Led by Obvious Ventures, investment supports expansion of Brightside’s proprietary Financial Care model to employers and their employees’ families amidst record inflation and increased economic hardship
SAN FRANCISCO (Nov. 10, 2022) – Brightside, the leading financial care platform for employers, today announced it has raised $33 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Obvious Ventures, with participation from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Trinity Ventures, as well as Clocktower Technology Ventures and Chestnut Street Ventures. Bringing the company’s total funding to over $75 million, this investment will support Brightside’s continued rapid growth and platform enhancements, including additional AI-driven capabilities to further elevate its best-in-class product experience.
Seven in 10 Americans live paycheck to paycheck1. In addition to the profound ways this impacts individuals and their families, employees’ financial health has a proven, significant impact on businesses’ performance. In fact, research has shown that financial stress impacts everything from mental and physical health to workplace retention and productivity: according to a recent study2, financially-stressed employees are reportedly twice as likely to look for a job elsewhere, and 76% say that financial worries have had a negative impact on their productivity, ultimately affecting employers’ bottom line in key areas.
Brightside is on a mission to help employers improve the financial health of their workforce, thereby improving employee productivity and wellbeing and supporting businesses’ short and long-term growth. By providing a single destination for employees and their families to address any personal finance need with unbiased, individualized, hands-on support, Brightside is transforming the financial futures of the historically underserved majority of Americans. Currently supporting over 300,000 families, Brightside serves leading Fortune 500 employers with frontline workers in industries such as manufacturing, distribution, and healthcare. Households that work with Brightside save approximately $1,200 a year, on average, and employers see an 80% reduction in 401(k) non-contributors. Employees who engage with Brightside also reduce credit card debt by three times more than their non-engaged co-workers, see a 34% improvement in subprime credit scores, and leave their jobs 41% less than those who do not use the benefit.
“Traditional ‘financial wellness’ solutions have long fallen short for the frontline worker,” said Tom Spann, CEO and co-founder of Brightside. “Most employees aren’t looking for financial plans and budgeting products, and they don’t want a financial planner to tell them they are doing it wrong. They want to know what to do now in their moment of need. Real problems are more than arithmetic – they are about real life and require practical, personalized solutions from real people powered by sophisticated rules engines. At Brightside, we have added financial urgent care and financial primary care to wellness to meet people where they are to measurably improve the financial health of working families. With this funding, we’ll be able to expand our offering to more employers and families – something that’s desperately needed during this time of inflation and economic uncertainty.”
Leveraging proprietary behavioral science and financial models, Brightside combines a human approach to financial health – via dedicated Financial Assistants – with a technology platform to provide real solutions to alleviate employees' financial stress. Brightside addresses urgent financial needs by finding community and government assistance programs, arranging payment plans, discussing debt consolidation options, creating savings plans and providing other practical, substantive support and tools that meet everyday Americans where they are to help them break out of the stressful cycle of living paycheck to paycheck.
“Employee access to meaningful financial solutions and support is more important now than ever, and Brightside is leading the charge to make a real difference, particularly among underserved populations,” said Vishal Vasishth, co-founder and managing director at Obvious Ventures. “We are excited about this partnership and what’s in store for Brightside as the company continues to scale its growth and build a new front door to financial services for working families.”
Brightside grew its 2021 revenues by approximately 800% last year and is on track to grow nearly 10x in 2022. In addition, the company’s headcount has grown over 150% this year to more than 175 team members. With plans to hire 200 more employees in the coming year, Brightside is focused on expanding its footprint in Chandler, Arizona, where it’s hiring in areas such as engineering, software development, IT operations, and client services.
“We are excited to see Brightside experience success and be recognized as an innovator in the fintech industry, as evidenced by this new round of financing,” said Kevin Hartke, mayor of Chandler. “We appreciate Brightside’s trust in Chandler as the right location for its continued growth and investment.”
For more information, visit GoBrightside.com.
About Brightside
Brightside created Financial Care, a new category in employee benefits, to help make paychecks go farther for the seven in 10 Americans who are not financially healthy3. Since 2018, its Financial Assistants, proprietary rules engine, and innovative products have helped thousands of families save more than $1,200 annually (on average) while improving emergency savings and reducing debt, resulting in improved productivity, retention, and workforce diversity while lowering healthcare costs. Brightside is located in San Francisco, CA, Chandler, AZ, and Philadelphia, PA. For more information, please visit, GoBrightside.com.
About the City of Chandler
Chandler, Arizona has built a reputation as a Community of Innovation. Life in Chandler goes beyond a thriving and dynamic business community with progressive entrepreneurship. Known for its rich diversity, the City offers an outstanding quality of life for all generations with great schools and recreational opportunities. Chandler has grown to become the state's fourth largest City with a population of more than 283,000. Chandler has been named one of the nation's Best Places to Find a Job and Best Cities for Women in Tech. The City also is one of the safest communities in the nation and boasts AAA bond ratings from all three national rating agencies, one of only 40 communities to achieve this distinction. For more information, visit the City website, or connect with the City on social media.
Media contacts:
Method Communications for Brightside
Brightside@methodcommunications.com
Stephanie Romero
City of Chandler, Public Information Officer
480-782-2231
1 Survey conducted by OnePoll on behalf of AmeriLife
2 2022 PwC Employee Financial Wellness Survey
3 Financial Health Pulse® 2022 U.S. Trends Report