Timestamps:
1.14 | The CEO Life
3.15 | Two Cultures - One Kid
8.52 | Start Now and Save
12.52 | Different Times, Different Challenges
16.57 | How Did I Get Here?
19.40 | A Bright and Exciting Future
23.31 | Nothing Comes Free
24.28 | It’s Scary Because It’s New

Resources and Links:

[5:27] My dad was working as a taxi driver, paying for my mom to go to accounting school at university and through that experience they were able to go and build something and eventually save up enough of a deposit to buy their first property. 

This is Property Investory where we talk to successful property investors to find out more about their stories, mindset and strategies.

I’m Tyrone Shum and in this episode we’re speaking with CEO of TechLend Aaron Bassin, who’s innovative FinTech company is set to disrupt financing across Australia. We’ll follow his journey as a chess-playing first-generation Australian, how he helped raise half a billion dollars in 4 years for MoneyMe, to helping everyday Aussies buy their dream home.

 **END INTRO MUSIC**

 

As one of the newest CEO’s in the world of property, Bassin’s passion, expertise and vision make him such an exciting prospect. 

[0:42] I'm the CEO of Techlend. I started this business just under a year ago, we're a FinTech, focusing on property finance, and more specifically bridging finance. It's just a very timely and topical issue at the moment with high price appreciation and we'll go through that later through this podcast. I'm just a huge property enthusiast, technology enthusiast and I've been able to combine those passions and skills to now lead the charge as CEO for Techlend.

Speaking to different CEO’s, it is always fascinating to see how unique the experience is depending on the individual. This is especially the case for Bassin’s special stage of life. 

[1:36] As a recent dad, I have a four week old child, I'm waking up quite early in the morning and I like to get started on the working day. So I head into the office - I'm normally the first one in and I'm looking at ways we can really enhance our platform and technology to provide customers with the best user experience. My days are normally filled with lots of meetings with a team, product development and strategy, speaking to customers - being our direct borrowers, and also partners like brokers and real estate agents. The day of a CEO is different every day. It's quite broad and varied but at the end of the day, we're trying to create the best product possible for our customers and I'm always trying to find ways of doing that.

As a father of two, Bassin understands the profound impact of childhood on someone’s life. His own culturally blended upbringing has all but made him the man and CEO he is. 

[3:28] I grew up in the suburbs in Sydney, in Bondi and I'm a first generation Australian. So, my parents had emigrated from Ukraine, just after the collapse of the Soviet Union and it was an interesting and varied upbringing. My parents learned English in their day jobs when they were young and so my first language was Russian. So, for me to grow up and assimilate in Australian culture took quite a long time, but I'm really proud of my heritage and my roots.  I think that's also helped form who I am, that son of an immigrant. It instils a really strong work ethic and determination, seeing what my parents were able to build and succeed in their own careers has formed a really amazing framework for what I seek to go and build and for myself and my family.

[5:01] So my parents actually immigrated separately and they met here in part of the ex Soviet Union community. Shortly after they got married and had me and that's also where my passion for property stems from - it's the great Australian dream to own a property, that's what we all strive for. When my parents were starting to build a family, we lived in Housing Commission, we had a one bedroom apartment, my grandparents lived in the same bedroom as myself and my parents and it was a real struggle at the beginning. My dad was working as a taxi driver, paying for my mom to go to accounting school at university and through that experience they were able to go and build something and eventually save up enough of a deposit to buy their first property. 

Seeing his parent’s own property journey transform their lives, set in motion Bassin’s own passions and goals. 

[6:04]  As property prices have appreciated greatly over the past 25-30 years, they were able to continue to build up on what they had achieved and sell that property, buy another property, and continue to build up their asset base. Just being a spectator, watching what they achieved was always so inspirational. I learned early on the value of what property is - property lasts forever, and there had been volatility in the market, but it's a much safer asset class than equities or cryptocurrency, which obviously serve their own purpose and do provide value. I've just always had such a passion for property and that stems from the way that I was brought up. 

Seeing the hard work of his immigrant family meant Bassin was exposed to financial realities from an early age, but it certainly wasn’t all hard memories. 

