Alexa von Tobel, Founder and CEO of LearnVest, an online personal finance platform that allows users to check their financial goals and tracking spending via web or mobile device, recently opened a new office in Arizona following a $16.9M raise, totaling $41M in just three years. Von Tobel explained that the money will be used for hiring and build infrastructure. The west coast office will serve as a hiring and training hub for the company’s team of financial planners.
Von Tobel explained that Phoenix was chosen for a new hub of LearnVest for several reasons including the time zone as a balance to the other office in New York, the intellectual and compassionate planners in the area, education programs that put out great financial planners and the number of good economic programs and other financial institutions in the area.
“Right now we are hiring smart individuals, right out of school. Recent graduates who are interested into going into the financial planning world,” von Tobel mentioned. “We’re also hiring certified financial planners around the Phoenix area who are also interested in working for a startup that’s fast growing and raised $41 million.”
LearnVest Planning will break into a new distribution channel through Workplace Solutions, an enterprise solution that will bring financial wellness to the workplace as an employee benefit. “We’re really empowering Americans to better understand the financial decisions that they’re faced with,” von Tobel said.
Von Tobel expands on the ease of use of the product and challenging people to become financially savvy, “The purpose was to make the technology so simple so that anyone could use it. Whether they are 22 and just got out of school or whether they are 55 and trying to deal with their retirement, we made it really user-friendly,” she says.
Not only is LearnVest individualized, it offers personalized one-on-one interaction. “We connect you to your own dedicated, certified financial planner. You always get the same one,” von Tobel said. “They don’t sell you anything, so the advice is completely conflict-free. And all they do, plain and simple, is tell you what you specifically need to do in order to get your finances in shape and making progress. It’s that simple. And then they hold you accountable [to your goals. Also,] you get unlimited email support and they are there to hold your hand through the whole process.” Core to the program are expert-assigned Challenges – tasks customized to a client’s specific circumstances.
Von Tobel wanted to offer customers an easy and affordable way to reach financial goals without burdening the user with cost for services, her platform offers a starter budget platform for an $89 one time set up fee and $19/month. She compares LearnVest to a gym membership, “You pay an upfront fee and then it’s just $19 a month and the whole goal is to make financial planning consumable,” adding it’s easy to access and affordable to customers.
Find out more about LearnVest click here.
