Early stage investment firm Antler Australia recently supported 13 startups as part of its ongoing program to build great local tech companies. For six weeks, Startup Daily will share the details of each venture in the “Antler Investor Memos” series.

You can also meet the founders every Monday and Wednesday on the Startup Daily show at ausbiz.com.au.

This series is designed to give you a fast, a keen understanding of the startups and people involved, with many looking for follow-on capital after Antler’s initial pre-seed investment.

Company: bobbob

Date of incorporation: 2022

Operating phase: Preseed

founders: Byron Goldberg and Nikolai Herbstritti

Current investors: antlers

Currently increasing: Yes

About Bobbob

bobbob is a high-interest investment platform that offers clients above-market interest rates (up to 7.60% on USD) and rewards savings and good financial habits. It challenges how Australians and people around the world save and spend their money using technology as a means to change the way we think about finance.

Responsible consumption is in Bobbob’s DNA. It promotes sustainable financing by helping customers save to achieve long-term goals, rather than giving in to instant gratification. This determination to make a difference to its clients’ finances and the future of the planet is carried out through its regulated investment account.

Bobbob recently launched a carbon-based rewards program that works with Betacarbon’s BCAU token, an Australia-based company that tokens and trades notional carbon tokens (BCAUs), linked to Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs).

Customers earn BCAU as a reward for depositing, essentially, taking into account offsetting trades. Through an ASIC-regulated investment account, clients can deposit and withdraw Australian dollars at any time.

These funds are converted into USDC, a digital asset with equivalent US dollars held in banks in the US. Returns are generated by the funds lent to institutional clients, such as hedge funds, who use the funds for arbitrage, hedging, and float and growth capital. Unlike banks, Bobbob passes the benefits directly on to customers so they always get a fair share of this return.

Antler investment thesis

“Bobbob’s ethos of fairly rewarding savers with above-market interest rates, while taking a stance against overconsumption and its impact on the planet, is an exciting step forward in fintech,” said Cath Rogers, Partner of Antler Australia.

“We have been impressed by Byron’s drive to develop a seamless user experience, forge strong partnerships and steadily grow Bobbob’s user base”

Traction/milestones, so far

Bobbob racked up more than 4,000 downloads after the nimble team launched its iOS and Android apps in May this year.

In addition to the new app, Bobbob has released a range of new product features, including “Save what you don’t spend”, encouraging consumers to check in weekly with the money they never spent so they can make those savings count, automated deposits that allow customers set up recurring direct debits and the supercharge feature, allowing customers to sign up and buy crypto by simply depositing AUD.

Due Diligence Resources

Explore Bobbob’s pitch video and investor deck via The Antler Portfolio Review Platform.

Latest financing

Pre-Seed from Antler

Use of funds

Antler’s Pre-Seed investment has enabled Bobbob to focus on product development and improve the user experience, launch several new features and strategically acquire customers.

The founders say:

“As it stands, our financial systems don’t always work in our best interests — they allow for quick debt for unnecessary purchases,” said Byron Goldberg, Bobbob’s co-founder and CEO.

“The days of being persuaded to buy now, pay later are over. With Bobbob, we are unleashing a movement to save now, have more later.

“With Antler’s recent investment, we have been able to prioritize developing our product to bring world-class features to customers and create features that enable our customers to save and invest seamlessly.”

What’s next?

Antler, an early stage global VC, recently showcased its latest investments in ambitious Australian founders and startups. Bobbob was one of Antler Australia’s newest portfolio companies.

Find out how Bobbob Aussies offers a fair rate of interest on their savings with a regulated investment account through the Antlers Portfolio Reveal Platform.

• StartupDaily is Antler’s official media partner in Australia.