Search Fund Lending in Australia - a perspective from Australias leading Neo Bank

Frank Versace is the Chief Risk Officer at Judo bank, one of Australia's newest banks. Judo is taking on the long-established big four banks in the Australian market, with a focus on Small to Medium Businesses... and they're doing a great job at it, too!

Through his broad banking experience and first hand involvement building Judo, Frank has a wealth of knowledge and insights in relation to Small Business Lending, including the things that Searchers should consider when preparing for those initial discussions with a bank.

I was excited to have Frank on this week's podcast because of the clear overlap between Judo's target market and the kinds of businesses that Searchers typically seek to acquire. In this conversation we cover a whole range of things from the early days of Judo, their own startup experience and vision, and importantly, their approach to the Small Business market.

Show Notes:

•03:14 – Frank shares about his Judo Bank journey and how it came to life in the first place a few years ago and how it's evolved over the last couple of years.

•06:36 – Frank talks about what Judo is trying to bring to the Australian market, what is approaching that Judo bank is taking to try and fill the gap.

•09:27 – Frank and I discuss the search fund model in terms of not only finding a business to buy but then leading, operating, and growing it over time.

•13:10 – Frank gives some knowledge of how you'll understand why your business is different, how it's uniquely positioning in its market.

•15:54 – Frank shares about how you can conduct a relationship with your customers.

•22:08 – Frank talks about how to prove the sustainability of the earnings profile.

Connect with Pete: LinkedIn
Connect with Frank: LinkedIn