Academics, Policy Experts, and City officials want flexible rent payments
We're feeling the love
November was another exciting month in the life of EppoPay™. I continued to immerse myself in research; the history of home ownership and renters, the influence of technology in the field and the realities of income volatility in America. Last month I mentioned that EppoPay™ was invited to a Robin Hood-funded event sponsored by The Furman Center of NYU to develop a pilot for the City of NY. We were invited, we presented EppoPay™ and we felt the love. It was a convening of a powerful group; academics, policy experts, City officials and us! We wowed the group with EppoPay™ smoothing capabilities and we learned some important lessons which will help guide us as we enter the market place. More to come re ongoing meetings with the City of NY.
Since we are in the middle of raising our F&F seed round, we thought we'd mention what happens next. As promised, we plan to close our first round in January. We are on track. Next steps have been stepped up! Heman has prepared the team to start building; design continues, roles have been set and we are all on Slack. We are laser-focused on designing the core of EppoPay™: 1) a world-class billing platform (Landlord Portal and Tenant mobile app) and 2) a super customer-friendly communications platform. Good tech is everything!
Regarding fundraising next steps, we had an ah ha moment: we fit into four niche investor areas. We are Fintech, Prop tech, women-led and impact investing! That's something to be proud of. It gives us a broad range of potential investors. By early 2020 we plan to be a living breathing system in-market and we can't wait to show what EppoPay™ can do. Growth is on our minds.
Now for the fun part - test your knowledge of the market
1. What percentage of Americans polled by Pew Charitable Trust said they would rather have a steadier financial life over being a little richer?
a. 44%
b. 62%
c. 92%
2. What percentage of the US workforce is paid hourly (as of 2015)?
a. 58%
b. 36%
c. 82%
3. Over a third of Americans face income volatility (spikes or dips defined as 25% above or below their average income). What percentage of the volatility is explained by variation in pay from one paycheck to the next?
a. 48%
b. 31%
c. 86%
Here's what we did last month:
Participated in a City of NY event and became a known brand! Met with the Deputy Mayor of NY for Housing, Robin Hood Partner, Developers and Managers. Economists have been talking about smoothing - EppoPay™ is a real-world solution!
Presented EppoPay™, along with our Investor Materials, to some interested F&F. We appreciate the difficult questions. We are encouraged by the shared enthusiasm in our mission. Doing good things can be profitable!
For the tech-knowledgable, Heman’s team has nearly completed the API design for the Landlord functionality. Our tech team is on it! ✅
Here’s what’s coming next:
Continue to explore an EppoPay™ - City of NY pilot opportunity. The City spends well over $200M a year in cash grants to help keep tenants in their apartments. Health, education and all kinds of other important things are tied to stable housing. If we can help stabilize housing in a city like NY, that would be very big!
Finalize legal support around Landlord contracts and Intellectual Property. It’s not sexy, but it’s got to be done and it’s got to be done right!
Start API development. Our tech team is ready to hit the ground running. Yikes, that’s very real stuff!
Leslie Hyman
EppoPay™ Update 4
December 2019
Answers 1.c 2.a 3.c (Some of this information is based on a highly acclaimed book called The Financial Diaries, written with support from The Ford Foundation and Omidyar Network - a worthwhile read)
