Why being industry agnostic leads to better product ideas
Today is one of those rare chances at reflection. I’m sure that a number of you will feel that the past two years of Brexit uncertainty and a global pandemic have meant you haven’t had a chance to stop, take a breath and appreciate what has happened.
I have finally released my Yogic self (without a yoga mat, as that would be a disaster) and taken a few deep breaths. This has helped me appreciate what we have experienced through the turmoil.
One of the most inspiring aspects of leading a technology consultancy is meeting the other people and businesses we work with. We work in a space where companies of all sizes are looking to innovate and do something new in their markets, and being involved in those discussions and helping build the technology that supports their ideas is an enlightening place to be.
Being ‘industry agnostic’ means we can draw inspiration from a wide range of markets to the domains in which each of our customers operates. This enables change by bringing best practices from other markets to solve common problems, leaving minds free to tackle the next step in differentiation. This is where we learn how industries can develop and what root problem their business solves.
Once in a while, you get to that eureka moment (thankfully without an apple falling on my head) where you see a problem that is common across businesses and isn’t being solved. We saw exactly this in the world of ‘alternative asset’ investing, which inspired us to build our new platform, Bitz Solutions.
Why most alternative assets are out of reach for most investors
The core problem we identified is that few assets are accessible to most people. For most of us, it’s simply not possible to invest in property, planes, wine, classic cars, whisky, art, racehorses, etc., and the reasons for this are twofold:
- The entry price is too high; most of us don’t have the odd £20k available (if you do, please let me know)
- The investment is illiquid – once you’ve bought a house or a car, there are no easy ways to sell it (or part of it) quickly
There are solutions to this problem in some markets. If you’d like to invest across a portfolio rather than choose assets yourself, you can invest in a fund or company that invests in a specific asset class. If it is a listed company or fund (like a REIT) you have liquidity and probably can invest small enough amounts, but it is a broad brush approach so there is no personal choice about which specific asset.
We have seen across multiple industries that people want to choose the specific asset. They don’t want A Car – they want a Jaguar or a Tesla. They don’t want a basket of cryptocurrencies – they want Bitcoin or XRP. We wanted to bring that democratisation to more assets, and that is why we built Bitz
What fractional ownership makes possible – and why choice matters
Bitz is a platform that allows an asset manager to break an individual asset into smaller pieces – or Bitz.
You can list the asset, sell ‘shares’ in it, distribute earnings and collect fees all via the platform. For the investor, you have suddenly given choice! They don’t have to invest in the whole portfolio; they can choose specific elements that suit their budget.
It’s inspired by crowdfunding initiatives, yes, but where we bring differentiation is twofold:
- We’ve created an ‘Exchange’ that allows investors to buy or sell all (or parts of) their share in the asset to other verified users on the platform. Suddenly the part share in a property is no longer locked in as you are offering it to all other investors!
- It’s a platform built for asset managers – the experts who know the asset class and who decide what should be available, how it should be managed and when it should be sold.
I would like to think that, upon reading this, you are reflecting on the possibilities out there. Now is the time to take the initiative and figure out how to make assets more accessible and how to promote them to new investors. If you are an asset manager, you can significantly grow your asset base. Of course, regulation will quite rightly play a part, and the platform has been designed to be adapted to the conditions of what you do.
If you’re an asset manager looking to open up your asset class
Please let us know if you think there is an asset you would like to democratise; we’d welcome the opportunity to be part of that journey. Get in touch.
