Idealog – July 26, 2019

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Idealog.co.nz | The Transformation Issue

“We realised that we could bring self-employment
in to the 21st century, and do all of this and more as
a single end-to-end service that took all the stress
away, allowing people to focus back on the things they
actually want to do, knowing that all their financial
admin was taken care of,” Fuller says.
Hnry’s service was designed in 2017, with input
from New Zealand’s four biggest accounting firms,
legal experts and government agencies, leading to it
becoming an accredited tax agent for the IRD and ACC.
It also was a graduate of the 2017 KiwiBank Fintech
Accelerator, and finally launched to the public in 2018.
While its launch was bootstrapped, in 2018, Hnry
raised nearly $1 million from local investors such
as accountants, financial professionals and angel
investors. The company now counts eight full-time
staff and has almost outgrown its Wellington office.
Fuller says in terms of users, Hnry has gone from
having a few early adopters on board, to thousands of
people now using its service in under two years.
“We’re seeing a massive rise in the number of
people who are starting to earn independently – not
just full time contractors, freelancers, gig-workers
and self-employed people, but also people working
alongside their permanent jobs, and people later in
their careers deciding to come back to the workforce
part time,” he says.

As for Hnry’s biggest competitor, Fuller says its service

is unique, so the main competition is individuals who are

trying to do everything themselves. This proved a challenge

when trying to get word out about its services initially, but

he says referrals have been a game changer.

Fuller says another point of difference with its services

is Hnry isn’t a faceless software corporation. It is now

classed as New Zealand’s fastest growing tax agency, and

has local tax experts on hand for users to engage with.

In terms of the gig economy, Fuller says if New

Zealand continues to move in line with global trends, the

number of Kiwis who are self-employed is set to rise over

the coming years.

“Globally, the self-employed economy is predicted to

grow by 50 percent year-on-year for the next few years, so

we’re definitely seeing a huge rise in the number of people

who are looking to earn independently.

“With the emergence of new gig economy services

like Uber, Lime and Airbnb, we’re also seeing a whole

new generation of independent earners being added to

the hundreds of thousands of existing Kiwi contractors

and freelancers.”

As for the company’s next moves, Fuller says there’s

been interest for Hnry’s services overseas, so it’s exploring

some ways it could take its Kiwi slant on self-employment

out to the rest of the world.

“We have a large number of customers who work

for overseas clients, receiving income from overseas in to

their Hnry accounts, and we really want to help others take

advantage of opportunities like this, helping people get

the most out of being an independent earner by opening

up the opportunity to earn income from both outside New

Zealand, as well as closer to home.”

He says Hnry’s big, audacious goal all boils down to

helping as many people as they can, as the flexibility of

work life increases.

“Our team have all felt the pain of the financial admin

first hand, and we want to help others to avoid it,” he

says. “We’re committed to continuing to provide a service

that’s accessible to anyone, at a price point that is fair and

reasonable for everyone.”

We realised that

we could bring

self-employment in

to the 21st century, and

do all of this and more

as a single end-to-end

service that took all the

stress away, allowing

people to focus back on

the things they actually

want to do, knowing

that all their financial

admin was taken

care of.

JAMES FULLER

Hnry CEO

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP:
What the Hnry platform looks like on
mobile and on a browser, the Hnry team.

elevator pitch