London’s Lonely Unicorn: Two Frugal Expats and Their Billion-Dollar Startup
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Re: London’s Lonely Unicorn: Two Frugal Expats and Their Billion-Dollar Startup
#2I live in Brazil and earn in Euros. Very happy with TransferWise, they save me a lot of money on fees - and they even warn me when the exchange rate is favorable.
You can get a first transfer free with an invitation link, here's mine: https://transferwise.com/u/5d78
Re: London’s Lonely Unicorn: Two Frugal Expats and Their Billion-Dollar Startup
#3As the embedded video alludes, it's not that revolutionary an idea to pool transactions and use local resources to fulfill more cheaply if possible.
That said, the world is full of wildly successful companies that just executed well on not very revolutionary ideas, and they provide real value that was largely absent before they grew to prominence. Sometimes it's not about doing something new, it's about doing it well, or doing it in a way that allows more people access.
Re: London’s Lonely Unicorn: Two Frugal Expats and Their Billion-Dollar Startup
#4This is great, as someone who frequently transfers money from the US to Canada I wish I had known about this sooner. Hopefully they can actually make some money.
Re: London’s Lonely Unicorn: Two Frugal Expats and Their Billion-Dollar Startup
#5Is this basically electronic Hawala?
Re: London’s Lonely Unicorn: Two Frugal Expats and Their Billion-Dollar Startup
#6Is this basically electronic Hawala?
Yes, though without the negative connotations the term "hawala" carries in the West because all transactions are still fully documented and the broker gets a much lower share (for pure monetary international transfers in the hawala system, fees can go as high as 60% with 25% already being considered a "good deal"). And one does not have to pass high/drunk armed guards and is not paid from a huge pile of cash that just sits on the floor in a corner of the room.
PS: Sorry, no source for the numbers but my own experience in Northwestern Africa.
Re: London’s Lonely Unicorn: Two Frugal Expats and Their Billion-Dollar Startup
#7I live in Brazil and earn in Euros. Very happy with TransferWise, they save me a lot of money on fees - and they even warn me when the exchange rate is favorable. You can get a first transfer free with an invitation link, here's mine: https://transferwise.com/u/5d78
Do you by chance know what your company's tax obligations are? We'd love to open up for international remote work, but we also don't want to run afoul of any international tax obligations (i.e. local payroll taxes) due to remote employees.
Re: London’s Lonely Unicorn: Two Frugal Expats and Their Billion-Dollar Startup
#8This is great, as someone who frequently transfers money from the US to Canada I wish I had known about this sooner. Hopefully they can actually make some money.
>> I wish I had known about this sooner.
A common occurence these days, with the rapid rate of innovation. It's like we're missing some efficient product discovery tool.
Re: London’s Lonely Unicorn: Two Frugal Expats and Their Billion-Dollar Startup
#9As the embedded video alludes, it's not that revolutionary an idea to pool transactions and use local resources to fulfill more cheaply if possible. That said, the world is full of wildly successful companies that just executed well on not very revolutionary ideas, and they provide real value that was largely absent before they grew to prominence. Sometimes it's not about doing something new, it's about doing it well…
Or, in the case of international money transfer: They see through the existing system and just openly do what most banks have been doing all the time behind the scenes, passing most of the savings to the customer.
The only problem I see with this specific business model: As soon as enough people use it, this method of transfer will be the norm and all the big banks will offer it too, thereby invalidating the justification for the existence of the new players. (Mind you, still a great win for the customer!)
Re: London’s Lonely Unicorn: Two Frugal Expats and Their Billion-Dollar Startup
#10As the embedded video alludes, it's not that revolutionary an idea to pool transactions and use local resources to fulfill more cheaply if possible. That said, the world is full of wildly successful companies that just executed well on not very revolutionary ideas, and they provide real value that was largely absent before they grew to prominence. Sometimes it's not about doing something new, it's about doing it well…
Or, in the case of international money transfer: They see through the existing system and just openly do what most banks have been doing all the time behind the scenes, passing most of the savings to the customer. The only problem I see with this specific business model: As soon as enough people use it, this method of transfer will be the norm and all the big banks will offer it too, thereby invalidating the justific…
>The only problem I see with this specific business model: As soon as enough people use it, this method of transfer will be the norm and all the big banks will offer it too, thereby invalidating the justification for the existence of the new players.
Yes exactly what I was thinking. But by that time Transferwise could be a reputable brand with lots of customers so they could pivot to offer other financial services.