Pick a big industry where you can grow
Episode
“Pick a big industry where you can grow a big business that’s got a lot of runway. Early on...
Key takeaways
- Propel Holdings successfully serves the approximately 50% of North Americans who are underserved by traditional banks and cannot access mainstream credit despite living paycheck to paycheck.
- The company differentiates itself by using proprietary technology and AI machine learning to provide better rates and terms than consumers could otherwise obtain in the subprime market.
- Building a business in a large underserved market with a somewhat proven model can be more strategic than inventing an entirely new model from scratch.
- Unwavering persistence and refusing to give up until achieving your goals, regardless of obstacles, is a defining characteristic that separates successful entrepreneurs.
- Surrounding yourself with exceptional co-founders who stay committed to the vision long-term is critical to building a successful multi-billion dollar company.
Transcript
Full transcript page · Interactive episode
============================================================ TRANSCRIPTION WITH SPEAKERS ============================================================ [00:00] SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Canada's Podcast. [00:05] SPEAKER_00: I'm Phil Bliss, founder and CEO of Canada's Podcast. [00:10] SPEAKER_00: And we're going to meet Clive Kinross, CEO of Propel. [00:17] SPEAKER_00: Holdings. [00:18] SPEAKER_00: Correct. [00:19] SPEAKER_01: Hell of holdings. [00:22] SPEAKER_00: We should know that. [00:23] SPEAKER_00: Well, don't worry, we'll edit that piece out. [00:25] SPEAKER_00: And I'm really interested. [00:28] SPEAKER_00: It's been about 15, 16, 18 months since we did our interview. [00:35] SPEAKER_00: I've been following you. [00:37] SPEAKER_00: So what I'd love if you could tell people about your journey getting here. [00:45] SPEAKER_00: But if anyone looks at Propel holdings on the TSC, they'll see it's been quite a journey. [00:52] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you so much. [00:54] SPEAKER_01: And it has been a journey. [00:55] SPEAKER_01: Like any journey, I don't even know where to begin answering the questions. [01:00] SPEAKER_01: So I'm going to find a quick jumping off point and say that I'm a South African chartered accountant. [01:06] SPEAKER_01: I arrived here 27 years ago. [01:08] SPEAKER_01: Shortly after arriving, I started my first business in the water mode of industry. [01:13] SPEAKER_01: Which is a company I build up from the ground up called Openlane. [01:17] SPEAKER_01: Openlane today is a Fortune 500 company. [01:21] SPEAKER_01: We sold that just before starting Propel and coming out of that experience without getting into the ends and outs of that business. [01:31] SPEAKER_01: I decided I wanted to start another business. [01:34] SPEAKER_01: Only this time I wanted to be in a big underserved market where the model was already somewhat proven. [01:40] SPEAKER_01: It's a little bit different to the Openlane experience where we were inventing the model from the ground up. [01:46] SPEAKER_01: And on the back of that was fortunate enough to pull together the most incredible group of co-founders, three gentlemen who are still with me today. [01:56] SPEAKER_01: And we've built this business over the last 13 years in a nutshell, banks and credit unions in North America, in fact in the developed world. [02:06] SPEAKER_01: Don't want to provide access to capital to underserved and underbank consumers who today comprise about, give or take 50% of the population. [02:15] SPEAKER_01: So there's 50% of the population, many of whom are living paycheck to paycheck who cannot access credit from a mainstream bank or credit union. [02:25] SPEAKER_01: They turn down time after time after time and that's left them with a lot of suboptimal options to go on and gain credit when they need it. [02:34] SPEAKER_01: And we're disrupting that end of the market and providing access to capital to consumers who are otherwise locked out of the market. [02:42] SPEAKER_01: On rates and terms that are better than they could otherwise obtain. [02:47] SPEAKER_01: And we're able to do it through our proprietary technology, through our AIM machine learning and through our outstanding team. [02:55] SPEAKER_01: The last thing I will tell you is we went, we took the company public in 2021, it's been an incredible ride with the best performing IPO of our vintage. [03:04] SPEAKER_01: Recently topped one and a half billion dollars in market cap, which was an incredible milestone and myself and my whole team will tell you we're only just getting started. [03:16] SPEAKER_01: The last thing I will say full is we're obviously delighted to be representing Ontario at the EMI final awards. [03:25] SPEAKER_00: So just before you go, be a little bit more personal. [03:32] SPEAKER_00: What particular characteristic this climb has that helped him get here. [03:42] SPEAKER_01: You know, Phil, I know what my mother will say so I'm going to go with her on this one. [03:48] SPEAKER_01: She always says when I put my mind to something, I don't stop until I get there. [03:53] SPEAKER_01: And I've been like that from a young age, I didn't necessarily realize it was one of my discerning all positive traits or characteristics. [04:03] SPEAKER_01: But I always have, I've set a goal for myself and I apply myself and I do whatever I have to do, no matter what until I achieve that goal. [04:13] SPEAKER_01: And there's a lot of obstacles along the way and I never ever give up. [04:18] SPEAKER_01: And I think at the end of the day, that's what stood me in exceptional state in being an entrepreneur and building two businesses. [04:26] SPEAKER_00: Hi, I'm Grae Seen, you again. Grae Seen, you're here as a winner and I hope you win. [04:32] SPEAKER_01: Thank you. The next round. Okay. Thank you very much. [04:36] SPEAKER_01: When's this going to come out?