Australian FinTech company profile #42 – Yodal
- Company Name: Yodal
- Website: www.yodal.com.au
- Key Staff & Titles:
Gavin Barnes – Founder
Ian Tindale – Founder
Peter McLaughlin- Founder
Grant Chapman- Founder
Brandon Thompson – National Market Development Manager
Jodie Gosel Agotnes – National Sales Manager
- Location: Newstead QLD
- In one sentence, what does your fintech do?
Yodal provides a simple way for advisers to facilitate an efficient, consistent, defensible and reportable Estate Planning service to their clients.
- How / why did you start your fintech company?
Yodal was born out of our operational frustration with a centuries-old process. The opportunity was to leverage technology to streamline Estate Planning processes and deliver a real benefit to advisers, lawyers and their clients. Our goal is to make Estate Planning simple and ensure that everyone has a valid plan that protects their wishes at every stage in life.
- What is the best thing your company has achieved or learnt along the way (this can include awards, capital raising etc)?:
The scale up journey is always a challenging yet exciting one. Apart from the engagement we receive with our community, the most satisfying part of this journey has been the moments of validation. This has included Yodal being named in Anthill’s SMART 100 innovations for 2017, and Yodal winning ‘Start-up of the year’ (merit award) at the QLD AIIA iAwards in 2018. This validation has also been reinforced by the quality of the investors we have attracted which included QUT Bluebox in 2019.
- What’s some advice you’d give to an aspiring start-up?:
Never stop making decisions.
You will make some right decisions, and you will make many wrong decisions (with the benefit of hindsight). Don’t be deterred by the wrong decisions because it is in reviewing your wrong decisions that we learn. If you keep making decisions, then you keep learning.
- What’s next for your company? And are you looking to expand overseas or stay focussed on Australia?
Yodal is only at stage 2 of a 4 stage ‘go to market’ strategy and while our immediate focus is on the domestic market, Yodal has a direct application to any country that has an English-speaking legal system. Yodal has been designed for international markets and we look forward to that aspect of our journey.
- What other fintechs or companies do you admire?:
TicToc. The ultimate game changer – instant home loans. TicToc is about streamlining a once long, arduous, misunderstood process that had been relatively unchanged forever. The TicToc intention is not too dissimilar to the origins of Yodal and I admire the bravery to take on the establishment.
- What’s the most interesting or funniest moment that’s happened in your company’s lifetime?
Every single time we say, or hear someone say, our name: YODAL. Makes me smile and the more I hear it, the more I like it.
