Founder Stories | Wombat Invest

Kane Harrison is the CEO and Co-Founder of Wombat Invest, a multi-award-winning investment platform that aims to make investing accessible and stress-free for everyone. Kane founded the business with his fellow Co-Founder and COO, Mike Newman , to help empower people to take back control of their financial future, and break down the perceived barriers to investing.

Kane was lucky that his father introduced him to investing at a young age. He would watch as he sifted through company reports, scanned the financial pages and listened out for tips. It may not sound terribly exciting, but Kane was enthralled and knew early on that he wanted to follow in his footsteps and become an investor when old enough. However, it very quickly became apparent that there were a whole host of barriers stopping him from doing that.

Not only were the fees astronomical, but this was the era before fractional shares, and so some companies’ share prices dwarfed what he earned in a month. He soon realised that in order to make investing worthwhile he would need to save up at least $1,000 – or around three times my monthly salary at the time.

That’s where the idea for Wombat Invest was born.

When we launched Wombat in 2019, we built the company on the promise to make investing effortless, relatable and accessible. We are thrilled to be able to say that we are now one of the UK’s cheapest investment platforms for those who want to buy shares through the tax-free shelter of an ISA.

With millennials in the UK set to inherit ￡327bn in the next 10 years and yet, despite the recent proliferation of FinTech, almost half of them consider their long-term financial future to be their primary stress driver. Wombat Invest aims to tap into this ageing-up market and help them with their financial future.

Backed by serial technology investors including Fuel Ventures and the former UKBAA Angel Investor of the Year, they’ve grown to over 230,000 users and are operating in the UK's ￡2.5trn investment platform market.

At time of publication (Tuesday 9th August 2022) Wombat Invest is open for investment on Crowdcube. You can own shares in the business from ￡14.70.

Visit the pitch page.

Investments of this nature carry risks to your capital. Please invest aware. Read the full risk warning. This article was first published on 09.08.22.