Blooom to expand with $4M Series A
October 15, 2015 | Bobby Burch
Financial tech firm Blooom is blossoming into a local startup success story.
The Leawood-based company announced Thursday that it raised $4 million in a Series A round to expand its operations. QED Investors from Alexandria, Va., led the round, which also included DST Systems Inc., Commerce Ventures, Hyde Park Venture Partners and UMB.
The Blooom platform
Blooom created an online 401(k) management tool that helps users grow their account through professional management. 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.
Blooom now manages more than $110 million and reached that milestone twice as fast as other “robo-advisors” such as Wealthfront and Betterment, said Maureen Welsh, Blooom’s director of public relations. Blooom is lead by CEO Chris Costello, a financial professional of more than 15 years, and president Greg Smith, a former executive at Goldman Sachs. Smith previously wrote a scorching op-ed piece on Goldman Sachs after resigning from the company that was published in New York Times.
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 previously 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.
The $4 million capital raise is just the latest good news for the financial tech company.
Blooom in September won a $50,000 grant from the national LaunchKC competition. And earlier in October, the company advanced to become a semifinalist in a competition to snag $10,000 from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
In 2014, Blooom 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.
Founded in 2013, Blooom now employs 18 people.
Related Posts on Startland News
Behind the blooom deal: How Morgan Stanley at Work boosted its robo-advising tech with startup buy, but kept a human touch
Editor’s note: Morgan Stanley is a financial supporter of Startland News. The investment management and financial services company has branches in Leawood and on the Country Club Plaza. Acquisition is scaling blooom’s tech ‘beyond our wildest dreams’ Integrating a Kansas City startup’s tech into its globe-spanning robo-advising portfolio — along with securing a soft landing…
It’s ‘Teacher Appreciation Year’ as blooom launches 12 months of free services for educators
After an especially difficult year for teachers — navigating safety protocols and virtual classrooms, among other pandemic challenges — a Kansas City startup plans to offer its finance and retirement services free to educators for 12 months and at any price level, said Chris Costello. “Many [traditional] plans are needlessly expensive and complicated, which is why…
Retirement in the palm of your hand: Blooom launching mobile app after passing $5B in assets managed
If you’re not a lottery winner, selling a business or inheriting a considerable amount of money — the only way to become financially independent and have the ability to stop working is to save … and invest, said Chris Costello. “That’s what life looks like today,” the founder and CEO of Blooom noted. “… and…
Kansas City’s Top VC-Backed Companies in 2019
The Top Venture Capital-Backed Companies List recognizes the momentum pushing an emerging cohort of Kansas City growth-stage, venture-backed companies. Simply put, the list — updated and now published annually — shows a massive increase in venture capital deployed to Kansas City companies in 2019, as well as a significant jump in jobs at those businesses….