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Hi, fintech fam! 💜

What an incredible Women's History Month it has been! We have accomplished so much together, and I have thoroughly enjoyed keeping up with all of the amazing events, gatherings, and women's profiles.

How about we continue this celebration throughout the year? (Let’s start with April 8th and New York Fintech Week!)

On a different note, I noticed that all of my favorite newsletters now appear in my inbox's "promotions" section. Has anyone else experienced this?

If you don’t want to miss updates, move the Fintech Is Femme Newsletter back to your primary inbox. This newsletter is the best way to communicate and share stories, events, and updates!

Now, let's discover new stories of women making strides in fintech.

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#TRENDING

What’s Up In Fintech

Every Thursday, I share news stories and trending pieces I follow. Think of it as a way to quickly find the most important news in the fintech world.

#1 Tanya Van Court’s Goalsetter Raises $9.6M

Goalsetter announced on Monday that the financial education and technology platform has secured $9.6 million in new funding, marking a Series A extension round.

Founded in 2016 by CEO Tanya Van Court, a former executive at Nickelodeon and Discovery Education specializing in children's digital programming, Goalsetter aims to address our society's longstanding financial literacy gap with its suite of educational tools.

Features like "Learn to Earn," where kids earn money for answering financial quiz questions correctly, and "Learn Before You Burn," which lets parents freeze debit cards until their teens complete their financial quizzes.

The platform's strategy revolves around establishing partnerships with credit unions, banks, and wealth management firms that align with its dedication to enhancing financial education and increasing accessibility to wealth. This recent infusion of capital propels Goalsetter forward, reinforcing its business-to-business (B2B) offerings.

Why It Matters:

Lack of knowledge about personal finances costs people an average of $1,819. This means that Americans lost over $436 billion due to financial illiteracy.

Goalsetter's latest funding round shows a commitment to improving financial literacy, especially among younger people. Only 46% of Gen Z feel confident about their financial knowledge, so Goalsetter's initiatives are important in closing this gap.

Given the potential ban of TikTok, a significant platform for financial education, there's a growing need for fintech companies to step up in the educational sphere.

Strategic alliances with banks and credit unions have been pivotal for Goalsetter's growth in youth banking solutions. Van Court's understanding of the importance of fintech and banking partnerships has been fundamental to this progress.

By offering its app platform as a white-labeled solution with age-appropriate financial education tools, Goalsetter has become a valuable resource for financial institutions aiming to engage the next generation of consumers.

For instance, the upcoming transfer of $53 trillion in generational wealth sparked a partnership between Goalsetter and Envestnet. This partnership aims to empower financial advisors to serve women and younger consumers.

As financial education becomes mandated in school curriculums across states, Goalsetter's partnerships with school systems and organizations like the Edward Jones Foundation and Nike are critical to promoting fintech’s role within culture and education.

In an era where financial literacy is increasingly crucial, Goalsetter's dedication to equipping families with the tools for financial success is commendable and essential for shaping a more equitable future.

#2 Sheila Lirio Marcelo Launches AI Startup to Unlock Economic Growth 

Ohai.ai, a startup backed by Care.com founder and former CEO Sheila Lirio Marcelo, emerged from stealth mode earlier this year. It aims to revolutionize household organization and unlock economic potential.

According to a 2020 study by Oxfam, as reported by The New York Times, women would have earned a staggering $10.9 trillion collectively in a year if compensated for their unpaid care work at minimum wage rates, averaging four hours daily.

Juggling tasks like managing calendars, planning appointments, and overseeing family well-being contributes significantly to the burnout experienced by those managing households and caring for loved ones.

In a world where the boundary between work and home life is increasingly blurred, Ohai.ai aims to assist users in balancing these spheres by optimizing their time, allowing them to prioritize what truly matters.

Lirio Marcelo's previous success in founding and taking Care.com public in 2014, making her one of the fewer than 30 women to achieve this feat, underscores her expertise in addressing these needs.

Why It Matters

Ohai.ai believes its virtual assistance platform, affectionately dubbed "O," can alleviate the mental load associated with managing family schedules and delegating tasks.

Combining artificial intelligence with human input, "O" offers basic services for free, including daily schedule summaries and alerts for calendar conflicts among family members.

For $25 per month, users can access advanced features such as automatic event scheduling from scanned texts or photos, task delegation, and appointment booking via phone.

