Founder Q&A: Amy Stevens, Slice
WHO: Slice
Founder: Amy Stevens
HQ: Auckland
What products, services, solutions or technology have you developed?
Slice is an innovative, end-to-end tech platform built to reduce barriers to home ownership through education, step-by-step guidance and automated software.
The automated software enables customers to:
- Understand the investment options available to them including low deposit, shared ownership, rent-to-own and government supported
- Work out what they can afford and how to secure finance
- Generate accurate legal agreements reflective of their specific circumstances
- Find a property and complete due diligence
- Track contributions and make changes to their equity over time
WHAT KEY CUSTOMER PROBLEMS OR CUSTOMER “WANTS” DOES YOUR SOLUTION SOLVE?
By establishing new pathways and facilitating a space where customers have the tools required to explore their options, Slice is taking bold and innovative steps to make homeownership more accessible and inclusive for all.
The process of buying a home is overwhelming, requiring a lot of decision making and in many cases compromise – particularly when investing with others. Slice simplifies the entire journey and supports buyers to navigate these decisions step by step. Potential home owners are guided through the buying process and with its automated software, Slice enables effective communication and generates financial and legal structures that are reflective of customer needs.
Who and where are your target customers?
Whether buyers want to purchase a property independently, with friends, flatmates, partners or family, Slice simplifies the complex and time consuming purchasing process and helps customers realise their ownership goals.
Slice is focused on the NZ market but will be growing to support global markets including the UK, US and Australia.
How and when did you first come up with the idea for your business?
I was struggling to buy my first home and finally managed to purchase with help from my mother, who received a profit share for her support. I began building out the Slice platform at this time to make it easier for others to do the same. With ten years’ experience in finance and law I had the knowledge required to simplify home ownership and provide better solutions. Once we developed the software, it gave me the confidence to make a second home purchase with my partner of three months, when he was working to buy his first home.
What are three things about your business that you are proud of?
- The customer experience – many of the customers we help into property felt home ownership was beyond their reach. There is nothing more rewarding than supporting them into their own home.
- The technology – the support our technology offers and the automation of the buying processes makes buying far easier than it has ever been.
- The team – despite being bootstrapped we have a great team of people that genuinely believe in solving the housing problem and go above and beyond in their pursuit to do so.
How do you market your business and what advice do you have for others around marketing?
A mixture of mediums. We use social platforms like Instagram, have a podcast and video series and we’ve had a fair bit of media press.
The first thing you should consider is where your target market is and then how they might like to consume your content. For example our platform is simplifying property and this being a complex topic a podcast is a great way to help people learn in more detail.
What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced in building your business so far?
Time/funding. I’ve bootstrapped the business to date which has meant I have been limited with what I can spend or how much time I have had to invest.
What is the biggest entrepreneur lesson you would like to share with other Kiwis thinking of starting their own business?
When you’re starting out it can be really hard to find the right people, partners and investors to work with. Treat it like you’re dating. Take your time getting to know the person before committing. With an employee or co-founder don’t be afraid to pay for a well-defined piece of work so you can assess their performance before progressing further. If considering a partner, agree on a trial period before doing anything long term. After working with someone for a couple of months you can assess the output and you should also have a better idea about whether you share the same vision.
Story created in partnership with Grid AKL.