[7:13] My parents would go to work, and my grandparents would look after me. Actually, my great, great grandmother was alive at the time - she passed away when she was 99 years old - she actually was one of my mother figures. So, she helped raise me when my parents were going to work and it was really an amazing experience. I think it was obviously challenging for my parents, but for me, as a child, I grew up in a really loving and warm home, surrounded by a family that cared for me and loved me every day. That positivity in that environment is really special and I think has helped make me into the person and human I am today, being able to be kind and respectful to others, and understand that there are challenging times, and we work together, we're always better off through those challenging times. 

[8:30] Well, as an immigrant from the Soviet Union, the sport that I was encouraged to play was chess. I always remember having those discussions with my parents that I want to play soccer, because that's what all the Aussie boys are doing, and I want to go play an instrument, but they were like "No, you have to do chess." It was because it was just a cultural adjustment for my family. By the time it got to my younger brother, we had obviously assimilated a lot more, and there's a five year age gap between us and he was the one who played soccer and did all those cool sports.

[9:38] I mean there was like a chess club and so definitely I wasn't the only one. I mean, definitely that strategic thinking and analytical thinking from early ages is, I think, really important. So it's great that you've got your son playing chess. I'll do the same with my children, but I will also let them play some other sports as well if they want.

Bassin has tried to emulate the work ethic of his inspiring parents, throwing himself at his financial goals from an extremely early age. He says the success he has experienced at such a young age is a testament to this attitude.  

[10:21] I went to high school and graduated high school, then went to university, but probably something worth talking about was that work ethic that my parents demonstrated from an early age. I got my first job when I was 12 years old and I worked throughout high school and used my holidays to go and work even more to go save up money. By the time I was 20, I had saved enough money to actually buy my first property and so I just really was so passionate about what my parents had built and I was just obsessed - I'd have to go buy a property. My parents had helped me as well, so I didn't have all of the deposit, but I had most of it and they helped me with that as well financially. 

[11:16] It was the best decision that I wanted to do, my parents couldn't understand "why does a 20 year old want to get a mortgage, and, have all these commitments, he could be going out and having fun," but, no, that's what I really wanted to do. I look back at that and I'm so grateful - my family, my wife, my kids were living in that property that I bought 10 years ago, as a 20 year old, it's our home. So, it was the best decision I probably made and I knew that from an early age when I wanted to go and get those side jobs and worked in a warehouse packing boxes and worked in retail and did all sorts of things to be able to go and save up for that deposit.

Not only was Bassin’s work ethic developed in childhood, funnily enough, so was his understanding of property. 

[12:58] At that point, my parents already owned several properties - they're in their home, where they bought an old house and rebuilt it and they owned a few investment properties. Over time,it was the old hold and flip model that they could do, they couldn't afford to just go and accumulate a lot of assets, but they were able to monetize on the upside of their purchases, and continue to build up that portfolio. At the time, my parents already had several properties that they were able to own. My mum who was an accountant for my whole schooling years was actually looking to transition to go into property development, because at that stage, she had built up a lot of experience and understanding of property. The discussions at family dinner was around property, we would talk about and we would open up - in Sydney, we've got magazine called The Wentworth Courier, which is an eastern suburbs publication around properties - and we look at what properties are for sale and have discussions around where lending rates would go and they would tell me about how lending used to be at 16% interest back then, but properties when they bought their first one was only a few $100,000. So, it was always discussed around the table and instilled in who I am. 

Bassin says that even though his parent’s began their investment journey in a different era and a different economy, real everyday challenges will always exist. 

[14:59] Yeah, it was all about survival. They were earning whatever it was that they earned at the time driving a taxi or waitressing, but most of what they earned had to go towards rent, or towards looking after their children. They got to the point where they think they realise that they wanted to own their own asset - they would appreciate it and pay off their mortgage as opposed to paying rent. So, that's why they've worked really hard to go buy that first property, and as the market started to appreciate, they're like, "Oh, hold on, you know, we bought this for x, and now it's worth Y? Well, I think we should work really hard towards building that into something that's more meaningful". I think it was a lot easier back then - to have the foresight to do it is one thing, and they definitely had that ambition. A lot of people who also immigrated at that time are not in the same position that they are now, and even people who didn't immigrate, who had the opportunity of being born in this country, weren't able to achieve what they did.  