Ohai.ai states that AI is being trained simultaneously to handle tasks requiring human intervention, such as appointment bookings.

Ohai.ai's mission, encapsulated in its welcoming greeting-like name "Oh hi!," reflects Lirio Marcelo's enduring dedication to caregivers.

Having launched Care.com nearly two decades ago after experiencing the challenges of simultaneously caring for a child and an ill parent, her commitment to supporting families remains steadfast.

Since departing Care.com three years ago following its acquisition by brand conglomerate IAC, Marcelo has assumed roles such as venture partner at New Enterprise Associates and founding board member of The Asian American Foundation.

From a leadership perspective, Lirio Marcelo emphasizes a more relaxed approach this time around, leveraging her experience to focus on what truly matters and disregarding distractions that may hinder progress.

In a crowded virtual assistant market, Lirio Marcelo asserts that Ohai.ai stands out by addressing specific communication and coordination needs within family dynamics, including scenarios like divorced parents or siblings caring for aging parents.

Ohai.ai operates fully remotely with approximately 20 full-time employees, including former senior leaders from Care.com with $6 million in seed funding co-led by Eniac Ventures and LifeX Ventures.

#3 Jean Smart’s Penelope Aligns With Navia to Reform 401(k) Offerings

Navia Benefit Solutions, a consumer-directed benefits provider of health, wealth, and compliance solutions, teamed up with Penelope, a fintech company focused on retirement savings, to roll out white-label 401(k) plans and recordkeeping services tailored for plan advisors and sponsors.

This marks a milestone for Penelope, led by Wall Street veteran and New York-based AAPI female founder Jean Smart, as it steps into the third-party administrator arena, reflecting a major leap in the startup’s growth journey.

This integration will allow Navia to offer a wide range of benefits to more than 10,000 employers nationwide. These benefits include flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, and commuter plans.

Why It Matters

The 401(k) is doing double duty as a retirement account and a source of emergency funds for more Americans.

According to internal data from Vanguard Group reported in the Wall Street Journal, a record share of 401(k) account holders took early withdrawals from their accounts last year for financial emergencies.

Overall, 3.6% of its plan participants did so last year, up from 2.8% in 2022 and a prepandemic average of about 2%.

Since its establishment in 2022, Penelope has been committed to simplifying retirement planning for business owners.

In an episode of the Humans of Fintech podcast, Smart shared the inspiration behind Penelope's founding and her personal journey in shaping the company's vision.

Smart's upbringing in LA, witnessing her immigrant parents' hard work to support their family and employees, deeply influenced her mission. Despite owning a grocery store and restaurant, like many small business owners, her parents neglected their own retirement planning, leaving themselves vulnerable.

Smart's dedication to Penelope stems from this experience. SMBs are the backbone of the US economy but often overlooked in fintech.

As retirement planning regulations evolve nationwide, Penelope's recent achievement in securing $2.1 million in pre-seed fundraising underscores the increasing demand for innovative retirement solutions tailored to small businesses and their millions of employees.

Penelope and Navia's partnership offers a promising pathway to financial security and equality for small business owners and their employees, amidst the murky relationship between business owners and their retirement plans.

_{MARK YOUR CALENDARS}

Join us every Thursday to stay updated on the weekly top fintech events! These events are a great way to network, learn, and connect with our fintech community. Let's fill our calendars with these awesome events - I would love to see you there! If you have an event to share, please inform me!

_{THURSDAY 4/4}

[NYC] Future Sales Leaders’ Summit: Gender equality network Parity (founded by my dear friend Kesi Johnson) will host a networking event in partnership with Adyen next week. The event will offer insights from payments industry leaders over a cocktail happy hour and short panel. It is free to attend and filling up, so grab your space now!

_{MONDAY 4/8}

[NYC] Fintech Is Femme Leadership Summit: The speaker lineup is here. Check it out, and be sure to save your seat for April 8.

_FINTUNES

🎵 Tinashe - Needs

The YouTube algorithm did an excellent job including this song in my mix. Tinashe crushes this bop, and the music video is perhaps the most enjoyable experience anyone could have at a grocery store. Give it a listen — it's the ideal R&B vibe to get you pumped for the weekend.

That’s all for now! Stay safe, everyone. Hug your loved ones. See you Sunday!

Love,

Nicole

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