Blooom makes national TV debut
June 19, 2015 | Bobby Burch
Overland Park-based financial tech firm Blooom hopes to seed new growth opportunities after a recent national TV appearance.
Blooom CEO Chris Costello and President Greg Smith hopped onto Fox Business Tuesday to discuss 401(k) management and their company, which created an online 401(k) management tool that’s seen solid early traction.
The tool uses a flower in various growth stages to symbolize the health of one’s 401(k) and offers professional advice on how to allocate funds.
Costello said that the appearance likely will lead to more adoption of Blooom’s product, which already has customers in 48 states.
“The exposure that Fox Business provided us was wonderful,” Costello said. “We are confident that this exposure will lead to a significant number of retirement savers looking into Blooom to fix their 401(k).”
In addition to explaining their company, Costello and Smith discussed with Fox Business a recent report that revealed for the first time in U.S. history, more people withdrew from their 401(k) accounts than those that deposited. Americans withdrew $11.4 billion from their 401(k) accounts in 2013, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“We recognize that middle-class Americans are not being successful in their 401(k)s,” Costello said on Fox Business. “We think advice, education and fancy calculators aren’t going to fix the problem. People need help. People need someone to do it for them.”
To access Blooom’s services, users pay $1 per month for an account less than $20,000, and $15 per month for accounts more than $20,000. Costello said that the platform resonates well with younger people who lack knowledge about their 401(k)s and are more apt to conduct financial transactions online.
“Tens of millions of middle class Americans are going to rely upon their savings, not pensions, to fund the last third of their life,” Costello said. “This (appearance) is more validation that we are solving a problem that affects 10s of millions of Americans.”
Blooom in September beat out more than 60 competitors to claim first place at the annual Finovate conference in New York City. The conference features dozens of financial tech firms hoping to disrupt the finance industry.
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Entrepreneur, startup advocate becomes new KC Chamber chair
A prominent Kansas City entrepreneur with some serious startup chops is now serving as the new chair of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. Matt Condon, CEO of Bardavon Health Innovations and ARC Physical Therapy, was unanimously voted to serve at the helm of the chamber’s board of directors as its chairman. Condon, 42,…
Video: Healthy workplace culture begins with intention, communication
Editor’s note: This content was sponsored by Mid-Continent Public Library but independently produced by Startland News. Creating a healthy workplace culture must be done early and with intention, said Adrienne Haynes and Dwayne Lewis. To help startups develop a strategic human resource plan, Haynes, managing partner of SEED Law, and Dwayne Lewis, president of Lewis…
From Google to KC, Beth Ellyn McClendon’s advice to startups: Test everything
Don’t fall in love with an idea, Beth Ellyn McClendon said. “Test everything, especially your assumptions, and allow yourself to be persuaded by data,” said McClendon, a seed investor who formerly worked with Google, Android, YouTube, Cisco and Netscape. “Try to remember — tattoo it on your eyelids if you have to – anecdotes are not…
Bodyrite duo cooks meal prep into personal training concept
Don’t just go with the flow at a traditional gym, Jamil Nelson said. Go with Flo. “Treadmills and ellipticals are pretty archaic to us,” said Nelson — or “Mr. Bodyrite” to his wife, Florese. “A jump rope is way better because it’s going to blow up your heart rate.” Modern workouts are all about functional,…