possible, and develop your USPs daily
- - be different, better, faster and cheaper
- - know your customers and your competition
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