Led by a team of diverse managers, Fiat Ventures aims to invest in financial technology companies that help drive economic mobility and growth
Fiat Ventures, the leading emerging venture fund investing in products, services and technologies focused on financial democratization, announced the launch of the firm’s first venture capital fund with $25M in AUM and co-investment vehicles. Fiat Ventures is dedicated to companies building technology at the intersections of financial technology, financial access and inclusion. To date, Fiat has invested in over 25 companies, leading five investment rounds, including Copper’s Series A round in April 2022 (the top banking platform for teens). The fund boasts a list of investors uncommon for an early stage venture fund, such as Invesco Private Capital who anchored the fund, DAHG Capital Partners, Joint Effects LLC, Full Spectrum Capital, Temerity Capital Partners, Now Investments, Mountaineer Capital, Permit Ventures and several other notable Fintech founders like Jonathan Abelmann (Bestow), Kyle Daley (Chime) and Chinedu Eleanya (Mulberry).
“We believe that doing good and performing well don’t have to be mutually exclusive”
“We believe that doing good and performing well don’t have to be mutually exclusive,” said General Partner and co-founder Drew Glover. “Not only is backing underrepresented teams the right thing to do, but it provides an incredible opportunity to serve a large swath of the population that’s in need of these types of services. We feel incredibly fortunate to have such a wide base of LPs and advisors who support the Fiat mission. At Fiat, we strive to bring financial inclusion, stability and resolve to communities that have historically been overlooked in the U.S.,” he said.
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In 2018, Fiat launched its founding arm, Fiat Growth, a marketing consultancy which serves as an in-house “turnkey CMO” primarily to fintech startups, offering out-of-box growth marketing and advisory services. These services include paid media marketing, affiliate marketing, influencer engagements, strategic partnerships, marketing technology, and more. Fiat Growth accelerates brands via one vehicle, eliminating the need for multiple marketing and branding firms. This consultancy enables Fiat’s partners to meet with company founders prior to investing, giving them a competitive advantage in comparison with the traditional VC model. To date, Fiat Growth has worked with 85+ clients helping drive over $1.5bn in revenue, including SoFi, Chime, Redfin, Copper Banking, Greenwood, Sundae and Root Insurance.
The Fiat Ventures team is led by its three co-founders and General Partners, Alex Harris and Drew Glover, and Managing Partner Marcos Fernandez. Collectively, the team realized that most early fintechs focused on solving challenges for the top 10% of America, leaving white space to solve for mass markets and underrepresented populations. As a result, they spotted an opportunity to impact groups that needed the most financial guidance. One of Fiat’s primary goals is to improve the financial health and mobility of underserved populations. As a result, 54% of Fiat’s investments are underrepresented founders, 22% are female founders, and 32% are minority founders, compared to the industry averages of 13.7%, 10.7%, and 3%, respectively.
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“Post-pandemic, the rules of growth, venture investing and the culture of work have fundamentally changed. The name of the game is no longer simply access to capital and leveraging a Tier 1 name, but rather partnering with founders in the trenches to build category leaders together. Capital has become commoditized. Fiat represents the new era of true, top-notch due diligence for LPs and growth acceleration for startups,” said Alex Harris, Founding Partner at Fiat Ventures.
Harris and Glover first met on the football field while attending The University of California Berkeley. Glover was a member of the University’s Division-1 football program and Harris served as a student equipment manager for the team. Early in his career, Harris led paid growth and partnerships at Chime, and Glover served as VP of Marketplace at Steady, a consumer-focused financial empowerment platform. There, Glover helped companies like Root, JP Morgan Chase, Adidas and Nike bring award-winning services and partnerships to market.
Fernandez joined the Fiat team with an extensive background in the fintech space, having led go-to-market strategy at SoFi and BD/Partnerships efforts more recently at Ripple. He spent a large part of the last decade advising and investing in companies in the Fintech space including Brex, Ladder, Treasure and Sigo.
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