Women Empowering Women, Financially

Last week, there was a great feature from NYTimes Business (Your Money section) on two women-founded startups Ellevest (founded by Sallie Krawcheck) and WorthFM (founded by Amanda Steinberg and Michelle Smith). Both are online investment firms (aka robo-advisers) and they aim to empower women to increase net worth and help build their financial self-confidence.

Not much is known about Sallie’s plans to launch Ellevest, but WealthFM hopes to set itself apart by helping women feel that they’ve been heard. They’ll start with a 40-question survey to learn about each woman’s relationship with money. And then (according to the NYTimes):

With that information in hand, the service will personalize the woman’s path through the site, taking into account her financial circumstances and knowledge about finance.

The women who value money as a means to pleasure might first be presented with a video featuring the co-founders, in an attempt to engage them. Those who see money as a means to stability and control might see a savings chart or more explicit directions on what to do next. The robot will also take note of how many times the client logs in.

I like that the service will attempt to add a human touch to their robo-advisory services by customizing its product and content.

Now, there are plenty of robo-advisers out there — Betterment and Wealthfront are some of the well-known leaders in this field, and both have a customer base that is largely male. Moreover, Ellevest and WorthFM are also not the first to cater to women — LearnVest, was founded in 2009 and originally focused on providing budgeting advice to women.

So what makes this article notable? Not only are both firms started by women, WorthFM has raised $2 million exclusively from women. Our central mission at 79 Studios is “women backing women” and reading about women-founded, women-backed companies that empower women brings us tremendous joy!