Jeffrey Liu- Co-Founder And CEO Of Jenfi- Now Grow Your Business Faster!

Jeffrey Liu is the co-founder and CEO of Jenfi, a financial technology company that lends to small businesses in Asia based on revenue.

Previously, Jeffrey was the co-founder and CEO of GuavaPass, a fitness subscription service, which he scaled across 12 markets across Asia and the Middle East. The company was subsequently sold to ClassPass in 2018.

Jeffrey brings a strong operational and financial background from his various startup ventures, hedge fund, and investment banking experience. He has an MBA from Chicago Booth.

In an exclusive interview with AsiaTechDaily, Jeffrey says:

There’s more to life than just running a startup. It’s important to remember your loved ones – your significant other and family and friends – as there’s limited time for all of us to spend with one another. They will also be your biggest cheerleaders in times of stress. You’ll never regret spending too much time with those you care about. 

Life situations are often difficult to predict. Rather than requiring everything to go your way, it’s better to keep an open mind and embrace change as it happens. Even in tough situations, you can learn and grow to become a better person.

Read on to know more about Jeffrey Liu and his journey.

Please tell me about your personal background, and what are you working on currently?

Jeffrey Liu: I am the co-founder and CEO of Jenfi. We are a financial technology company that specializes in lending to small businesses in Asia based on revenue.

What motivated you to get started with your company?

Jeffrey Liu: I previously founded GuavaPass (which was sold to ClassPass in 2018). At that time, we were helping boutique studios gain more exposure to new customers and to generate more sales via our fitness subscription platform. Working closely with small business owners made me realize how difficult it was to finance their business. 

This motivated me to start a financing platform that would provide purpose-driven capital so small businesses can fund their marketing and growth expenses to grow further.

What is your current main product, and (If there is any) can you share any product pivot story from founding to the current product?

Jeffrey Liu: We provide small business loans for the specific purpose of funding business spend that drives growth for the business. This includes digital marketing, offline marketing, inventory, and other growth expenses.

We have the most flexible repayment model that allows small business owners to pay us back via a small percentage of their future revenue.

We also offer a virtual Jenfi MasterCard for small business owners who do not have a card for online card payments. This is a perfect solution for spending on high volume online payments, such as Facebook Advertising or Google Adwords.

How much money (funding) have you raised in total so far? When was the recent funding round? 

Jeffrey Liu: We are a YCombinator-backed company. We currently have not disclosed our funding details.

How have you attracted users and grown your company from the start? And Which were your marketing strategies to grow your business?

Jeffrey Liu: We have found success through word-of-mouth and referrals. Small business owners have been excited about how we have been able to align with their business success (via our revenue share model).

We are also attracting channel partners to engage with us, including marketing agencies and e-commerce platforms, as we provide a unique solution to their existing clients.

Which is the best marketing tool for the growth of your startup, and why? 

Jeffrey Liu: Existing customers are the best marketing tool. They can become your best advocates, by referring other business owners as well as continuing the relationship with us in a larger capacity. 

What do most startups get wrong about marketing in general?

Jeffrey Liu: Some startups think that there’s a magic bullet for marketing, and all they need is to find that one channel to grow quickly. Also, you can’t just “buy customers.” Over time, you need organic growth to help you grow in a sustainable fashion.

In reality, you are marketing a series of continuous steps to test and iterate through numerous channels until you find an optimal mix of options to find quality customers.

What were the internal decision processes in determining when to begin fundraising, and what were the logistics for this? And how many investors have you met so far, and how did you meet these investors and which channels worked best for you?

Jeffrey Liu: The rule-of-thumb is that you should decide if you are in fundraising mode or not, as fundraising is a very distracting process. The best time to start fundraising is when you have at least 6 months of cash runway. The best investors have always been through referrals from trusted friends, advisors, and partners. Investors become a permanent part of your business building as they stick with you through the very end. Therefore, it’s important to align yourselves with quality investors that will support you not only through the good times but also be supportive during the bad times. Good chemistry is really important. 

What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced and obstacles in the process of fundraising? If you had to start over, what would you do differently? (Your insight or advice on this would be very helpful for startups)

Jeffrey Liu: The biggest challenge in fundraising is dealing with situations that are out of your control. For example, the recent COV-19 situation has made fundraising for many startups more challenging as investors have started pulling back. At the same time, there’s an opportunity to find high-quality investors today who are willing to support you even in challenging times. My advice is never to give up as there are always people out there who are investing and willing to help you.

What are your milestones for the next round? And what are your goals for the future?

Jeffrey Liu: Our goal is to become the most dependable financial and technology platform for small businesses across Asia. This includes not only providing tailored financing products but also technology tools to help them optimize and run their business better. We want to be there for every step of a small business owner’s journey.

How do you plan to expand globally?

Jeffrey Liu: When I was running GuavaPass, I expanded the business to 12 markets across Asia and the Middle East. This experience has taught me the importance of localizing a product offering for the market and aligning ourselves with the best partners. Similarly, we plan to expand methodically across the Asia Pacific region, by successfully localizing with our product offering one market at a time.

What are the most common mistakes companies make with global marketing?

Jeffrey Liu: There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach. Each market needs its own growth strategy – from channel mix to content strategy to localization. 

What are the most common mistakes founders make when they start a company? (or What should all first-time startup founders know before they start their business?)

Jeffrey Liu: First-time startup founders should understand that running a startup is a very long journey. It’s easy to get caught up with the appeal of being a CEO and raising large amounts of funding. The reality is you spend 99% of your time grinding it out, dealing with business problems that can be trivial or large, and generally having to make tough business decisions with limited time and resources.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? And What advice do you have for someone who is interested in doing similar things like yours or in a similar direction?

Jeffrey Liu: The best advice I’ve ever received is to stay true to yourself. Running a startup is a sales job. You first have to sell yourself, then your business partners, then your investors, then your customers, and finally, your employees. If you can’t even convince yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing, that’s a major problem. There will always be doubters at every step of the way. It’s fine to get feedback from others, but it’s also important not to forget to listen to yourself as well.

What are the one or two things that you would do differently to improve your life (or what kind of personal habits would you improved?) if you could go back to 10 years ago? 

Jeffrey Liu: There’s more to life than just running a startup. It’s important to remember your loved ones – your significant other and family and friends – as there’s limited time for all of us to spend with one another. They will also be your biggest cheerleaders in times of stress. You’ll never regret spending too much time with those you care about. 

Life situations are often difficult to predict. Rather than requiring everything to go your way, it’s better to keep an open mind and embrace change as it happens. Even in tough situations, you can learn and grow to become a better person.

You can follow Jeffrey Liu here.

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