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I don't think I know a single founder who has built a personal finance app and didn't end up pivoting, getting acquihired, or shutting down a few years later.
I've done a previous thread but I'll dig into my scar tissue again to share why it's such a bad business to be in: https://twitter.com/anothercohen/status/1355997256751620097
I've done a previous thread but I'll dig into my scar tissue again to share why it's such a bad business to be in: https://twitter.com/anothercohen/status/1355997256751620097
1/ Working with consumer data still sucks. Plaid, Yodlee, and others have been working on this for nearly a decade and making sense of transactions is still a nightmare.
I remember staying up till 3am for months writing 100s of regular expressions trying to clean this shit up
I remember staying up till 3am for months writing 100s of regular expressions trying to clean this shit up
2/ Bank connections break.. especially the long tail of bank connections that you don't think are important until the hundreds of support tickets pile in...
First Credit Union of Miami? 1000 of your customers have an account there (not a real bank as far as I know)
First Credit Union of Miami? 1000 of your customers have an account there (not a real bank as far as I know)
3/ If your bank connections break, you can't properly give someone financial recommendations.
+ your customers won't realize that it's the bank API that's as fault, not you, and they'll blame you anyway
+ your customers won't realize that it's the bank API that's as fault, not you, and they'll blame you anyway
4/ Consumers actually paying money for pure PFM apps is an exception to the rule. YNAB and Copilot have had success here, most pivot to providing loans or using their PFM as an acquisition channel for a debit card or something else
5/ Final note, acquiring customers is much. more expensive than anyone predicts
After your year+ of R&D and shipping an app to market you'll then spend a ton of money trying to find a cheap acquisition channel. That cost increases as you acquire more customers
After your year+ of R&D and shipping an app to market you'll then spend a ton of money trying to find a cheap acquisition channel. That cost increases as you acquire more customers
The lucky few (Mint, Level Money, Clarity) get acquired for a decent return. Others pivot to a better business model (like Albert).
Some pivot to offering their service as an API and selling b2b2c.
Most I've met eventually run out of money.
It's not for the faint of heart!
Some pivot to offering their service as an API and selling b2b2c.
Most I've met eventually run out of money.
It's not for the faint of heart!
I did a longer thread on this back in July of last year. Longest 5 years of my life building Birch! https://twitter.com/anothercohen/status/1286027801963896832?s=20
