Step is a banking app targeted towards teens which just raised $50 million in their Series B… but, who cares about that! Sure, they had investors like Justin Timberlake, Eli Manning, Larry Fitzgerland and The Chainsmokers in this round, but the real star of the show is TikTok influencer Charli D’Amelio.
We know you have no idea WTF that is, but she’s pretty important in the teenage world. Maybe Step was up to snuff for her considering they grew their user based to 500,000 in under two months after launching. Step and Charli have buddied up to share across her social media platforms which have a total of about 137 million followers.
Charli is a youngin’ too, and her user base is perfect to get the message out about handling your finances properly when you’re young. Charli made a statement saying, “I’m excited to be able to use my platform to help close this gap and have made a direct investment in Step to help them develop even more useful products.”
Step has raised a total of $75 million and, okay, outside of Charli, I guess some other notable investors are execs from Square, Venmo, Facebook and Visa. It’s pretty remarkable to see that much attention considering the fintech space is so crowded now. But there isn’t much there specifically targeting ages 13-18, which is what Step does. They’re also FDIC-insured and don’t have fees, helping teens create good credit before they hit 18.
The Anti-Diet Diet
Apparently, this is the “diet” everyone is onboard for. Maybe it’s 2020, but what’s the point (other than for health reasons)? Wellory is a new app that has an “anti-diet approach” towards nutrition, health and wellness who just raised $4.2 million in funding led by Story Ventures. The Tinder co founders were involved along with Wayne Ellington of the NBA.
Emily Hochman, Wellory’s CEO, struggled like most of us with that freshman 15 in college. Emily’s struggle got so bad, however, her dieting led her to deal with chronic illness and infertility issues. This led her to become an Institute for Integrative Nutrition certified health coach and inspired her to create Wellory, a “managed marketplace” that matches someone with a certified health coach, licensed nutritionist or registered dietitian. Whoever a user chooses will create a personalized, custom plan for them based on their goals.
The coaches and certified experts are niche, too. For example, if someone was struggling to lose their baby weight, they could choose a dietician or expert that specializes in helping women with the same issue. There is no “standard diet” on Wellory which is what makes the app stand out. Emily says the app has been going strong for 11 months now, with users hitting their goals, and instead of wanting to leave, they stay because of the strong relationship they’ve built with their expert.
The app is only $59.99 a month, which is a barely there monthly cost compared to hiring a nutritionist outright or seeing a personal trainer.
Collectibles Schmollectibles
Hoarders, er… collectors, unite! Collectors Universe is going private in a new $700 million deal that brings D1 Capital Partners and Cohen Private Ventures with Nat Turner (famous in the sports card collector world). Collectors Universe’s shares have tripled their value this year, and they could use this win to truly outshine their rival Rally. Rally is already a full platform and this deal will put Collectors Universe on that same playing field as well.
Think of this as the Facebook Marketplace for sports card collectors and hobbyists. The company authenticates memorabilia, grades collectables, and after this deal they might make the sports and trading cards world a truly legitimate area of investment. AKA assets that are actually assets. Robb Petrozzo, the co founder of Rally, thinks the “toy category” is higher yielding and more interesting than traditional investment funds.
Duh.
If Collectors Universe does expand into a full service platform, they’ll offer services that support collectors from start to finish. It’s not just sports cards that are valuable, either. Petrozzo points to wrestling memorabilia (think WWE), where some cards can go for $30,000, or Pokemon cards, which are just as profitable.
Do you think collectibles are going to turn into a legitimate asset class? Hit reply and give us your thoughts!
