The Never-Ending Financial Wellness Journey
The pursuit of well-being is not only a universal goal, but a nuanced and demanding problem.
Hi there,
The topic of financial wellness – and the reasons behind individuals pursuing it – is nothing new. A variety of solutions across financial budgeting, tracking, and planning have launched, and will continue to launch, across the financial services and FinTech space.
Even so, financial wellness is easier said than done, as many are continuing to work toward a solution that’s achievable in their everyday lives.
According to a 2022 survey by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), 35% of U.S. adults say they are “just getting by financially” and worry that their money won’t last.
In a world inundated with evolving financial technologies, the pursuit of well-being is not only a universal goal but a nuanced and often perplexing problem.
Empire Startups Contributor
(Founder & CEO, Orum) emphasized in her piece earlier this year that traditional, financial wisdom frequently falls short in addressing the real-time needs of individuals and families. The gap between conventional advice and real-world applications is still a significant challenge for many.This past fall, contributor
(Founder & CEO, Gigwage) pointed to a growing trend where freelancers and gig workers are becoming a substantial part of the workforce. With an estimated 73.3 million freelancers in 2023 and a projected 76.4 million by the end of 2024, the need for adaptable financial solutions becomes increasingly evident. The gig economy is expanding rapidly, challenging traditional notions of job security and financial planning.Last spring, contributor
(Partner, Co-Created) highlighted the emergence of the “bionic consumer”, and the changing power dynamic between service providers and consumers. One big takeaway was that it’s now easier than ever for customers to understand and optimize all of their purchasing decisions: Do I have the right financial products (rate, reward, cost, service, values, etc) given what my needs are today?Consumers should be able to passively optimize their financial lives. But from new banks, to payment apps, to embedded finance players, how will they work with individuals to provide them the access to do so?
Financial wellness is not a one-size-fits-all solution; it requires an understanding of individual struggles and aspirations. As we continue to navigate the dynamic landscape of personal finance, it's imperative to acknowledge the diverse challenges individuals face, and work towards solutions that resonate with the masses.
It’s also important to note that one in six Americans is now 65 or older – a demographic that has grown 38% just this past decade. The average couple now spends over $300,000 on healthcare throughout retirement.
As society ages, financial products and services should continue to innovate and evolve.
We’re excited to announce the six founders who will be showcasing their financial wellness products on Monday, April 8th at our Financial Wellness Pitch Day event, in partnership with the AgeTech Collaborative from AARP.
Each of these founders will be addressing the personal financial challenges many Americans face, alongside unique and innovative solutions that can grow with us as we continue to age:
Busayo Ogunsanya, Co-Founder, Muse
Muse is an AI-powered platform revolutionizing financial planning by providing customized scenario-based tax and financial insights to financial institutions.
Clark Hoefnagels, CEO, Catch
Catch is a cyber security company building technology to protect the vulnerable from cyber scams.
Jessica Eting, Co-Founder & COO, Flourish
Flourish is on a mission to empower people to establish positive money habits, licensing its customer engagement and financial wellness platform to financial institutions across the Americas.
Liran Eliner, Founder & CEO, Cache
While cash optimization is top of mind for most businesses, it is often neglected by households, with the average middle-class family losing thousands of dollars a year due to suboptimal cash management. CACHE introduces a fully-automated AI-powered solution for day-to-day finances.
Perry Halman-Peguillan, Co-Founder, SpendCare
SpendCare is a transaction monitoring and fraud detection platform that provides in-home care providers with a transparent and accountable way to purchase items for the 10+ millions seniors they support.
Rikard Steiber, CEO, GoodTrust
GoodTrust offers complete estate-planning and digital-security tools as well as ways to preserve and share the memories you’ve created online. These easy-to-use tools help you plan ahead to secure what’s important in the real world as well as the digital one.
Get a chance to see their pitches live, and register for this virtual event to kick off NY FinTech Week.
🎪 2024 Empire FinTech Conference
We’re in the home stretch – a.k.a. just 4 weeks out until the big day. Time is ticking on grabbing your ticket before our FINAL price jump. 👇
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If your email client clips some of this newsletter, click below to see the rest.🗞🎧 The latest news in FinTech.
Reads
💰 Artemis Fund has a fresh $36 million to back diverse founders solving ‘big, hairy problems | TechCrunch
While Artemis is far from the only fund that focuses on diverse founders, it is among the few that also funds tech to address barriers faced by overlooked and underrepresented businesses, communities and families in the U.S.
💸 Real-Time Payments Need Orchestration Layer to Solve Interoperability Gap | PYMNTS
One of the major hurdles that U.S. banks are facing today following the FedNow® Service launch stems from the lack of full interoperability between the Federal Reserve’s real-time payment system and the RTP network overseen by The Clearing House.
📊 SVB's collapse was a boon for these new kids on the block | Axios
Silicon Valley Bank says it's still serving 81% of its old customers, but the events a year ago undoubtedly resulted in client defections that benefited the competition.
🛣 Why fintech still has so far to go | FastCompany
While we’ve certainly seen advances over the years, and it’s incredibly convenient to deposit checks on our phones, most innovations in banking and payments have been limited to digital versions of what already exists in a bank branch.
Listens
🗣 The Fintech OG Series: Matt Burton and Jon Zanoff | This Week in Fintech Podcast
In episode number three of This Week in Fintech's OG series, Empire's Jon Zanoff joins Matt Burton and Julie VerHage-Greenberg to chat all things FinTech, personal ups and downs, and what they expect the biggest innovations to be over the next decade.
🤖 How is AI Transforming Financial Services? | Fintech Insider by 11:FS
We’re all talking about GenAI, and it shows no signs of slowing down in financial services.
Wherever you look, banks are investing in both people and tech to drive forward their AI capabilities from front to back end. So in this episode, we want to share some of the conversations we’ve been having across the finance world about AI.
Now if you’re an avid follower of our YouTube channel, you have probably seen our Spotlight series, where we invite leading industry experts to discuss the biggest subjects in finance and fintech.
🚀 Featured FinTech Funding
SEED
Quantex, $150K (Blockchain/Crypto, San Francisco)
Benjamin, $3.5M (Digital Banking, New York)
PayShepherd, $5.2M (Payments/Billing, Calgary)
SERIES A
RemotePass, $5.5M (Accounting/Finance, Boston)
Harness Wealth, $17M (Wealth Management, New York)
SERIES C
Argyle, $30M (Core Technology, New York)
SERIES E
Axonius, $200M (Cyber/Fraud, New York)
👉 Want more? Find our full funding report here.
💼 Featured FinTech Jobs
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Director of Security Operations and Engineering , Axonius
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Global Banking & Markets, RIA Custody, Business Development, Vice President, Goldman Sachs
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