[16:11]The property market back then was very different, the price of a house was just totally different. The median price of a property in Australia now is $800,000, which is a lot of money, and a lot of first home buyers can't get into the market today, because of how expensive it is, even though rates are low. To be able to save up that deposit and get in is extremely difficult.

[17:12] Some people saw that and probably, a lot of the property tycoons in Australia were fortunate to capitalise on that, but also, income levels were not as high, opportunities were not as available for the average white collar Australian. Even buying two $40,000 properties was a stretch, it wasn't that straightforward. It's a lot harder now. So it's just timing I guess and being able to recognise opportunity. 

Coming up after the break, we will delve into Aaron Bassin’s property journey - his professional triumphs…

[20:52] During my time there, I helped run the IPO - those are the businesses listed on the ASX in 2019. I helped raise over I think, probably half a billion dollars for the business.

The steps he’s taken to get there…

[25:20] Again, hard work and building relationships as well, with the different investors out there. It wasn't half a billion at once

And that’s next. I’m Tyrone Shum and you’re listening to Property Investory. 

Bassin’s career path has been both varied and challenging. 

[17:58] I  studied commerce, majoring in finance and accounting. I found that to be really helpful in terms of my career development. I was able to go and get the jobs that I wanted to get to establish my career and I was able to also establish really long lasting relationships with university colleagues who I still am in touch with to this day.

[18:51] While I was in university, I actually got a cadetship at Morgan Stanley and so in my last year of university I was working there and studying simultaneously. Ultimately, it wasn't a work environment or career path that I wanted to pursue with Morgan Stanley so then I got a graduate job at Deloitte in their business advisory service line, leveraging my finance and accounting experience, which was a great experience. Following that I went to go and work at KPMG in their debt advisory practice, helping businesses raise capital, with a specialisation in FinTech, so I was able to work on a number of exciting portfolio clients at the time. This was when FinTech was just starting to be born in Australia, six, seven years ago and I did that for a number of years and was fortunate to be given the opportunity to go across to one of my clients at KPMG, which is a company called MoneyMe Financial Group. 

[20:52] Money Me provides online, personal finance, a very significant player in the space, and I was one of the early employees at the time and was in charge of establishing their funding programmes and helping raise that capital and putting it in place so that the business could grow. During my time there, I helped run the IPO - those are the businesses listed on the ASX in 2019. I helped raise over I think, probably half a billion dollars for the business and was part of a lot of the product innovation and delivery that they had established. It was a great company, great culture, it was an amazing experience. 

All of Bassin’s prior opportunities and accomplishments have led him to his newest and most exciting venture - TechLend, a company he believes will change the way consumers and banks alike think about property financing. 

[21:01] Following that I left at the end of last year, and now started TechLend, which is also very exciting, using technology to provide customers with instantaneous outcomes in real-time for bridging finance, it's just a massive gap in the market, where banks are not being able to provide a competitive solution or even a solution at all. So, most of our customers, they think they can go to their bank that they've been with for a number of years - sometimes 20- 30 years and never missed the mortgage repayment - and their traditional bank says sorry, we can't provide you bridging finance, they're not set up to do so and it's not a priority of theirs. For them to go and originate a loan that's only for a few months, there's too much human touch point on their systems. So, they rather prioritise on a longer dated mortgage and ask the customer to find a solution. 

[22:07] That other solution historically has been to sell your property, go rent, go live with in-laws and then go buy. By that point, the market moves,  and it's inconvenient and it's expensive to go rent and pick up your house and pay for removal - it's just not the experience that modern consumers want. So TechLend provides that instant gratification, that confidence - you could be on your way to an auction or open home and you love the places - your new dream home.  We facilitate that same day approval to help them buy that new purchase before they've sold.

As he forms his own unique leadership style at TechLend, Bassin’s lived experiences have shown him the power of youthfulness and the power in providing opportunity. 

