Daric will enter the US p2p lending market. I conducted an interview with CEO Greg Ryan in summer. I am publishing it now, as he has notified me that Daric will launch soon.
What is Daric about?
At Daric, our vision is to provide a platform to serve people that have capital and people that need it in an efficient, friendly, and easy to use way. We believe that being a Silicon Valley based internet platform, we can leverage new technologies to increase transparency in the financial system, use algorithms and automation to help both lenders and borrowers make better financial decisions, and increase access to capital for the community as a whole.
What are the three main advantages for lenders?
1. We have placed a great emphasis on the user experience and user interface of our platform (applies to both lenders and borrowers).
2. The ability to monetize hard assets (we will go into greater detail after we have established our cash based system).
3. Providing another platform for p2p lenders to deploy their capital on. By spreading out their capital on several platforms (Daric, Lending Club, Prosper, etc.), we can provide lenders with proper diversification which therefore reduces risk.
What are the three main advantages for borrowers?
1. We have placed a great emphasis on the user experience and user interface of our platform (applies to both lenders and borrowers).
2. We want to expand beyond the debt consolidation model currently used by the industry leaders.
3. Daric provides another source of capital for borrowers that need it. Borrowers greatly benefit by numerous sources of capital.
Which marketing channels will you use to attract lenders and borrowers? Can you share the projected acquisition costs per customer?
Daric intends to acquire both lenders and borrowers through internet based marketing initiatives. However, we feel the most powerful way to acquire users is through word of mouth. If we provide great value and service to both our lenders and borrowers, we hope they will tell their friends about us. There is no marketing tool that is more powerful than a positive referral from someone you know and trust.
What was the greatest challenge so far in the course of getting Daric ready for launch?
One of our primary points of emphasis has been security and anti-fraud. We have spent a tremendous amount of time and energy making sure that the money and identities of Daric lenders and borrowers are fully safe and secure. We are now at a point where these systems on our platform are excellent.
Do you plan focus on retail investors or do you expect institutional investors to play an important role?
We plan on being equally focused on retail investors and institutional investors. They will both play an important role in the growth of the Daric platform and the growth of the Daric community. We see their financial goals as not inimical but aligned. Institutional investors can help fuel scale, which benefits retail investors. Retail investors in turn can help transform the platform into a vibrant community.
Your SEC Filing is for a maximum of 10M US$ in notes. What volume do you plan to originate pre month after launch?
That is a good question. We have had both retail investors and institutional funds reach out to us about putting capital on our platform. Our volume will be determined by how well we serve lenders and borrowers. The better we serve them, the more our originations will grow. If we do not serve lenders well, they will place their capital on other platforms. If we do not serve borrowers well, they will seek out other sources of capital for their needs. Therefore, the community will determine our volume as a direct correlation to how well we serve it.
Where do you see Daric in 3 years? Is P2P Lending a threat to banks?
In three years, we see Daric continuing to adhere to our original mission, which is to serve people that have capital and people that need it in an efficient, friendly, and easy to use way. Although we hope in three years to be doing this on a much larger scale.
The question about banks is an interesting one. Other entrepreneurs in our industry have seen P2P lending as a way to end banks as we currently know them. We do not see things this way. Banks such as Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and J.P. Morgan Chase have been leaders in the financial community for decades, and we see them continuing to be leaders in the financial community for many decades to come. We see ourselves collaborating with them to provide better service to both lenders and borrowers, and increasing access to capital for the community as a whole.
P2P-Banking.com thanks Greg Ryan for the interview.