CREDITORWATCH’S FOUNDER ON REACHING 50,000 CUSTOMERS AND LOBBYING FOR DATA TRANSPARENCY

CreditorWatch recorded a 42% increase in its customer base over two years on the way to reaching a major growth milestone, this month: 50,000 customers. Founder and managing director Colin Porter spoke to Dynamic Business about the genesis, success and future of the credit reporting bureau, which launched six years ago. 

DB: What was your motivation for launching CreditorWatch?

Porter: To provide SMES, which account for around 98% of operating entities in Australia, affordable and easy access to credit risk information. The duopoly that existed when we entered the market as a start-up meant it had been difficult and expensive for SMEs to obtain credit risk information. Plus, there wasn’t an avenue for them to report slow and non-payers. Consequently, SMEs were vulnerable to bad debtors. Our easy-to-use platform has provided SMEs with full transparency of late and non-payers, including the ability to monitor all of their customers and prospects so that they’re alerted as soon as changes occur that could affect how they get paid.

There are many examples of start-ups, globally, entering an established market and succeeding due to a fairly priced subscription based model for SMEs. While there are many reasons for our success to date, this was the kickstarter for us. Read more

James Harkness - Dynamic Business - 24 May 2017