I’m excited. I’m excited because we’re finally seeing social responsibility from our FinTech leaders to help the financial middle class. Joining MoneyLion as a strategic advisor and personal investor was an obvious decision … I simply believe in its mission to empower a community that traditionally hasn’t been well-served by banks.
No other product exists for the financial middle class that combines borrowing, saving and investment elements in one accessible offering like MoneyLion. It has the technology, team and strategy to become PayPal 2.0 – a platform that opens finance up to a traditionally underserved community.
The state of the middle class
The US has the highest level of income inequality in the world. According to the Labor 2030 Report from Bain & Co., the wealthiest 10% own 73% of wealth, while the share for the next 40%—roughly corresponding to the middle class—has fallen from 36% in 1986 to just more than 27% today.
The bottom 80% have not seen substantive wealth growth because they are shut out from equity growth and personalized service from banks. Rising inequality is likely over time to shrink the middle class, favoring a shift to a primarily two-tier structure—upper and lower. This is troublesome.
Why I chose MoneyLion
After talking to debt investors and leverage providers from around the world, it became clear there is a major gap in the market for the financial middle class, particularly with respect to borrowing. MoneyLion is the only personal finance platform taking a holistic, relationship-driven approach, as opposed to just transactional.
After meeting Dee and the MoneyLion tech team, I made the decision to get involved and began personal investments with the company. Since then, I have been immensely impressed by the technology stack, and the dedication and vision of Dee and his team. I’ve known some of their other advisors for 15 years, including Jeff Penney, who reaffirmed my decision to partner.
A technology above all else
MoneyLion’s technology is a rare example of how FinTechs should be built for scalability and longevity. Its data-driven approach with technology built to scale differentiates it from other industry players. The technology behind its machine learning, behavioral economics, and financial services capabilities is the secret sauce that enables it to offer the products and services that it does.
Beyond tech, the team is taking the longview with their customers – they’re not here to make a quick buck. Rather, they’re here to drive real financial change for millions of Americans.
Looking at MoneyLion Plus customers: 93% are first-time investors, and members log into the app 20+ times a month to keep updated on their investments, learn about credit and savings, and access personalized advice – this is an unprecedented rate of customer success and engagement.
MoneyLion’s total addressable market is vast. I envision a future where everyone with a smartphone will use MoneyLion to get more from their money. This is only the beginning for this meteoric team, and I’m honored to be part of it.