Ellevest co-founder and CEO Sallie Krawcheck at TechCrunch Disrupt NY in 2016. Image: TechCrunch/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Who’s who of backers includes Melinda Gates, Valerie Jarrett and Eric Schmidt, as well as Mastercard and PayPal.
The Ellevest digital investment platform for women has closed a $33m funding round led by Rethink Impact and PSP Growth.
New investors include Melinda Gates’ Pivotal Ventures, PayPal, Wynn Resorts co-founder Elaine Wynn, former Google and Alphabet chair Eric Schmidt, former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Gingerbread Capital, and Mastercard. Returning investors include Aspect Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Morningstar, Astia Angels, CreditEase Fintech Investment Fund and Ulu Ventures.
‘When the status quo isn’t meeting women’s needs, it deserves to be disrupted, and that’s what this platform created by women for women aims to do’
– MELINDA GATES
“Today, we bring in a group of rockstar investors deeply aligned with our mission. And it’s no coincidence that many of them are unparalleled changemakers and advocates for women who understand that being underinvested can cost women a fortune over their lives,” said Sallie Krawcheck, Ellevest’s co-founder and CEO.
Redefining investment for women
Ellevest said that it will use the latest capital round to accelerate its growth, including investing in its technology, expanding into new product categories, and working with women to develop new, “non-boring” financial education.
The funding comes as Ellevest’s Private Wealth Management platform hit the $100m level in terms of assets under management. The company has also developed a new premium service to give women access to teams of coaches and financial planners to take their career and money goals to the next level.
“When the status quo isn’t meeting women’s needs, it deserves to be disrupted, and that’s what this platform created by women for women aims to do,” said Melinda Gates. “Women’s lives and realities are different than men’s, and I think we’ll see more and more of a demand for products designed to reflect that. This is an important market opportunity that Ellevest is well positioned to tap into.”
The company revealed that 74pc of its workforce identify as female and 43pc are people of colour. Exactly 50pc of Ellevest’s engineering team identify as female and 41pc are people of colour.
“Ensuring that all women have robust financial tools to improve financial health and seize more opportunities is a societal imperative,” said Dan Schulman, president and CEO of PayPal. “We are proud to support Sallie and her team at Ellevest who are helping to level the playing field by pioneering investment solutions tailored to women. The growth in Ellevest demonstrates that, even in a crowded market, there is always opportunity for customer-focused solutions to win.”
Ellevest co-founder and CEO Sallie Krawcheck at TechCrunch Disrupt NY in 2016. Image: TechCrunch/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
