"I think of us as an AI enabled debt collection business — which is definitely not the sexiest industry by far, but it's a fundamental part of the ecosystem of how credit is extended." Josh started it 10 years ago believing technology could transform collections in three ways: digitize a human, analog process; replace unsophisticated methods with machine learning (and now AI); and bring real customer experience to an ugly industry.
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Collections has always been "people on the phones chasing people to pay their bills" — Josh thought that had to be digitizable. It's also unsophisticated: at the time, machine learning represented the biggest opportunity, and now AI is the next level. And it's an industry with no concept of customer experience: "you don't go, ah, I'm getting the same type of experience at Four Seasons I am with the collection company. But why not? Why can't you be respectful and treat people with empathy and provide a really good user experience?"
The result, ten years in: "we help millions of people every year go through that process in a far better way than they have before." The core mechanic is a quadrant of capability to pay versus willingness to pay — customers give off signals as you engage with them, and the technology uses those signals to change how it engages. If someone has money and wants to pay a $30 bill, don't make them print a barcode and take cash to Australia Post — send an SMS with a link they can double-tap with Apple Pay while walking down the stairs.