The global market is a volatile place influenced by the day-to-day politics of powerhouse countries.
That doesn’t mean that investing needs to be hard whether it’s the first time you’ve set aside assets or you’ve been growing your portfolio for years.
Kane Harrison, Founder & CEO at Wombat, an award-winning investment app, saw the need for an easy way to invest (without the bells and whistles) that was focused on wealth management at every level.
Join us as we discuss:
- Wombat’s launch journey and laser focus on thematics
- The future of investments, from cash to cryptocurrency
- Lessons learned from launching a trading platform
“We’re all about education, lowering the barriers of entry and making investment super simple.” — Kane Harrison
Wombat’s launch journey and laser-like focus on thematics
Kane’s passion for investing was clear from his teenage years. His appreciation of his father, as a successful investor, inspired him to share that kind of mindset and knowledge with others (especially in the UK, where investing hasn’t been a high priority for residents).
Wanting to share even a fraction of what his father taught him with the world, Wombat was created as the vehicle for doing just that. Kane defines Wombat as a fractional investment platform, which makes it easy for first-time investors to access this lane of wealth creation.
Investing and thematics
One of the most common reasons that people shy away from the act of investing is that they’re overwhelmed or intimidated by the perceived complexities.
Wombat’s way of removing that anxiety is to offer investment opportunities according to categories that are easy to understand (eg. stocks or ETFs by industry). Offering grouped choices eliminates the stress around choosing one of 50-100 stock options, not knowing which metrics to read when making that kind of decision.
You can find 28 different investment themes within Wombat, from technology to gold and other commodities. Kane expects this number to reach almost 40 by the end of this year.
“We’re all about building really good habits and encouraging people to invest for the long term.” — Kane Harrison
The future of investments, from cash to cryptocurrency
Up until recently, investing meant entrusting all your capital to a broker for them to make decisions. With platforms like Wombat, control is being shifted into your hands.
Freedom is at the heart of investment, in the future, as a democratization of access to financial products and services ramps up globally.
This freedom, in the context of Wombat, allows people to create their own diverse portfolios, choosing any combination of the available options, and the amount they’d each like to respectively invest.
The dynamic investor marketplace
The amateur investor of today will at some point cease to be an amateur, especially if they actively engage with learning material on this subject.
As a result, Wombat has introduced a second tier of investment options, for people with a larger investment appetite. It’s the kind of environment that grows with investors at their own respective paces.
To help people build the right investment habits, Wombat also introduces sensible rewards like cashback upon each purchase, which can be used to compound value incrementally for investors using the app.
“Keep your finger on the pulse of your investor relations. Keep investors updated.” — Kane Harrison
Lessons learned from launching a trading platform
The standout lessons from the Wombat journey, for Kane, include:
- Choosing suppliers carefullyTake the due diligence process seriously and incorporate your own growth curve and subsequently evolving needs into your choice.
- Hire the right people at the right timeFinding reliable talent that can expand along with your business is incredibly hard. Hire for work ethic and alignment of values as much as you hire for technical competency.
- Investors are people tooRelationship quality is important when you’re raising funds for your business. Connect with venture capitalists at a human level first.
- Open a relationship rather than close an investment dealIf you’re granted funding, don’t let that be the last time the investors hear from you. Maintain the relationship by updating your funders and letting people know how that money is delivering results within the company.
Useful advice from Kane
According to Kane, there’s a drop in valuations at the moment and venture capitalism is slowing down as a result.
His advice is to watch your cash flow carefully and be conservative while this plays itself out.
There’s a cycle within all investment environments and after these dips, there is a recovery period and a subsequent boom. You’d be wise to take Kane’s particular advice on due diligence, since that process can often reveal which stage of the cycle you’re in, as far as your industry, niche, or the general market is concerned.
To ensure that you never miss an episode of Payments Innovation, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here and don’t forget to check out our YouTube!
Until next time!
