Banking can be overwhelming, especially for students. Thankfully, the QPay app seeks to disrupt an age-old industry with limited innovation and high fees. QPay helps students manage their money through improved tracking and personalized financial services.
Founders Moe Satti, Zakaria Bouguetta and Andrew Clapham struck the deal with Naomi Simson and Steve Baxter on Shark Tank Australia. QPay is valued at $10 million by 2024.
About the Founder
All three partners are from Sydney, Australia. Zakaria Bouguettaya graduated from the Australian National University with a degree in Computer Software Engineering. After graduating in 2012, he worked as a software engineer at the Australian Taxation Office in Canberra.
Andrew Clapham earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from the same university as Zakaria, and after graduating from college, he co-founded a mobile app development company.
Mohammed Satti was also a classmate of Andrew and Zakaria. Satti graduated with a degree in Information Technology from the Australian National University in 2013. Later that year, he worked as an IT consultant for tech giant IBM.
Building QPay
Frustrated with the banking options available in Australia, the students came up with the idea of developing an app to compete with the biggest banks in the market, so they founded QPay in 2014. Bouguettaya was chosen as CEO and the other two as directors.
The trio created a banking app and debit card that aims to improve the way the typical millennial manages their finances. The app is unique compared to other banking apps in the country because it is designed to serve millennials.
QPay had a feature that allowed users to create a QR code containing their account information. The developers began promoting their Android and iOS apps through campus groups. Their strategy was highly successful and helped the company gain strong momentum in the early days.
Shark Tank Appearance
Because they needed more money to further invest in developing their app, they appeared on Shark Tank Australia in 2018 and asked for $380,000 in exchange for 8.4% of the business.
Before the show aired, more than 150,000 Australian students were using their app. That’s a decent number, but the founders want to expand the business overseas. They revealed that their goal is to expand to the UK and the US.
Although the three Sharks were not interested in the offer, Steve Baxter and Naomi Simson were quick to see its potential. Naomi initially did not want to work with Steve but eventually agreed to take an 8.4% stake in QPay for $380,000.
After Shark Tank
After getting the deal they wanted, the three entrepreneurs immediately set about expanding their business to the U.K. Later, they also began operating in the U.S. QPay updated their payment and ticketing app to appeal to an international audience.
The app is growing steadily with presence in the UK, US and Australia, and with competition rapidly increasing from the likes of N26, Wise and Revolut, focusing on the student segment early on was a very smart move.
In 2021, QPay had revenue of $10.5 million and raised $1.15 million in a Birchal equity crowdfunding campaign in July 2021. This brings their total raised to $2.7 million over six rounds. Today, QPay is valued at $10 million, having more than doubled the value of their business in five years.
Categories: Shark Tank
Source: dut.edu.vn
