My Big Idea: checkout price comparison service Dopple

What's your elevator pitch?

What if I told you we could help you connect multiple lenders to your checkout, boosting customer conversion and acceptance rates by offering multiple financing options—all with a single plug-in and one customer application form?

Why does the market need it?

I spent four years listening to retailer feedback before creating Dopple. The market had reached a point where retailers were juggling 3, 4, or sometimes 5 different lenders at checkout to meet customer demand for options such as 0% interest credit, buy-now-pay-later, and longer-term financing. Checkouts were cluttered and confusing for customers and the management of so many lenders became a pain point for merchants.

Dopple makes all of this happen in one seamless platform, eliminating the need to negotiate with multiple lenders or manage separate integrations. It's the finance solution retailers have been waiting for.

Where is the business today?

Our initial thoughts have proven to be true – retailers are embracing Dopple and recognising why it's such a powerful tool to have at checkout. Recently, we've experienced a 50% month-on-month growth period and partnered with another major finance player, Omni Capital Retail Finance.

On top of that, we've recently been accepted as an official partner of a leading retail eCommerce platform, offering Dopple as a service to its 4.5 million online stores. We're poised for more growth and excited for what's to come.

What made you think there was money in this?

Regardless of what state the market is in, there is always a clear demand for flexible finance options. When the economy is strong, people still want the convenience and flexibility of finance. During tougher times, customers seek safe and ethical finance options to support essential purchases. The dual appeal showed us that Dopple can always provide a solution to a problem that's here to stay.

How did you research the niche?

Our research started with four years of direct retailer calls and feedback, giving us invaluable insight into their challenges and pain points. While conducting competitor research, we discovered that there wasn't anything like Dopple on the market. It quickly became clear that we had identified a major gap that needed to be filled.

What's your biggest strength?

Sales is my biggest strength and it's something that I'm passionate about. I'm a big believer that in any industry or role, we're always selling ourselves and this mindset has been a driver of the success I've had in my career.

What is the secret to making the business work?

The secret lies in the law of averages – speaking to enough people consistently increases your chances of getting a 'yes.' That first 'yes' can become your case study which you can use to attract the next opportunity - this momentum will start to snowball as success starts to attract more success once you have your first couple of wins.

How do you market the company?

Our marketing approach is proactive. We engage retailers through direct email campaigns, phone calls (the old-school way), social media and more recently, paid advertising. One of the most important things to remember is that referrals are free - it's all about putting yourself out there.

What funding do you have? Is it enough?

We started with a director's loan and have worked hard to get to a place where the business is self-sufficient. Whilst we're proud of our progress, we have some exciting ideas that we'd love to bring to the market so, we may explore additional funding in the future to support our growth.

Tell us about the business model

It revolves around the platform, it is a point-of-sale finance integration that connects customers with the right lenders suited to their needs. Dopple allows customers to filter and compare different finance options which empowers them to choose the right one for them.

What were you doing before?

Before Dopple, I was Head of Sales at a buy-now-pay-later platform. My experience leading high-performing sales teams in the retail finance sector gave me deep insights into what retailers and customers really needed.

Are there any technologies you've found useful?

I'm a lover of audiobooks as I find them incredibly useful, especially when it comes to topics that help me grow both personally and professionally.

What is the future vision?

We want to make retail finance simpler for everyone. Right now, retailers are struggling with multiple systems and integrations just to offer finance options to their customers. By bringing everything together in one platform, we're solving a real problem. That's what drives us – making something complicated much easier to manage.

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