Siobhan Hayden from HashChing announces an opportunity for investors to get in on the ground floor and take a stake in the future of this growing on-line home loan company.
Transcript:
Kevin:  It’s not very often we do an interview like the one we’re going to do now, but I think this is such a wonderful opportunity that fits right into the property arena that I just want to bring it to you. It’s an opportunity if you were looking to buy a part share in a company that’s really making some great ground in this area, the company we’ve spoken about on a number of occasions called HashChing.
To explain a little bit more about the opportunity, I’d like to welcome into the show, the COO for HashChing, Siobhan Hayden, who we’ve spoken to in the past.
Good day, Siobhan.
Siobhan:  Thanks, Kevin. Nice to be here.
Kevin:  It’s a great opportunity for investors to buy a piece of HashChing or buy a piece of the future. Tell me about how you’re engineering this.
Siobhan:  Yes, it’s really exciting, Kevin. We shortly kick off equity crowdfunding for the business. We’ve been in business for nearly three years in August, and in that time, we’ve only raised $3.4 million. And that probably doesn’t sound like a little amount of money – it probably sounds like quite a lot – but for comparative industries or other business operators in our space, they’ve raised much, much more money. We’ve been really running quite a lean business and we’ve done very well, and we’re now looking to open it up for a $5 million capital raise.
Where this all started was a customer who had successfully settled a loan eight months ago who reached out and wanted to invest a couple of hundred thousand, and she wasn’t able to because she wasn’t deemed a sophisticated investor.
Kevin:  How do you determine a sophisticated investor?
Siobhan:  It’s a bit complicated – I’m definitely not one myself – but you need to have $1 million net assets and a letter from your accountant, in broad terms. So, there are probably a few more boxes to tick, but in broad terms, you need to be obviously well-positioned financially to be able to make significant investments in businesses that have already raised money, and that was the precursor for that person. We had already raised enough money in a particular window of time, which precluded her.
So, what we’re looking at now is actually going to people like this lady, what are called retail investors. People can contribute or pay for or buy a minimum of $250 up to $10,000 through the equity crowdfunding piece, which I think is a really exciting opportunity.
We have 38,000 customers – and growing – who have already used HashChing. We have a network of mortgage brokers around the country, over 700. We have lots of people who have already registered for this offer to go live and Equitise is the platform that is helping us do it. And they’re a great little start-up as well.
Kevin:  That’s a platform that allows for this to happen. Is that right?
Siobhan:  Yes. You can go onto their site, and they have loads of businesses that they’ve already raised money for. It’s actually a really good site. I have friends who own their own hospitality businesses who have already downloaded the Equitise app, so we’re across the opportunities that Equitise offers in all different business verticals.
Of course, we’re in the home loan and property space, but they have an “Invest” tab, and if you click on that, you can see their whole offer.
Kevin:  Okay, tell me a little bit about HashChing. I’d like to know the business behind it but also the risks involved for anyone who wants to become involved.
Siobhan:  Yes, totally. When the offer becomes live on Equitise, it will have all the documents available for consumers to read, and it is a risk that a customer needs to review in detail and make that decision themselves.
At the point of the capital raise, the equity crowdfunding, the business is valued at $25 million pre-valuation, so pre-money, so pre-raising the funds, and we’re looking to raise the $5 million, as I suggested.
The main reason for the funds or the main use of the funds that we’re raising is really to get the branding out there and primarily to grow the business and help more customers own their own home sooner, which is what our passion is, and obviously, not to be owned by a financial institution.
We want to really maintain that view of having multiple lenders across the panel that customers can genuinely trust and not being influenced by any parent company.
Kevin:  The website is called Equitise.com.
Siobhan:  That’s right.
Kevin:  There are quite a number of businesses on there that you can have a look at. By the time this goes to air, when we broadcast this, that offer will be live, I understand?
Siobhan:  Yes, that’s right.
Kevin:  Okay, so it’s live right now as you’re listening, so go to Equitise.com.
Anything else you’d like to add about the future for HashChing?
Siobhan:  We’ve already done so many things in the business that we’re excited about, but recently added our own HashChing home loan deals, two deals that brokers in our network are now able to chat with customers about, which we’re really excited about, and we’ve also launched our customer portal when customers launch a lead with us or an interest to talk to a broker, they’re given access to their own customer portal, which is where they will also receive offers and alerts about their property.
Kevin:  Wonderful. A great opportunity, I think, for small investors or investors wanting to start out. If you have some confidence in the product, it’s called HashChing, and the website to go to to find out a little bit more about investing is Equitise.com and all the information will be there.
Siobhan Hayden from HashChing, thank you so much for your time and telling us about this opportunity. It’s great to talk to you.
Siobhan:  Thanks, Kevin. Much appreciated. Have a good day.