Founder Spotlight: Meet Paul Watts

Paul is the founder of Lenuity, and the author of ‘Seller Finance UK’. He is an alumnus of our Barclays Black Founder Accelerator programme and a member of the Barclays Rise Program. Paul views finance as an art form and considers himself a “valueist” as contrasted to a capitalist.

Paul recently discussed his experience setting up Lenuity with us, and the challenges he had to overcome on his entrepreneurial journey! He also shares top tips for entrepreneurs struggling with structure. Check it out below!

Paul, tell us about Lenuity and what motivated you to startup.

Lenuity is all about creating value where people don’t see it. it’s about unlocking opportunity and creating fair financial relationships of high value where everyone’s a winner. I am so grateful and excited to have a platform that works to address societal issues like housing scarcity, unemployment and wealth building.

Tell us about your journey on the Barclays Black Founder Accelerator 2.0?

Barclays BFA is amazing! The Barclays’ name alone attracts a wealth of incredible talent and people at the top of their game. We had weekly masterclasses delivered by leaders in their fields, but this was just the tip of the iceberg: I was introduced to mentors with outstanding achievements in areas that are directly related to my field. Even after completing the Accelerator, I continue to enjoy the full support of Foundervine, Barclays Eagle Labs and Barclays Rise. Every week I receive something from them: specialist help, a mentoring session or an introduction. My inbox is a testament to their full commitment and ongoing support towards Lenuity and my success.

We are in a time of high inflation, high-interest rates and an energy crisis, how does this affect your business?

Lenuity is part of the solution, so our biggest challenge being a startup is getting the word out there that we can help in a big way.

House Building is a big contributor to the economy, it creates jobs, provides homes and builds wealth, but they are in trouble: mortgage rates have gone up and are rising, 33% of sales fall through and the costs to build are still climbing.

We address all these problems in innovative ways, making it easier for their customers to buy and more profitable for them and that certainty will increase their share value.

We can help with levelling up affordable housing with financial products that reduce inflation and enable the building of more homes. This is a time for us to thrive by helping people get into homes at lower costs and businesses to be more profitable with more and higher paying jobs.

What have been the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome in your entrepreneurial journey?

Time and Resources: As a solo entrepreneur, the biggest challenges I’ve faced are managing my time and limited resources. While this is a short answer, they’re both crucial aspects that require a lot of work and effort — and these are things that will make or break your business.

Is there anything you wish you’d known before starting up?

Firstly, do not expect investment at every turn. Secondly, take the time to read up on other people’s stories, and watch videos of how different businesses started off. Thirdly, don’t be afraid to switch up your ideas if you fail.

Lastly, the experience and contacts you gain along the way will be incredibly valuable and crucial to your journey.

What are some of the important milestones and recognitions in your journey so far?

My first important milestone was writing (and releasing) my book, Seller Finance UK. But what I am most proud of is building Lenuity myself. Going through the stages of planning, wireframing, creating a style guide and then actually building a working platform that is able to process thousands of transactions — while simultaneously launching the US version of the platform — is definitely something I’m proud of and my biggest accomplishment thus far.

I love doing customer demos showing how we can help people complete commercial property sales in 14 days while helping the seller to make 30% more and yet make the purchase cheaper for the buyer. It seems impossible, so when people get a demonstration and see that it is really possible they go crazy.

Any top tips for entrepreneurs struggling with structure?

1. Immersing yourself in the startup community will accelerate your learning.
2. Learn how big businesses got started, and what their journey was like.
3. Familiarise yourself with different business models, as they expose you to different ways of thinking and different ways to make money.
4. Find your ‘thing’ and become an expert in what you want to do.
5. Learn about sales funnels! I am a fan of the One Funnel Away Challenge and the Two Comma Club Live; both these platforms teach you how to make money fast without even having a product.

Entrepreneurial communities can be such a powerful support network — do you have any asks or gives to the vine community?

I would just emphasise that being part of an entrepreneurial community is key. You will quickly find out about various learning opportunities, pitch days, funding options, law changes, tax credits, and even competitions!

You don’t know what you don’t know but somebody in the community does; so contribute, support, participate and benefit. Remember business is a team sport even when you’re a solo entrepreneur!

What is your USP?

Complete your sale in 14 days and make 30% more money. We are radically different to other lenders in that we do not actually lend any money. We help owners of an asset (mostly land or commercial property) of significant value create a payment plan for their customers. This is not a new concept: last year $24bn in loans was generated this way in the USA, but on each occasion, they were inventing their own process.

What we have introduced, is a standardised process to deliver consistency and reduce risk.

In terms of lending products, we can do amazing things like offer 95% Loan to value mortgages fixed for 8 years at 2% APR for affordable housing. We also help housebuilders provide mortgages for their customers and complete a sale in 5 days. Software is easy to scale so in the future, we can extend service to rural India, Nigeria, South Africa, Brazil or even Afghanistan. There is no other lender with the same capacity at the moment.

So what are some of the marquee goals in your journey ahead?

1. We have amazing deflationary products for Social Housing that will lower the barriers to entry, and provide more funds to build more homes.
2. Soon we will provide customer financing for house builders. House builders will be able to complete sales quickly and increase their profitability so that they can outbid and out-build their competition.
3. The US has a large decentralised market for privately created mortgages; we are bringing standardisation and plan to launch a web 3.0 centralised trading platform for the secondary market.

Thanks, Paul, any final words of wisdom for our Vine Community?

My word of wisdom is ‘engage’. It can be hard to find genuine support as there is a lot of disappointment out there. But I urge you to seize any opportunity to be engaged with a community like Foundervine: a community rich with resources.

The saying ‘many hands make light work’ is true: whatever stage you are at in your journey, engage — do not remain on the sidelines.

Be active; ask and answer questions; share your opinion; share resources; and, ask for what you need. You never know what you might get from putting yourself out there — it might even be more valuable to you than you ever could have imagined!

The Vine Community brings together a network of Changemakers ready to lead and transform our society by making innovation open to anyone, anywhere.

Want to learn more about the Vine Community and how to get involved? Get in touch!