Roshi presents a dual-pronged approach to the Singaporean fintech market: a traditional financial comparison engine and a novel real-time home loan bidding platform. The deck identifies 'information overload' and 'shameless self-interest' in existing players as the primary pain points. Roshi’s competitive edge is built on a lean operational model and a customer acquisition strategy led by a founder described as a top search specialist. While the deck provides strong market search data (5.6 million yearly searches on Slide 11) and a clear revenue model involving commissions and subscriptions (…
Key takeaways
- The platform features a three-step mortgage auction process where banks bid for the user's business (Slides 6-8).
- Singapore is the primary launch market, citing US$735 million raised by local fintechs in 2019 (Slide 10).
- Market size is quantified by 5.6 million+ yearly Google searches in Singapore for products listed on Roshi (Slide 11).
- Competitive analysis highlights MoneySmart as the leader with 871,636 average monthly unique visitors (Slide 13).
- The growth roadmap targets one million unique visits through data-led content and low operational costs (Slide 15).
- Revenue is diversified across affiliate commissions, product sponsorships, loan brokerage, and lender subscription fees (Slide 16).
- The deck omits a team slide, providing no names or bios for the 'top search specialist' founder or other staff.
- There is no specific 'Ask' slide detailing the amount of capital sought or the intended use of funds.
Executive Summary: The Martial Arts of Fintech Comparison
Roshi’s pitch deck is a stylistically consistent presentation that uses a martial arts theme—specifically referencing 'Master Roshi' archetypes—to position the company as a source of 'wisdom' in a deceptive financial market. The deck focuses on the Singaporean market, emphasizing a transition from passive comparison to active bidding for home loans. While the market data and product flow are well-defined, the deck lacks the specific corporate and team details necessary for a final investment decision.
Slide 1: Title Slide
The deck opens with a minimalist title slide featuring the company name 'Roshi' and the tagline 'Master All Your Money Moves.' The logo incorporates a stylized mustache icon, reinforcing the 'wise old master' branding that persists throughout the deck.
Slides 2-3: The Problem of Deception
Slide 2 asks 'How did it all go wrong?' in the financial comparison space. Slide 3 identifies three core issues: Information Overload (consumers are overwhelmed), Shameless Self-Interest (platforms promote products with the highest commissions), and Organised Deception (platforms owned by providers to mine data). The slide uses imagery from the film Kill Bill to represent these 'villains.'
Slide 4: The Philosophical Solution
Slide 4 presents a simple dichotomy: 'Too much knowledge confuses' versus 'Wisdom reduces.' This sets the stage for Roshi to act as a curator rather than just a directory, though it remains high-level and conceptual.
Slide 5: The Vision and Product Scope
Slide 5 defines what Roshi is building: the first real-time home loan bidding platform in the market and an unbiased, consumer-centric comparison website. It includes mockups of the interface on both tablet and mobile devices, showing categories like Credit Cards, Home Loans, Investing, and Personal Loans.
Slides 6-8: The Three-Step Bidding Process
These slides walk through the user journey for the mortgage auction. Step 1 (Slide 6) : The user sets up a mortgage auction by inputting property details. Step 2 (Slide 7) : The user watches banks and brokers bid on the request. A mockup shows an HSBC offer with specific interest rates. Step 3 (Slide 8) : The user picks their preferred loan option via a chat interface with a loan manager.
Slide 9: Feature Set and Roadmap
Slide 9 lists current and upcoming categories. Credit Cards (+14 sub-categories), Loans (+8), and Investing (+5) are listed as active. Insurance (+8) and Utilities (+4) are marked as 'coming soon.' The slide also lists functional features: Calculation, Comparison, Sort, Filter, and Ratings.
Slide 10: The Singaporean Opportunity
This slide justifies the focus on Singapore, calling it an 'essential hub' for Southeast Asia. It cites that Singaporean fintech companies raised US$735 million in 2019 , representing a 69% year-over-year increase. It also lists target markets for expansion: Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, and Taiwan.
Slide 11: Market Size and Search Volume
Slide 11 provides specific top-of-funnel metrics. It claims 5.6 million+ yearly product searches via Google Singapore for products listed on Roshi. It breaks down specific annual sign-up volumes: 216,209 for Credit Cards, 86,000 for New Home Loans, and 373,000 for Personal Loans.