[23:03] One of the most amazing things about MoneyMe was our CEO surrounded himself with young, ambitious, hard working individuals, and fortunately he saw something in me and gave me that opportunity. I was hungry and determined, and  I think at the time I was 27. So, not many 27 year olds are sitting across the table with fund managers and investment bankers, discussing terms of structuring an IPO and listing process. My role there was head of group capital and strategy, so as an executive team reporting directly to the CEO I had an amazing platform to learn and develop and showcase my abilities. I'm really confident that I did a great job. It was a successful listing, the stock price is now up over 100% since listing, and I'm not saying that it was because of me the share prices are up, but to be part of that environment and contribute towards that was just incredible. I think that the average age of a Money Me employee is under 30. Clay the CEO has found incredibly hardworking, passionate, smart, fun people and created that work environment that encourages creative creativity, collaboration, and hard work. So yeah, I was still young, I still am young.

Despite his age and impressive resume, not everything has fallen in Bassin’s lap. 

[25:20] Again, hard work and building relationships as well, with the different investors out there. It wasn't half a billion at once, it was through my time, through my four or five years with Money Me. Our first investor came in and provided 100 million, we'd later towards the end of my employment at Money Me helped put together a bank facility of $300 million from one of the big four banks. So, it was a combination of a number of facilities and transactions throughout that time, but it was a great experience. 

As CEO of any company, it’s important to believe in the product. In the case of TechLend, Bassin is not only confident but excited, because it’s different! 

[26:33] We use the equity in the current home to access and put towards a new purchase, in addition to the equity in the new purchase. So across both properties, we can lend up to 75% LVR, which is 75% of the combined value of both properties, we can provide as a loan secured against both properties. So, because the prices have appreciated significantly, a lot of existing homeowners have a considerable amount of equity in their home. Prices have gone up, people have been holding on to their assets for 5-10 years as they've been paying down their mortgage, and so we help Mum and Dad transition to the new purchase. So, they could have found their dream home, but they're not ready to sell their existing one. It's on the market, or they haven't realised the liquidity of the sale, and so we'll help them with that new purchase. They'll move in, they'll sell their house as they need and when they sell, they pay down their loan and we kind of cover that entire spectrum of the process. So their stress free and hassle free and convenient.

[28:00] So we charge a transaction fee of 1.99% and that's upfront on the loan amount. Then there are no other fees for three months, it's an interest free facility for three months, after the three month period, we charge interest at 5.99% and it's only charged daily for the amount of time that our borrower needs to bridge, typically a bridging period takes less than three months. So, most of our customers will just pay that one off transaction fee, which by the way, they don't need to pay, it just comes out of the loan when they sell the house. So, there's no repayments required for our customers, we try to make it as frictionless and seamless as possible, because at the end of the day, customers are asset rich, they're not cash rich. 

[28:49] So, most Australians - income growth hasn't been as strong as asset growth in this country, so people's expenses and commitments and income has stayed largely the same. In fact, expenses have probably increased and during COVID goods have increased in price. So, people's cost bases of our increasing income levels are not increasing as much, so it's very hard for them to manage two mortgages at the same time, or to make multiple repayments and commitments. So, we try to make that process as easy as possible. We provide a no repayment facility for that bridge and once they sell their house, they pay off their loan.

Even though it’s new, Bassin says TechLend is certainly not a one-trick pony and will only grow in future. 

[29:56] When I say we use the equity, we use the equity to be able to provide them with a loan facility. The way that we then provide that capital is we were funded by a group called Partners for Growth based out in Silicon Valley, and they provided us a $50 million investment when we launched to market and that was in June, so about four months ago. Since then, we've had over 200 million in applications come through our platform and we're providing Mums and Dads and everyday Australians with the best bridging product in the market. 

[30:51] Well, because the term is quite short - it's less than three months each line on average - so it's not outstanding forever. So, the facility can cycle and rollover. We're growing and we're seeking further investment to continue to keep up. By the way, this is with zero marketing, so we haven't even started really selling and pushing out our product. Brokers and customers are referring our product through word of mouth and experience and also through our network.

So, inspired by Aaron Bassin’s  story we’ll keep the conversation going in a future episode of Property Investory. We’ll talk about his strategies…

[13:26] From an early age, I was always kind of reading the paper, seeing where properties were being listed and I downloaded the REA app or domain app and had  parameters around small apartments that I could try for. 

The mindset which has contributed to his success….

[22:00] So, it's really knowing when an opportunity presents itself and not being afraid to take it and take a risk.

And that’s next time in a future episode of Property Investory.