About us
Parakeet
In 2018, Zelo Pay was founded in Melbourne, Australia with the goal of reducing unpaid invoices and bills through an API driven platform that automates, brokers and incentivises early and on-time payments.
It is our belief that business to business debt and late payments is a result from a breakdown in relationships. As we've continued to push our product capabilities and refine our vision, we wanted a name for our company that was more reflective of the communication and social contract we hope to re-engender between businesses and those they serve. That's why we rebranded our company with the name Parakeet.
For us, the name Parakeet implies approachability and a willingness to work together towards common goals of financial wellness and literacy. We see Parakeet as an icon for better performance, where businesses take flight. Through the power of technology and ease of our platform we hope the future is nothing but blue skies ahead.
Team
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Charles co-founded Parakeet Payments with the mission to mitigate chronic issues affecting small businesses in Australia. An intimate knowledge of the widespread late payments problem, along with a firsthand knowledge of the banking sector, encouraged Charles to find solutions.
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Parakeet’s ideals and goals align with Charles’ own values: helping people to harness the power of collective action. He imagines a future where social contract is at the heart of how businesses treat each other, based on the guiding principle “good relationships are the basis of good commerce."
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Rob Owens, CPO/CTO, Co-founder
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Rob leads the product and technology team at Parakeet Payments as Co-Founder and CTO.
Rob is motivated by a deeper understanding of the role of technology in problem-solving. His extensive experience in designing solutions has led development teams to deliver web and mobile products for Fintech, telematic services, and airport flight capacity management.
Rob’s ambitious mission at Parakeet Payments, simply put, is to solve the challenge of B2B debt.
Beyond this, Rob sees an opportunity for Parakeet Payments to permanently change the game. Not simply a profit-focused Fintech business, but a movement: a compelling economic and social issue on the cusp of change.