UKTN Podcast: Zilch CEO on US expansion and why ‘growth at all costs’ is dead

The latest UKTN Podcast is out now. This week’s guest is Philip Belamant, co-founder and CEO of fintech company Zilch.

The London-headquartered company provides buy now pay later (BNPL) services that let consumers purchase products in interest-free instalments.

Zilch has grown rapidly since its launch 18 months ago and now has more than two million customers.

The double unicorn – valued at more than $2bn – recently launched in the US and opened a headquarters in Miami.

During the show, Belamant tells UKTN Podcast host Mark McDonagh how Zilch plans to win over 120 million potential customers across the Atlantic.

Belamant also digs into the current market downturn, and how it’s affecting fintech companies.

“One thing we’ve seen in the market over the last few years is this concept of growth at all costs,” said Belamant. “And the problem is you’ve had some awesome fintechs build some really cool products but missing one thing – and normally it’s a business model.”

Elsewhere on the UKTN Podcast, Belamant explains how Zilch differentiates itself from competitors such as Klarna and Afterpay, and reveals some of the problems he sees with their approach to BNPL.

The Zilch founder, who is originally from South Africa, recalls how an investor pulled out of funding last-minute when they had the “term sheet in hand”.

Belamant explains why the UK is lucky to have so many family office and high net worth individuals prepared to back tech startups.

He also digs into the current BNPL trends and how he views interest-free payments as a useful tool amid the cost-of-living crisis, and where he sees the BNPL space going.

“Never before has nothing meant so much,” said Belamant, referring to interest-free payments.

This is the final episode of the first season of the UKTN Podcast – but don’t worry, we’ll be back with season two after a short break.

In the meantime, you can find all previous episodes of the UKTN Podcast here.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the UKTN Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you catch your favourite podcasts.

The UKTN Podcast is sponsored by Uncapped, which provides no-equity investments from £10,000 to £5m to the founders and companies who are changing the world.