Early stage investment company Antler Australia recently backed a new cohort of startups as part of its ongoing program to build great local tech companies.
Startup Daily is sharing the details of each venture in the “Antler Investor Memos” series, which is designed to give you a quick, sharp understanding of the startups and people involved, with many seeking follow up capital following Antler’s initial pre-seed investment.
Company: Billsmoov
Formation date: 2022
Stage of business: Pre-Seed
Founders: Justin Roberts and Torsten Herbst
Current investors: Antler
Currently raising: Yes
The business
Bills are the largest cumulative expense for Australians, placing pressure on personal cash flow.
Month to month volatility and “bill shock” make budgeting difficult. And with household budgets under strain with Australian inflation reaching a 32-year high in October, many Australians face late payments fees and credit score damage while trying to manage the rising costs of living.
Admin complexity also means that many consumers pay more than they need to, frequently incurring late fees or forgoing discounts, even when they have funds available.
Billsmoov (pronounced bill-smoov) is a bill management platform that seeks to relieve household budget pressure and simplify admin by consolidating bills and automating payments. With Billsmoov, Australians get deep analytics on their recurring expenses and can compare their bills with other service providers to get the best rates on the market, and save money.
Antler investment thesis
“We’re excited to partner with Justin and Torsten who combine entrepreneurial experience, technical expertise and substantial know-how on the intricacies of bill payments in an open banking context, to ultimately bring this expense smoothing product to life,” said Cath Rogers, Partner at Antler Australia.
“With household budgets experiencing sustained pressure due to the rising cost of living, Billsmoov taps into consumer demand for greater predictability and control of household expenses while offering convenience and fuss-free admin. The team has strong early traction with both customer signups and utility partnership opportunities.”
Traction/milestones, to date
Billsmoov launched its MVP into the market in early November and within two weeks secured its first 100 beta users and a further waitlist of 500 customers and climbing.
It is also in ongoing discussions with Australia’s largest service providers across all major verticals, and anticipates securing Letters of Intent by early next year.
Due diligence resources
Explore Billsmoov’s pitch video and investor deck via The Antler Portfolio Reveal Platform.
Latest funding
Pre-Seed from Antler
Use of funds
Antler Australia’s initial investment has enabled Billsmoov to develop and launch its MVP, alongside focusing on its privacy policy, trust and safety applications, and legal compliance.
The founders say:
“With all the technology that exists, it’s crazy that people still need to think about managing and paying bills. We’re on a mission to change that,” says Justin Roberts, co-founder of Billsmoov.
“At Billsmoov, we’re reimagining how households manage and pay their bills. In doing so, we’re taking the stress out of household budgets. We know that Australians miss paying their bills due financial pressures or because life simply got in the way, our easy-to-use bills payment platform will solve this.
“Not only will we change the way Australians pay their bills, we will provide proactive recommendations on how they can save money so users can be confident they are on the best rate. Joining Antler has provided us with a valuable sounding board to develop our business model, and ultimately get Billsmoov into the hands of Aussie households.”
What’s next?
Antler, a global early-stage VC, recently showcased the latest investments it’s made in ambitious Australian founders and startups. Billsmoov featured as one of Antler Australia’s newest portfolio companies.
Explore how Billsmoov takes the stress out of paying bills via the Antler Portfolio Reveal Platform.
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