Meet the Founder of Deklira - Daniel Roos
To listen to the full audio interview click on the following links:
Q1. What is your project about?
We founded Deklira from the perspective of retail investors as we identified a gap in the market for services around tax declaration in Sweden. The existing services were either inflexible, not focused on local tax laws, too expensive or a combination of all of the above. One way to get access to them would be if you invested with any of the big retail brokers. They were however not catered for people that had more than one account (with a competitor) or invested in alternative products (like cryptocurrencies). Another option was to go to an accountant and pay exorbitant fees. We have heard stories of people that have sought help from accountants and have been quoted north of 40 000 SEK (about £3 500).
Our products are developed to capture the entire spectrum of the market, with a low-cost, customer service oriented, technology focused and high-speed offering. We automate the tax declaration process and at the same time keep it simple enough so anyone can manage their investments and taxes, without having to get a degree in finance or accounting.
Q2. Where did the original idea stem from?
The idea came working on our own tax returns between Christmas and New Year’s in 2017. There were a few services around, but nothing flexible and affordable that seemed to cater for people with more than one type of investment, or in more than one broker account. Hence, we made the decision to develop a product ourselves to cover this gap in the market. From there, we quickly drew up a plan for how we would bring something that would add value to market. We did market research on the appetite for such a product, drew up a product design, and within three months of intensive work, we launched a service before the launch of the Swedish tax declaration period in March.
Q3. What challenges have you experienced in your journey so far?
We realised that one of the biggest gaps in the market was for investors who had traded cryptocurrency in Sweden. The Swedish tax rules around cryptocurrency are quite complex and difficult to practically apply. For example, you become liable for a taxable gain or loss every time you make a cryptocurrency trade, even if you just use your cryptocurrency to buy another cryptocurrency, or when making a normal purchase such as a haircut or a TV.
Due to the increasing amount of Swedish cryptocurrency traders and the complex rules, we identified a huge need for a user-friendly product in this area of the market. This led us to make a decision to quickly shift the focus of our business from traditional investments in funds and stocks towards also servicing cryptocurrency investors. This turned out to be our toughest and most fruitful decision. While it meant we had to make a turn in the business, our cryptocurrency product came to be our bestselling product of 2018, and is a momentum we will continue to build on into 2019.
Q4. What is that you are trying to achieve by the end of the year?
After only 10 months of operation, we already have a long list of very satisfied customers, a robust product and a clear plan of where we want to be long term with the company.
For next year’s tax declaration opening, we want to have a fully hosted solution in place. This is in line with keeping our product technology intensive and to give us the ability to have long-term scaling capabilities of the business.
Q5. What do you want the legacy of your project to be known for?
Our goal is to be remembered as the company that made investing easier, cheaper and more accessible for the general public. We have a tonne of plans and ideas on how to make this happen long-term as we collect more data to create meaningful analytics for our customers to provide them with financial awareness and actionable insights. So stay tuned for our new offerings!
Q6. Where can people find you?
The best way to contact us is via our website, www.deklira.se. You can also find us on social media:
Twitter @DekliraSverige
Instagram @DekliraSverige
Facebook @Deklira