Self-employed workers tend to sporadic income streams and managing cash flow is critical. With the advent of Open Banking, there are new opportunities to help these individuals optimize their balance sheets. Osu is a payment app built for the needs of the self-employed. The app lets businesses collect instant payments, invoice, and generate payment reminders all without any transaction fees. The company only charges a simple, flat monthly fee without the need for any hardware; Osu’s platform is able to collect payments via SMS.
London TechWatch caught up with CEO and Cofounder Noam Nevo to learn more about the opportunity to support self-employed individuals with automation and smart solutions, the company’s future plans, and recent round of funding.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
We raised £2.25m in our recent seed round, which was led by Creandum plus Ada Ventures, Breega and prolific angel investors including Charles Delingpole, Will Neale, and Michael Pennington.
Tell us about your product or service.
Osu is transforming the way the self-employed accept and manage their payments through its seamless and intuitive app.
What inspired the start of Osu?
After leaving PayPal, I started my own business as a freelance software engineer. However, I was quickly overwhelmed with all of the business admin and the costs of running my own business, so I abandoned this venture. At the same time, it left me with an itch of how to make this easier for others.
With the introduction of Open Banking we saw that there was an opportunity to finally deliver a solution that could truly solve this challenge, fully automating business management along with cutting costs for the self-employed.
How is it different?
With Osu we not only try to solve the finance aspect of the business but rather our mission is to fully automate every aspect of the business – from customer success and booking to scheduling and online marketing. Ultimately, we want our users to feel like they have a dedicated staff working for them behind the scenes.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
We’re predominantly targeting the self-employed market – so those who are running their businesses solo. There are more than four million self-employed professionals in the UK – 14% of the workforce – almost half of which (47%) operate entirely alone and cite chasing payments as one of their biggest daily frustrations (49%).
What these professionals value most is time. To earn a living, they need to maximise the time they spend on customer work. They can’t afford to lose this time to invoice management, chasing late payments or wading through other distracting business admin. This is where we come in.
What’s your business model?
We charge a low, fixed monthly subscription fee, providing absolute certainty for our users. There are no transaction fees, or any other hidden charges in the small print.
How has COVID-19 impacted the business?
Like many other early stage startups we were forced to adjust the way we operate around the pandemic restrictions and various lockdowns. For example, our staff migrated to a work-from-home model.
What was the funding process like?
Seed fundraising during the pandemic where there was no opportunity to meet face-to-face was certainly a different experience. Essentially, we closed our funding round over Zoom; probably not the usual way of doing it but we’re all operating in different ways at the moment.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
For us, it was how to build the personal connection with investors; a process that would be made a lot more natural if you’re able to meet face-to-face. Building relationships over Zoom still works – and we feel very happy with how it worked out – but it was definitely one of the more challenging parts of the process.
For us, it was how to build the personal connection with investors; a process that would be made a lot more natural if you’re able to meet face-to-face. Building relationships over Zoom still works – and we feel very happy with how it worked out – but it was definitely one of the more challenging parts of the process.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
Our large vision and ambition to transform and completely disrupt the way the self-employed operate their business.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We currently have supported over 1,000 solo self-employed professionals in 2020 and we aim to grow this to 10,000 during the next year.
In addition, we have lots of new features planned to roll out that will mean our users benefit from an ever-improving product.
What advice can you offer companies in London that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
If you’ve been able to continuously operate during the pandemic then you’re obviously doing something right. Just continue doing what you’re doing!
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
Working on growth and expanding into new countries – we have several markets identified in Europe where we can leverage the same Open Banking regulation and instant payments network.
What’s your favourite outdoor activity in London?
We love London’s parks – even if you only get to fully enjoy them a few months of the year!
