Australian AI fintech is doing it in New York
RDC is a fast-paced Australian fintech making its mark on the US market.
In 2022, the Sydney-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup attended Austrade’s New York Fintech Landing Pad, supported by FinTech Australia. The 2-week program provided invaluable contacts and market insight.
Co-founder and Chief Customer Officer, Gordon Campbell, says his experience shows that small Australian fintechs can find a way into large, complex and highly competitive US markets. One year later, he is certain of imminent, rapid growth.
“The New York program was a real eye-opener,” he says. “Austrade helps you make outstanding connections. I came back from the US knowing that our go-to-market strategy was doable. We expect to close multi-million dollar deals over the next few months.’
AI developed in NSW creates fintech IP
Founded in 2016, RDC developed a credit scoring engine that uses AI to help lenders understand their customers’ borrowing needs. What makes RDC different is the focus on lending to businesses. With RDC technology on board, banks can speed up loan requests from small businesses while better managing risk.
RDC has worked closely with the University of New South Wales and the University of Technology Sydney to develop its AI platform. Today, the company conducts all of its design and research and development (R&D) in Sydney.
The company has around 60 employees, of which 13 work abroad in Singapore and the USA.
Fintech ambitions in North America
In 2022, RDC wanted to expand in the US.
“There are about 4,000 operating banks in the United States, so the opportunity is huge,” says Campbell.
“Although we are a small Australian AI fintech, we have a big commercial advantage. We have very few direct competitors. Analyzing the creditworthiness of companies is far more complicated than analyzing the creditworthiness of individuals. That’s where our AI-powered platform works – it can handle far more variables.’
Campbell’s challenge, however, was time and money. Learning how to crack the US market was a daunting prospect. RDC needed a viable market access strategy without the huge investment of hiring someone permanently in the US.
Fintech and Austrade open doors in New York
In May 2022, RDC joined Austrade’s New York Fintech Landing Pad programme, which included presence at the Fintech Nexus Conference in New York.
Austrade New York is working with a US-based accelerator called WEVE Acceleration to help deliver the programme. This meant that RDC got practical help from a New York specialist who focuses on helping foreign startups.
Campbell says the results were amazing.
“We met mentors and advisors during the market entry program,” he says. “We were able to speak to a number of the top 150 banks in our target market. We validated our market entry model and the assumptions behind it.
“We were also able to ask many legal and structural questions – and get answers to practical questions. There were a number of valuable workshops included with lawyers, software pricing experts and industry vendors.
“This means we understood the challenges of entering the American market. We confirmed that the business opportunity we had identified in Australia was directly translatable to the US market.’
Perfect pitch
A major benefit of the program was learning how to tailor their pitch to an American audience given the differences in pitching style and doing business.
“We worked on the company’s introduction and demo pitch for the entire period we were there,” says Campbell. “The combination of Austrade, Fintech Australia and WEVE’s advice really worked for us. We learned to refine the pitch in an American context.’
The program worked on a commercial level. RDC made the important contacts it needed. The company now has a resale partner in the USA and is confident of rapid growth.
“We have a very active sales pipeline in the US,” he says. “In 2 to 3 years, we will have more employees in the US than in Australia. Austrade advisers have been very supportive throughout. I have been surprised at how a small organization like ours can get such support abroad.’
