Australian FinTech company profile #37 – CoinJar
- Company Name: CoinJar
- Website: www.CoinJar.com
- Key Staff & Titles: Asher Tan, CEO & Ryan Zhou, COO
- Location(s): Australia, UK
- In one sentence, what does your fintech do?:
CoinJar is the simplest way to buy, sell and use cryptocurrency.
- How / why did you start your fintech company?:
In 2013 the founding team was accepted into an accelerator program based on a pitch of easy access to Bitcoin for consumers. CoinJar is now a digital currency account that makes it easy to acquire and use cryptocurrencies through our app and debit card.
- What is the best thing your company has achieved or learned along the way (this can include awards, capital raising, etc)?:
We’ve been fortunate enough to see Bitcoin grow in recognition over the years. Early adopters and enthusiasts managed to turn a small movement into a global phenomenon. It’s been a privilege to be part of the change!
- What’s some advice you’d give to an aspiring start-up?:
As popularised by the timeless Paul Graham essay, be relentlessly resourceful.
- What’s next for your company? And are you looking to expand overseas or stay focussed on Australia?:
We are always looking to improve our products and bring them to a wider audience. At present, most of our team of 20 is based in Melbourne.
- What other fintechs or companies do you admire?:
Brave Software, the makers of Brave Browser, are a team of privacy-focused pioneers of the web. Their goal is to provide users with a safer and faster browsing experience. The browser is virtually identical to Google Chrome but with extra privacy features and a nifty attention-based cryptocurrency system for content creators.
- What’s the most interesting or funniest moment that’s happened in your company’s lifetime?:
In the early days of CoinJar, we purchased a domain name for what could have been our company name (CleverCoin). I found out that after we sold it, the domain was acquired by a broker who then resold it to another startup from the Netherlands. We actually met the Dutch team when we were in the same startup incubator in San Francisco!
