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00:00BEFORE HE HEADS DOWN TO THE EXCHANGE. CHARLIE YOUAKIM YOU OPERATE IN THE U.S. AND CANADA. WHY AUSTRALIA? CHARLIE: IT IS A CLUSTER FOR OUR SECTOR. THERE ARE NUMBER OF COMPANIES, AND THAT MEANS INVESTOR IS REALLY EDUCATED ON THE SECTOR, MUCH MORE THAN THE TYPICAL U.S. INVESTOR. PAUL: YOUR GOAL IS TO RAISE 43 MILLION AUSTRALIAN. WHAT WILL YOU USE THAT MONEY FOR? CHARLIE: MAINLY ON THE MARKETING FRONT. IT'S TO EXPAND INTO A REALLY LARGE OPPORTUNITY IN NORTH AMERICA. SHERY: ARE YOU AT ALL WORRIED THAT THE CAPITAL YOU NEED MIGHT OUTGROW THE AUSTRALIAN MARKET? CHARLIE: THE VAST MAJORITY OF FUNDS WE ARE TALKING WITH OUR BILLION DOLLAR FUNDS. WE DON'T SEE IT OUTSTRIPPING THEIR CAPABILITIES TO FUND US. SHERY: HOW MANY RETAILERS ARE YOU WORKING WITH NOW? CHARLIE: THE LAST DATA POINT I CAN SPEAK WITH IS MARCH. WE HAD 3300 ACTIVE RETAILERS ON THE PLATFORM AND WE HAD 260 9000 ACTIVE CUSTOMERS. PAUL: YOU ARE PLANNING TO EXPAND BETWEEN THE U.S. AND CANADA. WOULD YOU START HERE IN AUSTRALIA? CHARLIE: IT'S NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION. AUSTRALIA WOULD NOT BE OUR TOP MARKET, BUT WE BELIEVE THE PRODUCT LINZIE ITSELF WELL TO EXPANDING INTERNATIONALLY. WE ARE RESEARCHING NEW MARKETS, BUT THE BEST -- VAST MAJORITY OF OUR FOCUS IS IN NORTH AMERICA. PAUL: YOU DO HAVE COMPETITORS LISTED ON THE ASX. THE TERRITORY IS GETTING A BIT CROWDED. HOW DO YOU DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF? CHARLIE: EVERY ONE OF THOSE COMPANIES HAS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT VIEWPOINT WHICH HELPS WITH THE COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE. SPLITIT TENDS TO LEND ITSELF INTO THE HIGH-VALUE SPACE. ZIP IS NOT PRESENT IN OUR LANDSCAPE IN THE COMPETITIVE SET. IT'S REALLY US AND AFTER PAY. THE WAY WE FACE THE COMPETITION IN THE UNITED STATES, ALMOST TO THE EXTENT THAT WERE SEEN AS A SOCIAL IMPACTS PRODUCT. PAUL: WITH THESE NEW PRODUCTS YOU ARE ENTERING INTO UNCHARTED TERRITORY TO A DEGREE. YOU HAVE ATTRACTED ATTENTION OF ONE OF THE REGULATORS FOR SUSPECTED NONCOMPLIANCE -- ARE YOU CONFIDENT YOU WILL NOT RUN INTO THESE SORT OF DIFFICULTIES? CHARLIE: IT'S DIFFERENT THAN HERE IN AUSTRALIA. OF COURSE WHEN YOU HAVE SOMEONE THAT HAS BLAZED THE TRAIL AHEAD OF YOU LIKE AFTERPAY HAS IN AUSTRALIA, WE PROACTIVELY REACT TO THOSE IN PLAN AHEAD. WE ARE QUITE CONFIDENT THAT WE'VE PUT SYSTEMS IN PLACE TO AVOID THOSE TYPES OF INCIDENTS IN THE U.S. SHERY: SO HOW DIFFERENT ARE YOUR METRICS TO ASSESS RISK WHEN IT COMES TO TRADITIONAL LENDERS? CHARLIE: WE DO USE SOME TRADITIONAL ELEMENTS TO ANALYZE THE RISK INVOLVED WITH OFFERING OUR PRODUCT TO CONSUMERS. WE ALSO USE SOME NEW AGE PRODUCTS THAT HAVE LEND THEMSELVES WELL TO TECH. WE KNOW THE USER'S MOBILE PHONE NUMBER, THERE EMAIL ADDRESS ARE TOOLS TIED TO THOSE DATA POINTS AND WE PULL EVERYTHING TOGETHER THAT WE CAN WHEN THEY CHECK OUT AND THAT HELPS MITIGATE OUR RISKS. PAUL: YOU NEXT ENGAGEMENT IS DOWN AT THE EXCHANGE, NOT FAR FROM WHERE WE ARE SITTING NOW. THEY WERE UP 900%. CHARLIE: OUR VIEWPOINT FROM OUR MEETINGS WITH INVESTORS, THEY HAVE BEEN VERY POSITIVE. THAT GIVES US SOME CONFIDENCE IN WHAT WE ARE DOING. WE REALLY HAVE A LONG-TERM VIEW IN THIS COUNTRY AND ARE TRYING TO BILL FOR THE NEXT 7-10 YEARS.

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U.S. Payment Startup Sezzle CEO on Australia IPO, Strategy

Charlie Youakim, chief executive officer and co-founder of Minneapolis-based Sezzle, a "buy now, pay later" platform targeted at younger consumers, explains why the company is listing its shares in Australia, and discusses his business strategy. He speaks with Paul Allen and Shery Ahn on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Australia." (Source: Bloomberg)

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