LearnLux, a startup helping millennials learn how to make personal finance decisions, has been going at full sprint this past year. In addition to landing a spot with MassChallenge, the company received financing from Dorm Room Fund in the fall - a fact that the student-run VC announced today.
With the new funds, the LearnLux team - led by brother-sister duo Michael and Rebecca Liebman - plans to grow their startup on all fronts. Not only are they planning on finding more financial firms to partner with, but they’ll also be working on educating more young adults on how to make the right decisions to set themselves up for financial security throughout their adulthood.
A financial starting point for millennials
Rebecca gave me a rundown of how she and her brother came up with the concept behind LearnLux. She explained that, “We had been talking for years about how personal finance isn’t a priority in the educational system.”
“It’s terrifying,” she continued. “We’re graduating with student debt and trying to build credit. We have to make big decisions, but there’s been nowhere to go to find help. The decisions I have to make are very different than the ones my parents had to make.”
Coming out of college, most millennials don’t have much insight into money - beyond knowing they have little of it. Finding a job becomes the primary focus of most young adults, but securing a source of income is just part of a bigger financial picture. Other major decisions, like what kind of retirement account they should open, fall by the wayside because people have no idea how to deal with them.
“Society values getting a job so much, but no one prioritizes personal finance,” Rebecca explained. “It’s a part of the real world, too, and is just as important.”
“We’re college-educated, but don’t know the first thing about handling our own money,” she added.
That’s why LearnLux is providing an online platform where people can learn about all kinds of financial concepts and make educated decisions about how they manage their money. All of the key information is broken up into more digestible, less jargony tidbits for better comprehension. And the startup is emphasizing interaction and simulations, so people can become more confident while making smart financial choices for their future. Once users have wrapped their heads around the concepts presented, they have the chance to link up with firms to carry out whichever investment decisions they’d like to make.
Not just for finance enthusiasts
While Rebecca admitted that she’s much like LearnLux’s target demographic, her fraternal co-founder, Michael is “a finance guru” who’s been day-trading since he was 15. While he’s passionate about the investing realm, he does recognize that others may not be as thrilled - but that doesn’t mean they don’t see how they could benefit from LearnLux’s life lessons.
“Personal finance isn’t sexy, and neither is saving for retirement,” Michael wrote me. “But it’s really the idea of financial independence as the ability to do what you want later in life.”
“Even people who don’t aspire to be super wealthy want to do something that requires having discretionary income, whether it be traveling, taking care of their parents, or supporting their children,” he went on. “Usually that idea sells itself and makes people see the value in the company.”
With that in mind, the startup will hit the ground running over the next six months, expanding their business every way imaginable, so they can assist as many lost millennials as possible.
Image via Rebecca Liebman.
