FinHealth US 2021
Fintech to expand economic opportunity
PARTNERS

ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Village Capital, with support from Freddie Mac, PayPal and TIAA, is launching FinHealth US 2021, an accelerator program for early-stage startups in the United States contributing to the financial health and economic opportunity of everyday people and small business owners.
Apply to receive access to Village Capital’s award-winning curriculum and connect one-on-one with experts including investors, entrepreneurs, nonprofit executives, corporate leaders, and potential partners, including subject matter experts and industry professionals from Freddie Mac, PayPal and TIAA.
About our work in Financial Health and Economic Opportunity
Village Capital manages one of the most active financial health/fintech accelerators in the world.
Since 2009, we have supported more than 1,000 early-stage entrepreneurs through our investment readiness programs. Our affiliated fund, VilCap Investments, has invested in more than 100 program graduates who have raised more than $500M in additional capital, including eight early-stage US financial health/fintech companies like Vault, Fig Loans, and Finix.
In 2019, Village Capital was named Best Fintech Accelerator at the annual Finovate conference, and our investment-readiness curriculum was ranked by the Global Accelerator Learning Initiative as one of the best accelerator programs in the world.
COHORT COMPANIES
PROGRAM TIMELINE
Program Timeline
Sep 29
Applications are now closed.
Oct - Mid Nov
Approximately 12 startups are selected to participate in the cohort of the program.
Nov 10
Nov 15 - 18
Dec 6 - 9
Jan 18 - 21
Feb 7 - 10
*The location of the Program Summit has not been finalized. Due to the dynamic nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and changing government guidance, Village Capital will monitor and confirm in Fall 2021 whether the Program Summit will be held in-person or virtually.
Who Should Apply?
According to Pew Research Center, roughly 51% of non-retired adults in the US say that the economic consequences of the coronavirus outbreak will make it harder for them to achieve their financial goals. Unfortunately, systematic challenges continue to exist, often with disproportionate impacts on BIPOC, women, low-income, LGBTQ+, disabled, and justice-system involved communities.
As we recruit entrepreneurs this year, we will focus on startup innovations that build on the financial health and economic opportunity of everyday people and small business owners in the US. This will also include recruiting startups addressing key wealth inequities and the racial wealth gap.
People-focused innovation areas include, but are not limited to:
Preparing, selecting, financing, and maintaining a home over time
Preparing for retirement, health, and family needs as people age
Increasing and smoothing income for people across their jobs
Building credit and getting out of “harmful” debt
Small business owner-focused innovation areas include, but are not limited to:
Accessing and navigating capital
Offering innovative workplace financial health solutions
Building revenue generation
Overall factors we consider:
Scalability: Tech-enabled solutions with high-growth business models.
Agency: Solutions that empower users with agency over their financial decisions.
Cultural and behavioral sensitivity: Solutions that use a creative, cultural, and behavioral lens.
Inequity and its intersections: Solutions supporting communities facing financial health inequities based on race, age, gender, geographic location and income level - among other intersections.
Eligible startups must have:
Legal incorporation as a for-profit entity
Scalable solution that tackles a financial health challenge for low-to-moderate income communities or small businesses in the U.S.
Operations in or have the ability to expand business to the U.S. market
Have a minimum viable product (MVP) with less than $1M raised in equity
Have at least one full-time founder based in the U.S.
Have meaningful customer or business validation (not limited to revenue, can also be successful pilot studies, number of users, and/or strategic partnerships)
Benefits startups will receive:
Ability to network and receive mentorship from potential strategic partners, customers, founders and investors across the Americas.
Diverse and inclusive network of mentors and founders within financial health and fintech
Interactive sessions tailored to help your company identify early milestones and prepare for your next round of capital (if relevant)
Access to an investment analyst who will coach you 1:1 on building a financial model, identifying unit economics, and on using financial metrics to drive both the business and investor diligence
Participate in mock board meetings with representatives from financial institutions, corporates, fintechs, and investors that can help your organization scale
Exposure on Village Capital’s program website and other communications collateral
Advisory Board
Aimeelene Gaspar
CEO & Co-Founder at LionX
Amelia Gandara
Principal at Nationwide Ventures
Andy Will
Investor at Zeal Capital Partners
Brittany Richards
Managing Partner at Orange Bridge Partners
Chianoo Adrian
Managing Director, Financial Wellness Solutions Development & Integration at TIAA
Edwin Loredo
Vice President at Core Innovation Capital
Elizabeth McCluskey
Director of the Discovery Fund at CMFG Ventures
Howard Manzon
Senior Director, Financial Wellness & Innovation at TIAA
Joseph Leitmann-Santa Cruz
CEO & Executive Director at Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB)
Julián Alcázar
Independent
Karim Gillani
General Partner at Luge Capital
Kasra Movahedi
Director at IRC's Center for Economic Opportunity
Liza Curcio-Rudy
Associate at Accion Venture Lab
Maria Lajewski
Director at Financial Health Network
Mariah Lichtenstern
Managing Director at DiverseCity Ventures
Mario Ruiz
Co-Founder and Partner at Infinity Ventures
Michael Presser
Senior Associate at The Social Entrepreneurs' Fund
Monica Murthy
Partnerships Lead at Alloy
Peter Sanborn
Vice President, Head of Corporate Development (M&A) and PayPal Ventures at PayPal
Prashanthi Ravanavarapu
Senior Director of Product Management, Consumer Financial Services at PayPal
Ramona Ortega
CEO & Founder of My Money My Future
Rashan Jibowu
Independent
Sarah Morgenstern
Venture Partner at Flourish Ventures
Sunny Das
Tech/Venture Scouting at Freddie Mac
Tejal Mody
Independent
Timothy Flacke
Executive Director at Commonwealth
Vikas Raj
Fintech VC
Frequently Asked Questions
Please reach out to bryson.hearne@vilcap.com or edna.samron@vilcap.com to learn more.