For decades, the only meaningful route to owning a home has been through debt, increasingly large mortgages, and higher levels of risk. Seeking to restore belief in achievable ownership is Bloxx, a fintech platform dismantling the debt-based default to solve the collapse of accessible homeownership.
Bloxx allows individuals to buy a home with a one per cent deposit and build equity through fixed monthly payments without taking on a traditional mortgage. By bringing together renters, builders, and institutional investors into a single ecosystem, the company aims to empower 100,000 homeowners and provide the stability that underpins family life and community.
Chris Smith, founder and CEO of Bloxx, discusses the journey from senior banking executive to fintech disruptor.
Tell us more about your company and its purpose?
Bloxx exists to solve one of the biggest social and economic challenges of our time: the collapse of accessible homeownership. For millions, the traditional system of large mortgages and high risk no longer works.
Our platform allows people to buy a home with just a one per cent deposit and build equity through fixed monthly payments without taking on a mortgage. From day one, our customers are homeowners, not tenants. We aim to build 100,000 homeowners and restore the idea that ownership and stability should be achievable for everyone.
What are some of your recent achievements you’d like to highlight?
Sharing our vision on a global stage was a significant milestone. Presenting Bloxx at Web Summit in Lisbon to more than 70,000 people was a defining moment. Seeing the system resonate so strongly outside our original market in New Zealand confirmed our belief that the housing crisis is global and the need for alternatives to debt-based ownership is universal.
How did you get into the fintech industry?
I spent over 20 years in traditional banking, holding senior executive roles in the UK and New Zealand. While I originally believed the best way to create change was from inside the system, I eventually realized that large, successful systems struggle to disrupt their own foundations. If I wanted to change how people access homeownership, I had to leave corporate banking and start again from the outside.
What’s the best thing about working in the fintech industry?
The most rewarding aspect is the scale of what is possible. Changing the financial system, even slightly, has enormous ripple effects because it underpins almost every aspect of our lives. Homeownership has a transformative effect on families, bringing stability, pride, and confidence. Fintech allows us to challenge long-standing industry norms, such as why homeownership must always involve debt.
What frustrates you most about the fintech industry?
My biggest frustration is the weight of the existing financial system. It is protected by regulation, policy, and entrenched banking frameworks that create enormous barriers to change. As a result, disruption is slow; what could take months often stretches into years of regulatory processes. It requires significant patience and a long-term commitment.
How have your previous roles influenced your career?
My previous roles are the reason Bloxx is possible. Two decades in banking, particularly through the 2008 financial crisis, gave me a clear view of how the system operates under pressure. Without that experience, I would not have had the confidence to build a system based on equity rather than debt, or the credibility to engage investors in a completely new model.
What’s the best mistake you’ve ever made?
My first startup, Ownify. While it was painful when it fell apart, it taught me how startups fail when mission and values are misaligned. Those lessons became my blueprint for Bloxx. I started again with absolute clarity on being mission-first, embedding values from day one, and having the patience to build for scale rather than hype.
What has the future got in store for your company?
The future is clear: we are here to help people into homes they own. If we succeed, we will enable hundreds of thousands of families to build stability through debt-free ownership. Either we succeed in building this new pathway at scale, or I spend the rest of my career trying. There is no version where we quietly give up.
What are the next key talking points or challenges for your industry as a whole?
The biggest challenge is moving beyond debt as the default solution for homeownership. While debt has delivered returns, it has also driven inequality and exclusion. The focus must now be on building systems that support shared ownership and stability while still delivering strong, long-term returns for institutional investors.
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