Can you tell us a little about yourself Clare? What’s a typical day at work like for you at Let’s Get Set?
I’ve worked across sectors over my career, and decided to start Let’s Get Set because of my deep passion for making paths to upward mobility possible for everyday families (more on that below). I’m a New York native, who now calls San Francisco home. I’m also a new mom, which has given me a newfound appreciation for the parents that our product is built for.
As an early stage startup founder I wear many hats and each day is wildly different. I spend my days working on different tasks ranging from setting strategy to cultivating partnerships to getting on the phone to hear feedback from users to spending time with external stakeholders and investors.
What made you click with this unique idea of a Fintech startup?
I’ve always been passionate about promoting economic mobility and financial access for low- and middle-wage communities. Prior to starting Let’s Get Set I spent a decade scaling and funding solutions for low-wage communities, and saw firsthand that they had unique financial needs that were going unmet by mainstream players at scale. Often these folks were paying more for services that weren’t made for them.
I decided to go back to school to get my MBA at MIT with a desire to solve these problems at scale. That’s where I met a classmate who first told me about the $12B of unclaimed tax credits that low-wage families leave unclaimed each year. This was astonishing to me, and felt like a problem worth solving.
For low-wage families, tax-time is the moment where they get the largest check they will receive all year and it’s an amazing moment to make progress on longer term financial goals. I wanted to make sure that it went right for more families and that families got the money they were owed!
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Recently, you announced the launch of a tax filing service for families. Could you please highlight its USP?
This is our first year that we are offering parents the opportunity to file taxes directly with us – a decision we made after hearing from parents that they were unable to use many existing tax resources because they were inaccessible to them. Our tax platform is unique in that it’s built specifically for parents making under $75k and hyper focused on getting them the main credits they risk missing. Our product (accessible at letsgetset.co) also supports families via text, offering them the opportunity to text in with questions at any point in their filing journey. Parents can create an account with us to leverage numerous free tools like estimating their refund size, finding a bank account with a mission-aligned partner, or generating a checklist of forms they need to successfully file their taxes.
Could you please explain how you utilize the unclaimed tax credits? How exactly is it benefitting your clients?
Tax credits are like cash, and to get them you have to file a tax return. There are two types of credits – those that reduce your tax liability (aka the taxes you owe) and those that come back to you as cash regardless of whether you owe taxes or not. We focus on three main credits relevant for parents – the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and the Child and Dependent Care Credit.
We want families to understand them and make sure they successfully receive them when they submit their taxes. For some of the families we work with, they aren’t required to file taxes because they make less than the standard deduction and have W-2 income; for those families they have to make the active decision to file to successfully get these credits.
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What is one domain you would like to explore in the near future to create more equitable systems?
Given that we’ve built our product for parents, I’ve been thinking a lot about how we can help families better manage childcare expenses and caretaking responsibilities so that they have the option to continue to work. There is simply not enough support for the parents we serve, especially for those providing solely for their households, and we know that covering childcare can be the biggest expense many of these families are facing.
Can you talk about some of the most innovative financial products that will be game-changers for the industry?
I’m really excited to see financial products built for customer segments that have historically been underserved – like for low-wage families, communities of color, gig workers, and parents. I have been a huge fan of Propel for many years now, and respect how they paved the way for highlighting the unique needs of underserved groups. I think we will continue to see startups pop up to address the needs of these unique customer groups.
Given the rapid pace of change in fintech today, what would your top five tips be for reskilling/upskilling initiatives for teams belonging to this niche?
I rely heavily on other fintech founders and communities of fintech professionals – my advice would be to find a community of folks that can help you stay up to date on tech trends, and also actually understand how those trends can accelerate or change your business.
What is one piece of advice that you would like to give to our readers for their financial security?
I would imagine most folks reading this are likely on track to file their taxes, but I think folks overly undervalue the financial choices they can make at tax-time and how those can add up to thousands of dollars saved. Of course, make sure you successfully captured the main credits owed to you, but I’d encourage folks to go a step further and take advantage of tax-advantaged accounts like 529 plans, FSAs, and Roth IRAs as well.
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Could you share some last-minute tips for CEO’s in upcoming fintech startups?
There is a lot of work to be done, and many problems left to be solved – especially when it comes to creating financial equity for underserved communities. Take the leap, start by listening to users and their needs, and then get building!
Thank you, Clare ! That was fun and we hope to see you back on globalfintechseries.com soon.
[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]
Clare Herceg is the CEO and Founder of Let’s Get Set, a mission-driven fintech making wealth-building possible for the 90 million households making less than $70,000. Their app and textline help parents secure their maximum tax credits (up to ~$9,100) and their piece of the $12B that is left unclaimed every year. The company has received support from the Financial Solutions Lab, Visible Hands VC, and MIT Delta V. Her passion for economic mobility has fueled her decade of work funding and scaling mission-driven initiatives in low-income communities. As Director of Strategic Initiatives at First Place for Youth, a California-based non-profit providing education, employment, and housing to youth aging out of foster care, she led a team to enable national expansion. Prior to that, she worked for a foundation investing in national youth-serving nonprofits. Clare has an M.B.A. from MIT and a B.A. from Princeton in Public Policy.
Let’s Get Set is an MIT- and female-founded fintech startup that makes paths to upward mobility possible for the 90 million Americans who make less than $70k. Our first product helps parents secure their maximum tax credits and their piece of the $12B that is left unclaimed each year. We reach parents through partnerships with national organizations and healthcare providers who work one-on-one with parents. Our work was studied by the Urban Institute and showed that families are more likely to get this refund money when referred to Let’s Get Set.
