Northstar customers include leading employers Zoom, ServiceTitan, and Thumbtack
Northstar, a fintech company that enables employers to offer financial wellness as an employee benefit, announced $10.7 million in financing, including a new $7.3 million Series A led by M13 with participation from Foundation Capital and Workday Ventures. The investment comes on the heels of breakout growth and adoption from leading employers including Zoom, ServiceTitan, and Thumbtack.
“For generations, employees have gotten paychecks and retirement plans through work, but without guidance to manage their finances and achieve their goals. Employment is the primary source of financial stability and wealth creation, and Northstar is redefining the employee experience.”
Northstar makes financial guidance accessible to all individuals by reimagining it as an employer-provided benefit. The innovative platform supports employees in achieving financial wellness across three pillars of service:
- Paired 1-on-1 financial advice from a dedicated Northstar CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®), who designs a custom financial plan and proactively optimizes money for each employee.
- Automation to take action on advice, to help employees save, pay off debt, invest, and understand taxes.
- Centralized recommendations on how to best leverage compensation and benefits – such as equity, health plans, HSA/FSA, perks – through personalized advice, open enrollment tools, total rewards statements, and visual offer letters.
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The current environment in the United States highlights systemic financial instability and the need for a financial wellness solution that supports all individuals, regardless of their background. Today, three out of four employees cite personal finances as their number one stress, and half of mental health issues and anxiety are caused by financial stress (CapitalOne). The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated these issues, as half of U.S. household income has decreased since March (TransUnion).
By personalizing financial guidance, Northstar has helped employees achieve their distinct financial goals, like saving to buy a house, planning to start a family, paying off debt, saving for retirement, and more. On average, more than 50% of eligible employees have worked with their Northstar CFP®, and messages between employees and their CFPs® have doubled every month since March. Northstar CFPs® also save HR teams valuable time previously spent answering questions about compensation and benefits.