FinTechs made Basiq a success, says Damir Cuca

Damir Cuca, Founder, Basiq (exit to Cuscal)

(Note: this is a long/extended episode at 1 hour; we cover the Cuscal period, financial education and what Damir is looking at doing post Basiq)

Damir has worked in the tech sector for 20 years, the past 10 have been as Founder and CEO of Basiq
Basiq is an Australian Open Banking platform that offers secure access to consumer financial data. We empower fintechs, banks, and developers to create next-generation financial solutions
Basiq was sold to Cuscal last year and Damir is now taking on new challenges and opportunities in the fintech industry. Under his leadership, Basiq has achieved significant milestones in advancing Open Banking in Australia, transforming the way financial data is accessed and utilized. His vision and expertise continue to drive innovation, making him a prominent figure in the tech sector.

In this episode we discuss:

· What makes CDR a huge opportunity?

· How did Damir grow the business?

· How he tried to sell to banks, but ended up selling to FinTechs; and it was fintechs that made Basiq a success – because it was fintechs that were doing ALL the innovation

· Why did Damir sell to Cuscal?

· What should Founders think about regarding selling/exiting the business, including the ‘earn out’ period?

· What is Damir working on now?

· How does Damir help his children learn about finance?

https://helloclever.co/

Caroline Tran, Co-Founder, hello clever

Key messages:

Payments as an engine for growth (for merchants) because they can add loyalty and instant cash back - this is the best use case for RTP (using NPP in Australia)

Caroline's fundraising journey was very hard, with lots of calls. But persistence paid off and she has received investment from US VCs - and is herself now part of the San Francisco Angel Network

Caroline’s background is accountancy and sales; she’s worked for well-known brands such as James Hardie, WPP, and IPG Media – in 2021, Caroline co-founded Hello Clever, which she describes as ‘The World’s Leading AI-powered payment solution that seamlessly integrates Loyalty, RTP (real time payments) and Intelligent Insights’.

Caroline is also an investor in other startups, including Open Ai.

In this episode we discuss:

1. What led you to create hello clever?

2. What problem are you solving?

3. How does the platform work? How is Ai used?

4. How should fintechs/banks think about ‘Ai in banking’?

5. Describe a user journey

6. Who are your customers?

7. What’s your business model? Where do you make money

8. High growth? How?

9. Team size? What funding have you received?

10. Future plans? New products, new markets?

Christie is looking to write 12 x US$120k cheques: apply now

Apply now: https://www.techstars.com/accelerators/tech-central-sydney-nsw

Christie Jenkins, Managing Director, Techstars Sydney

Christie has 25 years as a professional athlete; in Beach Volleyball, in Cross Fit, and Trampoline; she was #1 in Australia in all 3, and achieved a Gold Medal in 2010.
Over this period Christie has also been a coach, a consultant to brands such as BUPA, Commonwealth bank and ANZ. Christie is an investor, advisor, and has held roles at Blackbird, one of Australia’s top VC funds. Christie has also been a founder, creating sporting teams in Europe.
She’s now MD of TechStars in Sydney, and looking to make a number of seed or early sage investments, so an excellent guest for The FinTech Report Podcast.

In this episode we cover:

1. What is Techstars?
2. The program in Sydney/Australia – who should apply?
3. Sectors in fintech that are exciting
4. What makes a successful application?
5. How else TechStars helps – especially mentors
6. Valuations, investment amount, follow on rounds

Get in touch with Christie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christiejenkins/