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A New ‘Venture’ for Financial Finesse

Business Growth Strategies

Financial Finesse CEO and founder Liz Davidson is looking to bring a little “finesse” to venture capital.

More specifically, the financial wellness coaching firm has just announced the launch of Financial Finesse Ventures, which Davidson calls a “natural extension” of the company's people-first mission. This new venture arm, company-backed and led by Davidson, will, according to a press release, “seek investments in purpose-driven companies dedicated to driving positive social impact.” 

It’s not a new focus for Financial Finesse or Davidson, who built a financial wellness counseling business before the term “financial wellness” came into being. Despite the firm’s longstanding reputation as a personal, high-touch focus, there’s a distinct focus of encouraging the development of FinTech, which Davidson sees as having a multiplier, if not magnifier impact on personal financial well-being. She sees the current lines between AI (artificial intelligence) and personal touch to be something that will blur, and eventually evaporate as the technology continues to enable a more personalized, impactful individual experience.

That said, it doesn’t stop there—Davidson is also focused on investments with a strong social impact.

As part of this focus, she’s also looking to push back a bit—to “stem” a trajectory in traditional venture capital funding that she says has a negative impact. Rather than imposing a pressure to achieve short-term financial goals at the expense of longer-term positive impact, she told NAPA-Net she wants to “help usher in an era where there’s more awareness of the impact on consumers,” as well as society at large. That focus isn’t restricted to FinTech, “but that’s where you get the big leverage, more numbers of people,” she explains. That also provides the ability to personalize and magnify the personal side—to influence the trajectory. “This is a numbers game,” she notes.

Speaking of numbers, the firm cites an “explosion” in FinTech in recent years that they say has led to an escalation in services that “place profit above purpose”—with a recent surge in companies “selling high interest rate loans, encouraging irresponsible investing, or connecting investors with overly expensive financial products and services in exchange for high commissions.” Financial Finesse Ventures is being launched to change this trajectory—“support companies that both consumers and employers can trust, and inspire other firms to begin investing in innovation for good.”

“This is a venture arm, not a venture fund,” she says, one funded by capital from Financial Finesse’s current income flows. The goal is to create a “safe space” for entrepreneurs—“breathing room.” “We’re not looking for an exit point,” she notes. The focus is on mission and impact first—then profit.   

That said, Davidson anticipates incorporating the output from these investments at some point into the Financial Finesse “ecosystem.” And, at least for the moment, firms looking for this backing are expected to have both the product developed and to be in launch status. 

Davidson draws a distinction between social responsibility—“doing it right is table stakes,” she clarifies—and social impact—with an emphasis on technology that, if used at scale “can put a lot of money back in consumer’s wallets, and have a ripple effect through the industry,” she says—and along the way leading the industry toward new and better models. This is NOT, she emphasizes, about chasing “shiny objects.”  

Though coy about their initial forays, Davidson is already engaged with their first “target,” one that she says provides innovative benefits to employees, employers, and society at large. “It even has a mental health aspect,” she explains.

Davidson says that she’s starting to see a search for meaning—among workers and advisors—and some “really talented AI folks” willing to take a pay cut to do something more meaningful. As for her focus, she notes that she “couldn’t have started a business without being an idealist.”

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