Quoin’s mission is to help people achieve home ownership. To accomplish this goal, Quoin is creating a software platform constructed to power an innovative financial service designed to bring first-time homebuyers and property owners together. We call this service “Rent-to-Deposit.”
The housing is characterized by two qualities – affordability and accessibility.
Despite being able to pay rent or make mortgage payments, millions of people cannot access the property market. Government backed housing schemes are affordable but limit occupants by socio-economic circumstances and rarely foster full equity. Rented accommodation is accessible but at a high cost and with no equity accumulation. Homeownership is unaffordable and inaccessible because of the large monetary commitment and high credit score needed to qualify for a mortgage.
By merging rental and buying models we’ve developed a new way for people to have a place to call their own – ensuring homes are affordable and accessible.
“Rent-to-Deposit” turns monthly rent into purchasing power, enabling buyers to save for a mortgage deposit while living in their future home. Over two-to-four years rent is split and saved in a way that allows the buyer to afford a deposit. This is done while still providing strong profitability to the property seller by minimizing their expenses.
For buyers, “rent-to-deposit” allows customers to pay market rate rent on their property with the added benefit of potentially earning back up to 30% of their total rent payments. In under four years, this payment plan will build a deposit equal to 5-8% of the property value – automatically qualifying customers for a mortgage in the UK.
For sellers, “rent-to-deposit” offers tax benefits, cost minimizations, secure rental income, and controlled sale prices. Our goal is to accomplish this through potential capital gains and income tax reliefs and matching sellers with renters who purchase the property which reduces maintenance costs.
At scale, by operating as a FinTech company Quoin will not be locked into the singular revenue model. We have already begun explorations of additional revenue streams from our software’s platform presentation and its overall functionality. This will allow us to grow quickly and diversify within the market.
Quoin is a pre-trading business that has begun software development for the core product needed to run our financial service. Over the last few months, working with our coaches, the team focused on refining the business model to what we have today. Our journey has included ups and downs, including a substantial business model shift inspired by advice received from previous business competition applications.
Our new model aims to make the traditional rent to buy housing models more efficient and palatable for all parties involved. This allows for a needed redistribution of the current housing stock and a substantial creation of new homeowners in a generation that feels increasingly locked out of the market.
Quoin was launched by four MSc. graduates from the University of Edinburgh who connected over a passion to make housing more affordable. Our global team represents the United States, India, Italy, and Ireland. Each member brings unique expertise, representing industries including financial planning and business management, robotics and automation, engineering, angel investment, and design.
As students, we were inspired to pursue this venture after meeting in our degree program. We bonded over our frustrations of paying rent, understanding that we were paying someone else’s mortgage. Also, we lamented the fact that none of us could purchase a home without a substantial loan from a family member. We realized that the system was broken and that there needed to be a new solution.
Our core values are driven by the belief that anyone striving for home ownership should have the opportunity to buy regardless of who they are or where they originated. We strongly believe in “empowering” people to achieve this opportunity, affording them the “respect” of owning an appreciable asset, and we strive to facilitate the sense of “accomplishment.”
Since founding Quoin, we have achieved several key milestones for the business as well as being recognized by awards and competition wins.
Quoin was selected as one of the 12 finalists for the Scottish EDGE Wild Card EDGE business competition from a pool of 90 applicants. Additionally, Quoin was one of a handful of start-ups to graduate from the 2021 EIT Climate LaunchPad Accelerator program – a program that the team had the privilege of participating in because of its National and European wins at the Climate LaunchPad Start-up competition. We were also a recipient of the Graduate Enterprise Grant from the Data Driven Innovation (DDI) initiative recently launched by the University of Edinburgh which was awarded to the business to help fund our initial software development.
After a comprehensive product development process Quoin has begun software development of its core product. It is being built in PHP in a containerized structure, with the first phase focusing on establishing back-end functionality, core API integrations and the initial seller facing portal. Quoin is also preparing to engage in user testing of a prototype of the product. Our development has been carefully planned to allow both projects to run concurrently, to ensure that the business moves forward as rapidly as possible.
Furthermore, Quoin has now launched its bespoke website, with custom calculator function to help visitors understand the Rent to Deposit model, and to gather insights and data.
Alexander Koveleski – CEO
Alexander has taken on the leadership role of Quoin, bringing extensive experience with financial planning and analysis, and overseeing the complex financial development Quoin requires. In his career he has created numerous financial models in preparation for acquisition activities while working extensively with investment bankers.
Richard Murphy – Head of Product
Richard brings 10+ years of experience in design work to lead the team’s product development needs. His career gave him the opportunity to work across a range of sectors from leading product design in tech scale-ups to delivering brand-driven interior designs.
Supraja Balasundaram – Head of Technology –
Supraja is the technical lead for Quoin, and she is tasked with overall project management and development of Quoin’s software. Supraja’s experience in operations, management of engineering and automation projects mean she is uniquely qualified to oversee software development.
Federico Moro – Head of Communication
Federico is responsible for communications, PR, community outreach, and customer relations. Federico has an in-depth knowledge of the funding landscape through research into the Angel Investment sector.
