Superhero’s initial target of 10,000 customers in their first year was achieved in the first three weeks.
John Winters and Wayne Baskin launched their investment start-up in September 2020 with the mission to make investing accessible, understandable and affordable. The Superhero trading platform enables customers to sign up and begin trading shares within minutes, offering $0 brokerage to buy ASX-listed ETFs and over 4500 US-listed shares, while brokerage on ASX-listed shares is just $5.
“Superhero gives our customers more control and transparency over their investments and their super without manual processes, financial jargon or high costs,” John explains.
For the first-time investor, Superhero offers a mobile app that allows investors to put as little as $100 into Australian and US listed shares and ETFs. Deposits can be made in real-time with no monthly account fees and $0 brokerage. For the experienced investor, Superhero removes manual processes, long delays for funds and lower cost, while providing access to thousands of shares and ETFs across the Australian and U.S. markets.
In July 2021, the company expanded its offering via Superhero Super, giving investors the opportunity to invest directly in shares and ETFs with their super without the need for a self-managed super fund.
“Our super fund is our real differentiator,” John says. “Australians have been ‘designed’ out of their super, to the point where many don’t even feel like it’s their money. For many Australians, their super will be their largest asset outside of their own home and it’s our mission to enable people to take control over where and how their super is invested.”
Superhero has disrupted its field through the functionality of its technology, which integrates a range of complex back-end systems while keeping the user experience as simple and clean looking as possible. And Superhero has built its own digital fraud and identity systems to protect investors taking advantage of the ability the platform gives them to instantly fund their trading account. This includes your own unique Superhero PayID, and BSB and account number.
As well as making it simple for customers to sign up, these automated processes reduce the need for large back-office teams, meaning Superhero is able to offer lower costs and real-time deposits and trading for its customers.
In its short lifespan Superhero is making people stand up and notice, gaining nominations for four Finnies Awards (FinTech Australia’s annual awards that recognize innovation, growth and collaboration in the sector) in the categories of Excellence in Wealth Management, Fintech Leader of the Year (John Winters), Emerging Fintech of the Year and Best Partnership of the Year (with Zepto, formerly Split Payments).
“We were also named one of this year’s Interbrand Breakthrough Brands under ‘ones to watch’,” John says proudly. Superhero’s initial target of 10,000 customers in their first year was achieved in the first three weeks and they passed 100,000 sign ups within 11 months. The team has mushroomed from six at launch to over 40 today.
Looking forward, Superhero’s vision is to create the best possible experience possible for their customers through new feature development, customer service and education.
“Investing should be accessible to all Australians, not just for those with a finance degree and a big pot of money,” John avers. “Our ultimate goal, beyond the technology of our platform, is to change the conversation when it comes to how we think about our money, particularly when it comes to super.”
This article first appeared in issue 34 of the Inside Small Business quarterly magazine
