Our story
Why we do what we do
Beating the Odds was built on a simple belief, that every Australian deserves a fair shot at financial security, regardless of where they started.
37 years
Average age of first home owners
11.2 years
Average to save a 20% deposit
85%
of people aged 18-24 reported financial difficulty in the last 12 months.
14%
the percentage of homes middle income earners can afford.
Our purpose
Why we do what we do
Our mission
We are helping people beat the odds. In Australia today too many people are unable to buy their own home, start a business or pursue a degree or education because of financial barriers. We provide the tools and financial help to assist with overcoming these barriers, so the everyday Australian can beat the odds.
Our vision
An Australia where financial barriers never stand in the way of your dream.
What makes us do what we do?
Beating the Odds was established from the experience of its founders who have been impacted firsthand and from seeing the community impacted by the very system that is meant to be for the people. They have seen banks be systemic thieves, banks show no accountability, disregard to AFCA orders, misleading/deceptive conduct, poor compliance, prejudice/discrimination against young people, and banks withholding reporting errors or system issues in direct breach of their licence requirements. Yet despite this nothing is done other than maybe a small fine for the banks. They have seen brokers intimidating, threatening and misleading/deceiving their customers. They have known close people working multiple jobs to be able to study and survive. They have known people who have started a business but ended up with financial institutions leveraging against them and taking advantage of their lack of knowledge and experience.
Australian lives, families and futures are all being affected greatly every day, and the everyday Australian is becoming more disadvantaged as time goes on. Some support is out there, but the average person who works hard, yet is living on paycheck to paycheck, can’t access a lot of these support services on the assumption that they are not disadvantaged enough, which is no longer the case. Beating The Odds is here to fix this and make sure that the everyday Australian is heard and supported. Beating The Odds is backed by a collective of companies, business and people who support our vision and want change with our Beating The Odds club. A club that provides its members access to our services, rewards and discounts aimed for all aspects of life, events, support and a community of like-minded people. So, if you want to make an impact and have a fair chance then join the movement and start beating the odds today.
Our values
What we stand for
Strength
We believe in the resilience of every person we work with. Our role is to help them find and build on the strength they already have.
Knowledge
Financial literacy is power. We make sure the people we serve have the information they need to make confident, informed decisions.
Community
No one should face financial hardship alone. We build genuine connections and a support network that lasts beyond any single program.
Success
Measured in milestones reached, not wealth accumulated. We turn hard work into real outcomes, a home, an education, a future within reach
The people behind it
Meet the founders
Beating the Odds was built by people who've seen firsthand what financial disadvantage looks like, and they refused to accept it as inevitable.
Co-Founder | Director | CEO
Timothy Sturgiss
Fun Fact About Me
People call me the bird nerd because of my love for birds. My wife will normally find me looking into the sky if I see an interesting bird in the middle of whatever we were doing.
What Motivates Me
I have been in the system, affected by the system and now I am taking on the system.
In my capacity, I have witnessed people legitimately be denied home loans because loan officers were leaving that day so they declined it for less paperwork, and I have seen people who could service loans but had no deposit due to renting not get a loan, versus people who have had less serviceability but a deposit from the equity of a home they already own and be given a loan.
I heard of a recent situation where a family had a bank error resulting in losing money, which the bank agreed on but said on email that it was not an error but a "Known system limitation". The family have recordings, internal documents and more from the bank admitting this, however the bank did an internal investigation several times and found themselves not at fault. They then offered the family a tiny amount of money out of good faith because they have the leverage and they know people struggle taking them on. When the family contacted AFCA, the operator said it was not their job to tell the bank how to operate. The bank knows that AFCA can't award the full cost that affected them even if they win, which means the family will likely have to pay to take them to the Supreme Court just to get fair justice. All of this is NOT OKAY.
My Vision For Beating The Odds
My vision as Beating the Odds Director and CEO is to make the system fair, ideally one that does not favour one side or another, but an equal, fair and stable system for everyone. I hope to make federal and legal reforms to begin change, and the more members we have the stronger Beating The Odds becomes to create meaningful change that will give Australians a fighting chance at a successful future.
Co-Founder | Director
Rachel Sturgiss
Fun Fact About Me
A fun fact about me is that I have a "birth mark" in the shape of a rainbow on my leg.
What Motivates Me
My passion and motivation for Beating the Odds comes from seeing firsthand my sister struggling through university while working multiple jobs at a time to pay rent, basic needs and still study, and then thinking about how much harder that would be for people who are more disadvantaged than her. families with young children, single parents, people with disability, someone recovering from DV, and the young people who struggle to find jobs that pay a fair amount to survive.
It really gets to me that hard work is not enough to actually get somewhere, just enough to survive. Everything works against the average person more than it ever did before, and I don't think that's right. We should be a community. Living should not be a struggle.
My Vision For Beating The Odds
My vision for Beating the Odds is simply seeing people finally able to undertake the study they have always wanted to, seeing people start a business they had put to the side, and seeing people get a home they can call theirs. I want Beating the Odds to make change, make getting ahead and being equal so achievable it becomes something normal.
I want to see an Australia where the everyday Australian is not disadvantaged because they are renting and living paycheck to paycheck, or because they didn't have someone to teach them about finances or their rights as a consumer, or because house prices are out of reach. An Australian should be able to study or start a business without severe financial stress, buy a home to call their own, and be aware of their rights. We can make this happen.
Co-Founder | Director
Amanda Renaud
Fun Fact About Me
People who know me call me the crazy cruise lady. I love finding affordable ways to explore new ships and new places. Give me a new ship and a new destination, and I'm the happiest person on board.
What Motivates Me
As a middle-class baby boomer, I remember when the average wage was around $25k a year. A three-bedroom rental cost $60-100 a week, and buying an average home in Australia ranged from $70-80k in regional areas to $140k in Sydney and Melbourne. Back then, home ownership was around 3-4 times the average wage, and rent was roughly a tenth of your income, so Australians could realistically look forward to buying or renting a home.
Today, middle-income wages sit at around $75-90k. Rent now costs $725 a week in the city and $615 in regional areas, and the median home price has climbed to over $1 million in the city and around $770k regionally. That's more than 10 times the average income to buy a home, and around half of a weekly wage just to rent one.
This has made owning, or even renting, a home almost impossible without help. I've seen it firsthand, watching my four adult children struggle just to meet this basic need. They work hard, they budget carefully, they do everything right, and it still isn't enough. It's not for a lack of trying; it's that the goalposts have moved so far that the same effort my generation put in simply doesn't add up to the same outcome anymore. What used to be a reasonable, achievable milestone has turned into something that feels almost out of reach, no matter how hard you work for it. And I know my family isn't the only one living this, it's a story playing out in households right across the country.
My Vision For Beating The Odds
I want to see an Australia where every person, no matter their background or where they started, has access to the basics that should never be out of reach: a home to call their own, a stable place to rent, and the chance to learn and grow through education.
These aren't luxuries. They're the foundations of a secure, hopeful life. Yet for too many hardworking Australians, they've become a source of constant stress instead of a given right.
I believe in a future where effort is met with real opportunity, where financial pressure no longer decides who gets to thrive. That's the Australia I want to help build, one person at a time.
Ready to be part of the story?
Whether you need support or want to help others get it, there's a place for you at Beating the Odds.