To add to what @anon2636484 said, there should be a possibility for tools like Wonderbill and Onedox to fetch necessary data from the reports they have access to.
How many utilities companies are there? 10? 20? 50? That’s is so negligent, and all their reports have identical structure in each company (so not too many types). Hence there could a process of extracting relevant (usage) data and analysing it. This is exactly what google does when you book your flights or the hotels - get necessary words/figures and stick them into your calendar.
Monzo (assuming they partner with Onedox) will have access to a set of templates and should be able to extract and analyse the data, and then give relevant suggestions.
Albeit, of course, easier to describe the concept than implement.
I spoke with some of the guys at Onedox the other evening. There were a couple interesting insights:
-Wonderbill have had £20m invested into their business compared to £0.5m or so for Onedox. The fact they’re comparable despite the massive difference in funding is a big positive for Onedox!
-They’ve recently turned down an acquisition offer (already albeit a low one). I sense there’s value in their solution for a range of potential partners/buyers e.g. comparison sites, banks etc. I’d guess even if it were to go badly they’d be able to arrange a trade sale which lowers the risk.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens when it goes live on Crowdcube…
Thirty of our existing investors have already invested in the new round, and counting. On average, their investments have been almost twice as large as last time around, which we’re taking as a great vote of confidence!
It sounds like they might be staggering invites. Not sure why they’ve chosen to be private for so long. I’d prefer to see it opened up to the 0.5m people on Crowdcube…
Big fan of Onedox, I was in the previous round and this round also. I see the value proposition they offer, and while the market is definitely crowded, there is strong potential here for them.
I think the market is large enough for more than one company of its type, especially with challenger banks championing the market place approach. Either that, or they’re an M&A target for a challenger/existing bank.
Either way, I think there’s potential for growth or buyout exit, and I believe in investing in companies I would actually use!
Hey chaps, Just giving my 5c on the topic.
First of all I am hugely biased as I became a Onedox investor last year and I’ve been helping the team on the acquisition front over the last 12 months.
This is not an app or a business for everybody. As an individual I am not obsessed with my household bills or my bills in general as long as they are paid on time. It is not a secret that you are screwed if you don’t switch suppliers every now and then. Very few people do it as there are a number of barriers that make that journey difficult. Onedox simply makes that process easier.
What makes Onedox really interesting for me is that it has the potential to change the way people identify saving opportunities (for their households) and shake-up the comparisons engines market. Currently this is a demand-driven process (you go to MoneySuperM… or an alternative site and you put all your details to get a quote) and it has been like that for the past 10 years. It is up to the user to find the best possible energy/insurance/broadband/mobile bills out there and go through the process of figuring out which is the right deal for them. With Onedox this process can become entirely context-driven as the technology will be able to analyse all bills/contracts/if you are overpaying or underpaying and offer you an array of options. It’s still up to the user to decide if they would like to pick a particular offer. With machine learning in place this can even become a much better customer experience.
In my opinion the core team is really strong and motivated, very lean. Great culture. They are prepared for a marathon not for a sprint and they’ve done it before. The fundamentals of the business looks right to me. Cost per acquisition is relatively low and churn looks ok for now. It will take a few years for the revenue per user to improve but the fundamentals and direction looks right. That’s why there’s strong institutional interest.
I am a strong believer and a follow-on investor this time around.
Interesting points. I’ve not invested yet but having seen how they’ve developed their numbers - they don’t appeal to me. They’re making £1,100 revenue per month and burning £50,000 per month, presumably mostly on tech development (im guessing its an integration piece for each and every supplier - which will all be different). I’m not sure that every active user will switch all services in app per year (some contracts are 18 or 24 months), and not having all suppliers doesn’t help with their numbers. They’re making £3 per user per year, having targeted £40, although the business plan says £25. Cash flow could be an issue as it can take a few months to get that affiliate revenue out of the supplier - via their aggregator. The idea is great, that’s a given, but execution just doesnt get there for me. Sorry to burst any bubbles.
I’ve been using onedox for a while now but didn’t go in on the last round. Of all the PFM’s onedox is the only one I’ve continued to use over time. I find their updates have hit the right balance between naggy and useful and adding new providers has been really low inertia. That said I’m not yet clear on their business model and how they might survive long term.
Agreed. I can’t quite make the business model work in my own mind (it’s based on referrals, I think, but I wouldn’t be drawn to OneDox for that - and is already a crowded space with banking aggregators getting there first).
That’s not to say that I don’t like the technology or the idea. Just that effective monetization is leaving me scratching my head. I wonder if a trade sale to someone like Monzo wouldn’t be the best bet?
thanks for the heads up 
