New strategy for Superhero after failed $1.5bn merger with Swyftx

Two months after walking away from a tie-up with Swyftx, the start-up has bolstered its leadership stocks and revealed an international expansion.

Superhero head of strategy Rachel Hopping.

Two months after walking away from a $1.5bn merger with Swyftx, share trading and superannuation platform Superhero has hired its first head of strategy.

And its co-founders say they’re targeting new partnerships and a New Zealand expansion after taking back control of the company.

In December a planned tie-up between Superhero and cryptocurrency exchange Swyftx fell apart. Superhero chief executive John Winters blamed crypto volatility for the deal’s collapse.

“The volatility in the market as well as the regulatory environment made it increasingly difficult to achieve the initial vision that inspired Swyftx’s acquisition of Superhero,” Mr Winters told The Australian.

“After several discussions with Swyftx’s leadership and its board late last year, we came to the decision that demerging was in the best interests of Superhero, our team and our customers.

“Superhero has now returned to being independently owned by myself and my co-founder, Wayne Baskin, as well as our loyal investors who have supported the growth of Superhero since 2018.”

Superhero’s list of investors includes Afterpay co-founder Nick Molnar and Zip co-founder Larry Diamond, along with fund managers Regal, Wilson Asset Management and Ophir.

The start-up is now looking ahead, hiring its first head of strategy, Rachel Hopping, who was previously at Superhero for two years as its first hire in marketing before taking on a role at Fintech Australia.

“Rachel was a key part of the Superhero team for over two years, joining as our 12th hire. She spearheaded major marketing campaigns and was instrumental in developing relationships with key partners,” Mr Winters said.

Superhero chief executive John Winters.

“As Superhero enters this new phase of growth and our focus shifts to exploring strategic partnerships with other financial services companies, Rachel is the perfect person to drive our business strategy forward.”

Ms Hopping said that despite the ongoing tech downturn, Superhero was hiring for new roles, and had plenty of cash despite the failed Swyftx merger. The Brisbane-based Swyftx laid off 160 employees across two redundancy rounds last year.

“We run lean as a business, we don’t have massive teams and everyone is very much an expert in what they do and we all work together,” Ms Hopping said.

“We very much have a culture here of people learning and growing within the business which is great to see.

“The market has been quite volatile but Superhero’s trading volumes are actually up 20 per cent year on year and we’re still hiring and growing. We now have 230,000 users on the platform.

“We’re still very young and our products allow someone to invest for the first time with just $100, or $10,000 and our superannuation product is a massive priority for us as well, allowing people to invest up to 75 per cent of their super into shares and ETFs.”

He said Superhero and Swyftx had similar missions in wanting to make investing more accessible, and there was “great motivation” to complete the merger from both sides, but the regulatory and crypto volatility made a de-merger the best option.

Superhero was co-founded by Mr Winters and chief technology officer Mr Baskin in 2018, and is now beginning a delayed New Zealand expansion.

“There are some pretty big things in train for Superhero this year,” Mr Winters said.

“We are looking at a number of strategic partnerships which will position Superhero for significant growth, as well as a planned rollout of a number of new product features. In addition, entering the New Zealand market is still a priority.

“While this was put on hold in 2022, we know there are millions of eager Kiwi investors who are looking for a comprehensive, single platform on which to grow their wealth and manage their investments.”