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companies & people
Innovators’ Spotlight: Revolution by Evolution
SEcrEt SaucE
Multifunction app built from the ground up enables users to track multiple nancial accounts—not just their Varo accounts. Founders have extensive experience in banking and nancial services. Chatbot nancial coach.
GEttiNG tO KNOw
Varo Money Inc.
Marketplace Names
Varo, Varo Money
Location
San Francisco
Open for Business
2015
Ownership
Privately held
Founders
Colin Walsh, Roger Van Duinen, Kolya Klymenko
Funding
Nearly $30 million in venture and equity funding from investors, including Warburg Pincus
Business Philosophy
With traditional banks offering millennials very little in the way of nancial education—and often charging them high fees—the demographic is ripe for a ground- up solution built to serve their particular needs
Business Model
Revenue from service fees for certain account activities and an upcoming lending platform
Something You Might
Not Expect
Varo’s team of more than 35 employees represents more than a dozen countries of origin. We never struggle with a lack
of diverse opinions!
As many U.S. consumers struggle with nancial health, estab- lished banks often don’t provide the personal tools and guidance needed to help customers improve their nancial situations. Filling that unmet demand was the impetus for mobile banking app Varo Money.
Formed in October 2015 by a group of nancial services veterans, San Francisco-based Varo already has racked up signi cant funding and partnerships with industry heavy- weights, including The bancorp (which provides private-label banking services for Varo accounts),
advantages, according to company Co-Founder and CeO Colin Walsh.
“Our app can replace six to eight apps out there that only do one thing,” notes Walsh, who previously held leadership roles with American express and Wells Fargo. “Users can aggregate their bank accounts— even those outside of Varo—to get a complete and integrated picture of where their money is, while also accessing insights about their spending and setting goals.”
The Varo team’s experience in banking and nancial technology, along with an advisory panel of consumer “co-creators,” gave the company insight into how people approach their money and what they need from a banking app.
Those needs range from the traditional—Varo features a physi- cal Visa debit card to make in-store purchases—to the high-tech. In late 2016, the company unveiled “Val,” a mobile chatbot that serves as a digital money coach, providing advice on spending, savings and borrowing habits, which is due to launch in early 2017.
Varo has its sights on becoming a chartered national bank, enabling the company to o er deposit and lending products under one roof, FdIC deposit insurance and eco- nomic e ciencies to keep the costs of those services low, says Walsh.
“We’ll be able to change the eco- nomic paradigm of banking, using the power of the platform to focus on our customers’ needs rst.”
Mobile banking app relies on veteran leadership, ground-up design amid competitive market.
Galileo Processing, digiliti Money and Yodlee Money. After a beta test run in early 2017, the Varo app is on target for a midyear launch— and the company envisions big things ahead.
Apart from the Pack
Mobile banking apps have prolifer- ated in recent years as mobile devices have reached ubiquity.
To stand out from the crowd, Varo relies on a few key competitive
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