Ramp grew from zero to in 5 years building AI expense management. Brex sold for $5.15B. Australia has Cape (beta), Weel (tiny), and 2.5 million SMBs still tracking expenses on spreadsheets. I did the research. Now I need a co-founder who knows AU fintech and SMB finance.
"80% of Australian SMEs still rely on manual processes for expense tracking."
"Small business accounting is BROKEN -- data entry takes days, limited AI features."
"Expense management for sub-50-employee companies effectively doesn't exist -- Ramp and Brex target mid-market and above."
"No affordable real-time dashboard combining banking, accounting, invoicing for AU SMBs. The market is a desert."
Issuing corporate cards needs BIN sponsorship from an AU bank. This is a regulatory barrier US companies won't cross for a "small" market. Cape has it but hasn't built the AI layer. You need both.
US tools integrate with QuickBooks. Australia runs on Xero (60% market share). Ramp, Brex, and every US competitor are QuickBooks-native. Building a Xero-native expense platform is the moat they'll never cross.
CBA, NAB, Westpac, and ANZ offer corporate cards but building AI expense management would cannibalize their own corporate card revenue. They'll partner with a startup before they build it.
Cape ($33M raised) is still in beta. Weel (60K cardholders) is 50-100x smaller than Ramp with fewer features. Neither has the AI expense intelligence layer. The market is validated but the winner hasn't emerged.
Revenue model: Freemium expense tracking + Pro at $15-$30/user/month + corporate card interchange (1.5-2.5% of spend). 500 companies at $200/month avg = $1.2M ARR. Long-term: interchange on $100M+ annual card spend = $1.5M-$2.5M additional.
The AI engineering, product, and infrastructure.
The domain expertise, banking relationships, and first clients.
This is a co-founder search, not a job ad. I'm looking for someone who wants to own half of this company and build it together from day one.
Domain expertise in AU fintech/SMB finance. Banking relationships. Industry network. First 10 pilot clients. Ongoing product direction for compliance and financial accuracy.
AI/full-stack engineering. Product design and build. Xero + open banking integrations. Infrastructure, deployment, and scale. Market research already done.
We'll figure out the right structure together. What matters first is whether we're the right fit.
R&D Tax Incentive (43.5%), Basiq startup program, Antler Australia ($260K), then Reinventure/H2 Ventures seed round.
"Xero integration IS the moat. Ramp integrates with QuickBooks. Build the Xero-native expense platform and you own the distribution channel Ramp never will."
Talk to companies with 10-50 employees. Ask: "How long does month-end reconciliation take? What does your expense approval process look like? What would you pay to automate it?"
Connect to company bank accounts via Basiq open banking APIs. Auto-categorize expenses, generate real-time spending dashboards, flag anomalies, and auto-reconcile with Xero. No card required initially.
Real-world validation with Sydney tech startups and professional services firms. Iterate on edge cases. Build trust. Apply for R&D Tax Incentive and Antler Australia.
Add virtual corporate cards via Marqeta/Nium partnership. Bill pay. AP automation. Target 100 companies. Approach Reinventure (Westpac-backed) or H2 Ventures for seed round.
If you know AU fintech, have banking/SMB finance connections, and want to co-found something massive, I'd like to hear from you.
Thanks for reaching out. I'll get back to you within 24 hours.