According to a recent survey by Investopedia, the Gen Z population is the least confident about their financial knowledge compared to other generations, but it’s not for lack of interest. In fact, more than half of Gen Z adults hold some sort of investment either in the stock market, cryptocurrencies or other investments. However, with the amount of conflicting financial information readily available online, many young people have a hard time knowing what they should do to optimize their finances.
That’s why Uprise, an up-and-coming fintech startup, has focused on Gen Z from the get-go and recently raised funds to further its platform. The company uses a combination of algorithms and personal financial advisors to create customized financial plans for its users. Unlike other fintech companies that specialize in just one or a handful of financial literacy services, Uprise takes a comprehensive approach to helping users optimize their financial assets.
After completing an onboarding questionnaire, Uprise’s algorithm looks through users’ financial goals, employee benefit packages, tax information, credit history and more to create a personalized financial plan. Those recommendations are then looked over by a human financial advisor to check for anything the algorithm might have missed and follow up if needed. From there, users can view their financial plan, get advice and be paired with financial services they might need. By looking through a myriad of financial data points, Uprise is able to identify places where users may be leaving money on the table without realizing it.
“The main thing we hear from customers is, ‘Wow, this is really personalized,’” Jessica Chen Riolfi, Uprise co-founder and CEO, told Built In. “They feel heard, they feel understood and like we’ve cut through all the noise to be able to tell them exactly what to do [with their finances].”
So far, Uprise’s comprehensive approach, which it calls “a family office,” seems to be a success. The company says it helps users add $1.5 million on average to their lifetime net worth and tracked $50 million in assets to date.
One way Uprise helps its users is by reviewing employee benefits, said Uprise co-founder Chris Goodmacher, who was an early employee at payroll and benefits unicorn Justworks. Uprise can look through benefit information supplied by users to find where they might not be maximizing their earnings.
“We had one user who was working for Walmart, which has a 200-page benefits brochure with amazing benefits, but we found they had $8,000 a year worth of benefits they weren’t taking advantage of,” Goodmacher said.
Currently, Uprise is still in beta testing but thanks to $1.4 million in pre-seed funding it hopes to accelerate its hiring plans and product roadmap to scale out of beta testing. Uprise’s investors include Contrary Capital, Hustle Fund, On Deck, Dash Fund and individual investors from companies like Robinhood, Cash App, SoFi, Stripe, Carta and Gusto.
As the company grows, Uprise says it is dedicated to keeping its personal financial plans free for users. In the future, the company plans to make money by offering premium services and through commission on recommendations made to users.
