‘America’ category

Making Zopa even better in 2008

Posted by Tristan at 12:49 pm

So, 2008 kicked off rather relentlessly didn’t it? After launching in Italy just under a week ago, in the US at the end of last year and Listings in the UK, we’ve been non stop here in the UK planning all sorts of exciting things for the rest of the year and making Zopa even better.

Amidst all the serious stuff, we’ve also somehow found the time to create our own Facebook application. Called People Like You, it lets you compare your personality with other people, and shows you the people we know are like you. Simple really. And who knows, you may even find some interesting people like you to poke?! It might not help you get a loan as it’s really just a bit of fun, but if it helps more people discover Zopa and reap the benefits of peer to peer lending then all the better we think.

Whilst we’re on the subject, remember we also have an ‘official’ Facebook group and we’re thinking about setting up our own Page so you can help spread the word about Zopa. Then we’ll have real fans and everything.

Finally, a quick apology. We have been rubbish at keeping this blog updated when we’re busy. Noted and in hand so do get in touch if you think there’s anything you’d like us to post about.

Right, back to that serious stuff . . more on that soon.

Posted in Changes, New stuff, General, America | 1 Comment »

Jobs…luverly jobs…get your jobs here…

Posted by Dave at 2:31 pm

We’re busy building our US team in San Francisco, and we need a couple of engineers to help us develop the US flavor Zopa web site.

Firstly, we’re looking for an experienced financial systems developer who can design and build the core financial engine that will drive the person-to-person lending system.

The ideal candidate will bring strong technical design and development skills and experience working with product managers and end-users to clarify requirements. The person must be willing to work independently in a fast paced environment, communicate effectively on technical issues, and deliver quality products.

If this sounds like you, you can download a full spec.

We’re also looking for a world-class web application developer to design and build the user interface for our US person-to-person lending website.

The ideal candidate will bring strong technical design and development skills and experience working with product managers and end-users to clarify requirements. The person must be willing to work independently in a fast paced environment, communicate effectively on technical issues, and deliver quality products.

Again, you can download the job spec if this sounds interesting.

Next steps and contact details are included in the downloadable job specs, or you can email your resume to jobs@zopa.com.

Posted in America, jobs | 4 Comments »

We’ve gone Mac and aren’t going back!

Posted by Dave at 5:18 am

We tried Skype, we heard robots.
We tried email, but the message (and relationships) couldn’t be nurtured right.
We bought iSight, but lacked universal reach (only Mac compatible).
So we decked the US & UK offices out with brand new Macs! Free calls and great video chat all around - Yippee!

Has anyone checked out the latest Mac vs. PC ads – hysterical. You can watch the video here.

I think the stuffy guy looks like a heavier Bill Gates (no offense, Bill)? Anyone vote differently?

~Megan

Posted in General, Technology, America | 5 Comments »

Bad design?

Posted by Dave at 12:19 pm

So Richard and I are back from San Francisco, and delighted to be experiencing the best of the British summer!

One more photo from the US though - again from the offices of our PR company (The lovely Edelman). Looking out over the bay, on a stunning day, I couldn’t help but notice the office next door. The one where all the windows face away from bay and that amazing view.

How gutted must you be to work in that office, and know that just…over…there… is some incredible scenery, but you can’t see it.

Now the question this raised for me was - is this just bad (criminally incompetent!) design…or was it deliberate? (Reasons why on a postcard please)

Personally, I blame incompetence, but it’s a pretty major flaw.

Having spent over a year helping ‘design’ the Zopa screens and interface, I am more than happy to accept that good design is a true skill, and that it is very easy to come up with something that makes perfect sense - until you actually build it.

What bits of Zopa make you go “Doh”?

Posted in Design, America | 8 Comments »

Thinking outside the parking space

Posted by Dave at 1:55 am

I’m over in sunny San Francisco right now and as usual, things in America are just a bit different.

This is the view of the local parking lot from the office of our PR company - busy huh?

Can you imagine the epiphany someone must have had when they realised “you don’t have to allow every car to leave at any time“?!

Wow. Suddenly you’ve got two, maybe three times the revenue coming from the same piece of land you own already. Happy day!

(BTW, if you’re not American, they way it works is they ask you when you arrive how long you’re going to be, you leave your keys, and they park the guys who are going to be all day right at the back…pretty simple.)

Relevance for Zopa? Well, Zopa (at least partially) came out of something of an epiphany moment (”What if you could buy and sell money on eBay?”) so we recognise the value of them.

More so is something about just breaking with accepted limitations and conventional thinking (”The parking lot is full” vs. “What do you mean? The parking lot is half empty!”) - and that’s something we think we’re quite good at. Zopa is about challenging conventions around how money works, how financial services work and what people can achieve by getting together and doing stuff.

What conventions do you think we need to take on?

PS. Any suggestions for a new camera phone welcomed…as you can see, mine isn’t too hot (SE P910i)

Posted in General, America | 2 Comments »

Hello World!

Posted by Dave at 7:41 pm

Megan here from Zopa’s US team. I’ve jumped at the opportunity to share the experiences of our US team with all those who have helped to create and grow the platform in the UK, as well as those who are diligently following our movements as we begin to open up the platform to some new markets.

As promised, Dave and Richard landed in San Fran this week to a team that has been eagerly waiting their arrival. The time differences between the UK and US have turned out to work to our advantage; we have a 24-hour, round the clock team to maximize productivity – and it sure is nice! Much thanks to all those in the UK who are dialing in for those late night/early morning calls.

While we’ve managed to nail down a few low cost calls using Skype, those random/funky robot-like sounds coming from the UK’s end & our apparent “fish bowl” like voice quality have driven us back to the old fashion means of communication – the landline. While it’s sad to let go of Skype for the time being, boy is it great to hear some high quality voices on the other end!!

If there are general topics of interest that you’d like the US team to cover going forward (such as, what’s the UK team really like???), leave us a comment and we’ll do our best to cover it!

~Megan

Posted in General, America | 19 Comments »