This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.
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1. THE BEGINNING
This innovation initially came to life when…
I run a successful financial coaching business (incorporating financial strategy, accounting & bookkeeping services). I would see so many dejected startups who had a million questions, but couldn’t afford help – or thought they could go it alone and wing it. I spent hours of time giving away services for free – why? My time and knowledge is valuable – so I realised there had to be a lower end product people could use to learn to love their numbers, get quality advice, training and support – all in the one easy to use place. FEAT group was born.
2. WHAT & HOW
The purpose of this innovation is to…
Take business owners on a journey “from idea to profit” by providing financial education, accounting & training services online. FEAT group aims to reduce small business failure rate and aims to get business owners to love their numbers.
It does this by…
FEAT group is an online platform with three parts – prerecorded training videos, FAQ forum (with over 170 prefilled questions and answers of common financial, business and accounting questions) and monthly live webinars for the customers to interact and ask questions. They can pick my brain (a chartered accountant and BAS agent and financial coach) every single month.
3. PURPOSE & BENEFITS
This innovation improves on what came before because…
Low cost, easy to access, easy to understand and it makes the process fun. Accounting and fun usually don’t go hand in hand. I step business owners through the questions and problems I get asked every single week. Fear, Judgement and embarrassment go out the window. Everyone can learn, you just need to have the right teacher.
Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…
Greater understanding of the business financials so they can make informed decisions, understanding ATO obligations, understanding payroll obligations, reducing financial fears and blocks preventing their business from moving forward, making people accountable as a business owner, trusted advisor on hand.
4. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
In the past, this problem was solved by…
Either asking their tax agent at the end of the year, when it was too late and get charged up to $300 per hour, so business owners resorted to google. They would take the first answer google offered, which was not necessarily right or they would ask their friends, who were not necessarily right, or they would ignore the problem.
Its predecessors/competitors include…
Traditional accountants (too expensive for the startup market), Google (not accurate), bookkeepers (don’t necessarily have accounting or business knowledge), outsourcing to overseas (where skills can’t be verified), ignorance (free until tax agent bills them at year end to fix things)
5. TARGET MARKET
It is made for…
Startups and entrepreneurs in the first 3 years of business – to make sure they are setting their business up in the right manner from day dot. Ignorance is simply no excuse for business owners. Once you start a business – you have responsibilities, so I want to remove barriers to entry. It is low cost to enable startups to afford the product, there is no judgement, no need for embarrassment as you can learn in your own time at your own pace. Those first 3 years in business are vital to get right for survival.
It is available for sale through…
The membership is sold online (www.featgroup.com.au) – and there are two types of membership. Yearly video membership if people only with to watch the training videos, or full membership which gives video access, FAQ forum and monthly live webinars.
Our marketing strategy is to…
We did a (very) soft launch on March 17th, and we are rolling out Facebook ad campaign and email marketing campaign in April 2016. Our aim is to advertise the service over the next 2 months before 30 June, as end of financial year is the time people want help and assistance (but also don’t want to pay big bucks).
FINE PRINT: This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.