Slides 12-14: Competitive Landscape
Slide 13 provides traffic data for incumbents. MoneySmart leads with 871,636 monthly unique visitors, followed by Seedly (618,297) and SingSaver (285,431). The slide highlights that organic search accounts for the vast majority of their traffic (up to 84%). Slide 14 uses a star-rating system to show category strength across competitors, noting that most are weak in 'Robo Advisor' and 'Home Loan' categories compared to their 'Credit Card' dominance.
Slide 15: The Growth Roadmap
Slide 15 outlines the path to one million unique visits . The strategy relies on the founder's SEO expertise, data-led content creation, and keeping operational costs low through outsourcing. It also mentions future 'free disruptive tools' like a ride-hailing comparison app to diversify traffic sources.
Slide 16: Revenue Model
The final slide breaks down monetization into four quadrants. The comparison side earns via Product Sponsorships and Affiliate Commissions . The bidding side earns via Loan Brokerage Commissions and Monthly Subscription Fees from lenders. This demonstrates a diversified income stream that isn't solely dependent on lead generation.
What Roshi Does Well
The deck excels at identifying a specific gap in a mature market. By focusing on the 'Home Loan Bidding' aspect, Roshi moves away from being a 'me-too' comparison site and offers a utility that incumbents like MoneySmart or SingSaver (at the time of the deck) were not emphasizing. The use of search volume data (5.6 million searches) is a highly effective way to prove demand to investors, especially when coupled with a founder who claims deep SEO expertise. The revenue model is also comprehensive, showing an understanding of both B2C and B2B monetization.
What is Missing from the Deck
The most glaring omission is the Team Slide . While the deck mentions a founder who is a 'top search specialist,' it provides no name, no track record, and no mention of a technical or operations team. For a fintech company, the lack of regulatory or banking expertise on the team slide is a significant red flag. Additionally, there is no Financial Projections slide; we see how they will make money, but not how much they expect to make or what their burn rate looks like. Finally, the Ask is missing. A pitch deck is a tool to raise capital, yet this deck fails to state how much is being raised, at what valuation, or what the milestones for that capital will be.
Founder's Guide: What to Copy
Specific Market Data: Use Google Search volume to validate your market. It is a 'hard' metric that proves people are actively looking for your solution. · Visual User Journey: The three-step breakdown of the bidding process (Slides 6-8) makes a complex financial transaction feel simple and accessible. · Competitor Traffic Attribution: Showing that competitors rely on SEO (Slide 13) validates a search-first acquisition strategy. It turns a competitor's strength into a roadmap for your own growth. · Diversified Revenue: Don't just rely on one way to get paid. Showing both commission and subscription models suggests a more resilient business.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Roshi's primary product differentiation?
- Roshi differentiates itself by moving beyond static comparison tables to a real-time home loan bidding platform. As shown on Slide 5, they claim to be the first to market with this auction-style model in Singapore. This allows consumers to set up a mortgage auction (Slide 6) and watch banks bid for their loan (Slide 7), rather than the consumer manually searching for rates.
- How does Roshi plan to acquire users in a competitive market?
- The strategy is search-centric. Slide 15 explicitly states the founder is one of the 'best Search specialists in the market.' They plan to reach one million unique visits by developing data-led blog and social posts only where demand is proven, keeping operational costs low via freelancers, and eventually adding 'free disruptive tools' like ride-hailing comparisons to drive traffic.
- What are the specific revenue streams identified in the deck?
- Slide 16 outlines four distinct revenue streams. For the Financial Comparison side, they earn through Affiliate Commissions and Product Sponsorships. For the Home Loan Bidding side, they generate revenue via Loan Brokerage Commissions and a Monthly Subscription Fee charged to the lenders participating in the platform.
- Who are the main competitors Roshi identifies in Singapore?
- Slide 13 lists five major established players: MoneySmart, Seedly, SingSaver, GoBear, and ValueChampion. The deck notes that these players rely heavily on organic search traffic, with attribution rates ranging from 61% to 84%. Roshi uses this to justify their own SEO-heavy acquisition strategy.
- What critical information is missing from the Roshi pitch deck?
- The deck is missing three pillars of a standard venture pitch: a Team slide (names and backgrounds are absent), a Financials slide (no historicals or forward-looking projections), and an 'Ask' slide (no mention of how much money they are raising). It functions more as a product and market strategy overview than a complete investment proposal.
