Venice-based Stackin Inc. has raised $12.6 million in a Series B funding round. The investment was led by European venture giant Octopus Ventures.
Stackin’s millennial-focused services use text messages to communicate financial advice and recommendations. The company refers users to different fintech platforms based on their individual needs. These can include banking services, such Chime, or micro-investing platforms, such as Robinhood and Acorns.
“Our main goal is to create a simple entry point into finance,” said Stackin Chief Executive Scott Grimes. “Most people don’t have a relationship or access to a trusted financial adviser.”
Stackin attempts to make the entry process as painless as possible by requiring minimal information from new users upfront. The platform then gradually collects more information through text interactions, Grimes said, which it uses to deliver increasingly personalized advice and recommendations.
“The more (information) you give, the more tailored advice we can provide,” he said. “(We use) everything from financial information to life situations.”
Part of Stackin’s latest funding round will be used to improve the service’s personalization capabilities, according to Grimes. The company plans to double down on investments in machine learning to provide the most relevant, individualized financial recommendations possible, he said.
Eventually, Grimes’ goal is to act as a central conduit to help Stackin’s users connect more seamlessly with full-service savings, investment and loan platforms.
“If you’ve ever signed up for a financial product, it can be very laborious,” he said, “We’d basically like to eventually house all of our users’ data internally so that we can easily port it to those services.
“The thesis is basically simplifying the sign-up process,” he added.
Within the next three months, Grimes said Stackin plans to “deepen” its partnerships with fintech companies to build out these features.
According to Grimes, this service will not necessarily be limited to fintech platforms.
Stackin also plans to launch new “upsell” advice offerings in the next three months. Grimes said these will be based around providing information rather than selling stand-alone savings or investment products.
