We need to align rent payments with income
Barry and I are back from a cross-country drive - from our home on the Connecticut coast to Portland OR. We slept in our car or tent and took in the sights, smells and sounds of America. We met people who were like us; wanting to enjoy the summer, having fun with their children and enjoying good meals. We saw really interesting housing anomalies: endless 400 sq. ft. houses in Cumberland County MD, many run-down houses in Wyoming and a housing boom in Bozeman MT. And across the board, rents seemed high in relation to income levels.
The reason Heman and I created EppoPay is because we saw a need. People don’t always have money on hand to make their next payment. EppoPay is part of the solution to a very big social problem. By aligning payments with income, we will help millions of real Americans make ends meet.
We are one month closer to launching our first EppoPay product and we can’t go fast enough! There is plenty of activity in the fintech space and many companies addressing the renters market. The New York Times this week illustrated fintech startups finding ways to help tenants spread out the cost of the security deposits with a new insurance product (NYT Article on Security Deposits). We agree that there is opportunity in the rental market; the EppoPay model is a win for the landlord and the tenant.
Speaking of going fast, here’s what we did last month
Established EppoPay as a CT entity
Built an online presence - check out our EppoPay site (use your email to log in)
Received verbal commitments to invest from many friends
Here’s what we will be doing this month
Share our Investor presentation materials
Complete our Convertible Note contract
Begin to raise funds from our Friends & Family
Here’s what our calendar looks like beyond October
End of 2019 - Raise capital from Friends & Family - we’ll raise $150,000 in the first round
Q1 2020 - Use the F&F funds to build the EppoPay system
Q2 2020 - Launch MVP (Market Validation Period) with the first landlords and tenants
Test your knowledge of the market
How many Americans use payday loans each year?
a. 36 million
b. 2 million
c. 12 million
How many of those are used for rent or utilities?
a. 20%
b. 50%
c. 70%
Which state has the highest payday loan APRs?
a. TX
b. KY
c. MD
(The highest state has an APR rate of 661%!)
More to come...
- Leslie Hyman
EppoPay Update 2
October 2019
Answers: 1. c 2. c 3. a
