Brad Lemkus of currency conversion specialists Midpoint Holdings tells defines their way of doing business and what advice he would give to someone starting out today.
What do you currently do?
We allow our clients to convert currency online at the mid-market rate and pay their beneficiaries with minimal hassle and maximum savings.
What was the inspiration behind your business?
It was clear to us from the outset that the banks were charging personal and SME customers huge hidden margins because it was very difficult for customers to benchmark a good or bad exchange rate. We coined a saying “The money is in the rate honey” This one-sided status quo really motivated us to find a solution as recent advances in tech made this a realistic ambition.
What defines your way of doing business?
In a word – ‘transparency’ – lifting the veil that shrouds FX is key to exposing unfair practises by letting customers know that they have easily accessible better value alternatives. We say that if our customers are “Me2Me” rather than Me2B (my money to bank) oriented, they will happily discover a whole range of new and better possibilities. Secondly, we identified that the ‘big guys’ spend a lot of money producing pretty ads while giving their customers ugly service. Good personal customer service resides deeply in the DNA of Midpoint.
What do you admire?
People and organisations who have altruism in their hearts, creativity in their minds and blisters on their hands.
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
We should have been more aggressive in communicating our message to the market.
What advice would you give to someone starting out?
Find a unique product or service that customers will absolutely need before they or anyone else has figured this out. Then build your plan to deliver this to the market with a dash of speed. The product will make your logo and website lovely not the other way round!
