How many times have you been ready to take that next step in your life, such as buying a house or going back to graduate school, but felt overwhelmed with all the existing information and companies willing to cash in on your confusion?
Cincinnati-based entrepreneur Dan Green has been there, and as a mortgage market commentator he has helped thousands of others who have been there, too. That’s why he founded his newest venture Growella as a way to help millennials achieve more with their money and their lives.
The mission of the website is to deliver timely, relevant information to people who are making financial choices in their lives. It does this by providing what the company hopes are straightforward, easy-to-understand articles and informative videos, covering topics that young people would want to seek information about but might be too afraid to ask. Everything from insurance, mortgages, credit cards and credit scores, leasing or buying a car, going back to school and landing that dream job are among its library.
“There's a lot of information on the internet, but not a lot of helpful information,” Green said. “We started Growella to give people real-life stories and interactive tools to help make better choices with their money and with their careers. People make their best life choices when they have strong, unwavering, unbiased information at their disposal. That's what Growella was made to deliver.”
Green and his Growella staff understand their audience, and they love to hear from them. The website’s staff and team of writers regularly connect with the online community, answering questions and rewarding website visitors for playing Growella Games, in which selected participants can participate in an eight-week, money-related challenge such as paying down more credit card or student loan debt, starting an emergency savings fund, or taking 401(k) payroll deductions. If players meet their goal, Growella will match the amount of money they saved or paid down.
"We started Growella to give people real-life stories and interactive tools to help make better choices with their money and with their careers."
Those searching for information on Growella will notice something a little different about the website: advertisements are missing. Green believes the key to a successful business is treating customers with respect, so he puts his readers before revenue. Instead of advertisements, Growella earns revenue by connecting interested readers to trusted companies that provide the services they are looking for.
“For example, when a reader is buying a home and wants to talk with a mortgage loan officer about down payment grants available in an area, we make that connection for the reader and collect revenue from the lender,” Green said. “Or, if we're presenting a study on the Cheapest 100 Cars to Lease we provide links to read about each car listed.”
Growella’s business model is similar to the blog Green started in 2004, The Mortgage Reports, which is also void of advertising. The Mortgage Reports gives unbiased mortgage news and advice to experienced homeowners, first-time home buyers and real estate investors. The site is widely recognized, having been cited by CBS News, The Atlantic, Market Watch, Huffington Post and many more media outlets.
Green sold The Mortgage Reports to Full Beaker Inc. and launched Growella in January of 2017. Growella now has four full-time employees aside from Green and six part-time or freelance employees. Now entering the media company’s second year, Green said he plans to add new content channels and continue reaching Growella’s audience where they want to be reached, with the messaging they want to receive.
“We're fortunate that our audience is loyal and growing," he continued. "It gives us space to create and reach readers in new, interesting ways."
