Frustrated with the lack of loan options, Greg Ellis co-founded Nimble originally under the name "Cash Doctors" - and promptly learned a dose of empathy. The business didn’t lose money at the start, but didn’t make a lot of it either, prompting the founders to start a side business: mowing lawns. Each founder took one day off each week to supplement their income with landscaping work, and on reflection, Ellis confessed being broke helped him empathize with his customers by "walking in their shoes."
Greg Ellis joined Startup Grind Brisbane to talk about his journey to founding Nimble, a fintech startup offering "start little loans" through an innovative lending platform. Greg shares his early success building & eventually selling his recruitment business in Ireland, as well as his ups and downs in Australia's property market before starting Nimble.
Watch the Greg Ellis' full interview here, and read our highlights below:
On Raising Capital
Greg spoke about the three stages of raising startup capital: first, the bootstrap period; next, small iterative cap raises, and then, the traction phase.
Greg is a big fan of bootstrapping, adding “it really makes you think about not buying a five grand coffee machine on $2 million worth of seed funding."
On Building a Passionate Audience
Although Nimble utilizes digital channels for marketing, Greg’s a firm believer that good product, customer advocacy and good customer experience are the keys to success. The technology is just a conduit.
On Building Company Culture
Also contributing to the success is the company culture they’ve built at Nimble. Nimble employs people with substance - not just because they’ve come from a brand. The company has six values that everyone abides by - watch the video for the full list - and according to Greg, it’s “not just some HR bullshit," it works.