Great post, Charles. I'm a big believer Money 2.0 will succeed. The reassurance that startups must offer when asking for this private data from users is the same level of protection that banks and credit card companies use to handling online banking. If you're a user of online banking, my take is you'll eventually migrate over to one of those startup services. For those that don't trust the web can't be won. They will continue to balance their checkbooks with their handwritten checks and take their checks directly to the teller. Sites like Mint will only get better and they offer things the desktop apps can only dream of. And obvious business model is genious.
That said, I think the same will be done to "social investing." As much as innovation knock down the barriers to music and traditional media, I'm hopeful that sites like Zecco, Covestor (they are more social investing than personal finance), and CakeFinancial will open the door to much more transparency in this space. Their services will open the door to a much needed educational aspect that young professionals lack from their college education.
charles
· 1 year ago
Steven,
Thanks for the excellent comment. I am hopeful that these companies all succeed and help consumers do a better job of managing their money and getting a handle on their finances. I am very curious as to how long it will take for users who already have a trusted relationship with their bank to embrace a service like Mint. I do think there is a big opportunity here and the real question is when.
Ben
· 1 year ago
Charles, Vitamins indeed. In the investment world, a better service usually means better returns. There is no way that any of the mentioned above companies will be able to provide that. That is why Mint is better , as they "SAVE" you money (they don't, but that's a different story). Assuming no start-up can provide better investment returns, I think people use to think that innovation in the field of investment can occur only if you provide: 1. Cheaper means (Zecco) to invest, yet as Zecco is experiencing the cost is not the main factor of people migrating to new brokerage firm, so innovation here won't get you that far. 2. Easier means to invest - it means more user-centric approach of presenting investment data. I there's opportunity here, as most people are lost when trying to figure out when and what to invest in. 3. Target non-users. This is a hard one, as most U.S. households are involved in investing in one way or another. However, if you will present them with new investment vehicles, that might change things. Hope it makes sense.
charles
· 1 year ago
Ben,
Very insightful comment. I think what it takes to innovate in the world of consumer-facing financial service products is still not well understood by many start-ups. It will be interesting to see if any of these companies can crack the code.
Nathan D
· 1 year ago
One thing that always comes to my mind when I hear the "vitamin vs. pain killer" line is that in the literal markets this analogy addresses, the total market for vitamins is at least as big as the total market for pain killers -- and it's growing much faster.
Sebbi
· 1 year ago
thanks for the post. i hope to listen some more. Best regards from Sebbi
yardley285022
· 5 months ago
which retails at $9.95. It certainly opens your eyes about the practicality of the envelope budgeting system and how retiring providian.com comfortably and controlling debt is possible. It has a storybook approach rather than how-to-this how-to-that or motivational Robert Kiyosaki “I promise you riches” sort of book.
All Comments
That said, I think the same will be done to "social investing." As much as innovation knock down the barriers to music and traditional media, I'm hopeful that sites like Zecco, Covestor (they are more social investing than personal finance), and CakeFinancial will open the door to much more transparency in this space. Their services will open the door to a much needed educational aspect that young professionals lack from their college education.
Thanks for the excellent comment. I am hopeful that these companies all succeed and help consumers do a better job of managing their money and getting a handle on their finances. I am very curious as to how long it will take for users who already have a trusted relationship with their bank to embrace a service like Mint. I do think there is a big opportunity here and the real question is when.
Vitamins indeed. In the investment world, a better service usually means better returns. There is no way that any of the mentioned above companies will be able to provide that. That is why Mint is better , as they "SAVE" you money (they don't, but that's a different story).
Assuming no start-up can provide better investment returns, I think people use to think that innovation in the field of investment can occur only if you provide:
1. Cheaper means (Zecco) to invest, yet as Zecco is experiencing the cost is not the main factor of people migrating to new brokerage firm, so innovation here won't get you that far.
2. Easier means to invest - it means more user-centric approach of presenting investment data. I there's opportunity here, as most people are lost when trying to figure out when and what to invest in.
3. Target non-users. This is a hard one, as most U.S. households are involved in investing in one way or another. However, if you will present them with new investment vehicles, that might change things.
Hope it makes sense.
Very insightful comment. I think what it takes to innovate in the world of consumer-facing financial service products is still not well understood by many start-ups. It will be interesting to see if any of these companies can crack the code.
Best regards from Sebbi