Holberg Financial, a Chicago startup that aims to provide financial advising as a work benefit, has raised $1 million in venture capital funding to help it expand.
The seed round, which closed this week, was led by West Loop Ventures, but also included Howard Tullman’s G2T3V Fund and an investment from Maggie Johnson, the vice president of education and university programs at Google, according to Holberg founder and CEO Joe Holberg.
Holberg Financial, founded in 2015, makes an online work benefit platform that employers can purchase to provide their employees with financial guidance. It helps users manage money and reach financial goals, whether that means paying off student loans or saving for a down payment on a home.
“People are struggling with personal finances, and unless you have $500,000 to go get private wealth management, there really isn’t a good option out there,” Holberg said. “No one is addressing the masses.”
To give people the best financial advice, Holberg Financial uses a combination of software algorithms and real-life financial advisors to educate users on how to best manage their money. The service costs $7 per month per employee and the startup currently has nine clients, serving about 2,000 employees. Holberg’s clients include Dark Matter Coffee and Noble Charter Schools.
Holberg Financial, which operates out of 1871, employs just Holberg and a developer right now. However, Holberg said he plans to use the new funding to hire three more employees in sales and engineering.
