A Valley fintech startup is looking to disrupt the financial services industry while helping women navigate the complexities of investment and wealth management.
Phoenix-based Svvy developed a platform that leverages an advanced algorithm and a quiz to connect women with experienced financial experts in the Valley.
“(The quiz) is very short and asks some questions about their lifestyle, interests and financial goals," Janice Utke, cofounder of Svvy, said. "Then, it will match them with local advisers who meet their needs."
What's more, Svvy also takes into account the "human element" by carefully vetting financial experts through a rigorous interview process, Utke added.
“We make sure we understand their commission structures, and then they sign an oath that if they're going to be in our network, they have women's best interests in mind, and that they put women's interests above their own," she said.
Utke and her sister, Jenna Biancavilla, founded Svvy in January 2023 after seeing the challenges that some women face when managing their finances.
Women are two times more likely than men to be targeted by deceptive financial practitioners in the U.S., driven in part by a sheer difference in population, according to the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement.
Svvy's Biancavilla also operates Pearl Capital Management
Some 30.8 million women and 25 million men nationwide were over the age of 64 as of 2020, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. That population difference continues to widen as American age with an estimated 2.1 million men and 3.6 million women over 85 years old.
“Through my financial planning practice, I saw a lot of different women who were taken advantage of by predatory salespeople or even fraudsters,” Biancavilla said.
The decision to start Svvy was also personal. The sisters' aunt encountered a situation in which her funds were allocated into "unsuitable investments" that nearly derailed her retirement plan, Biancavilla added.
“We have a personal connection to a woman who has been taken advantage of,” Biancavilla said. “So we decided, ‘Let's solve this.’"
Biancavilla is an entrepreneur and seasoned financial expert. In 2015, she founded Pearl Capital Management, a Phoenix-based financial services firm. She also oversees an invite-only investment company and leads the Arcadia branch of Geneva Financial.
Utke has more than a decade of experience in the tech industry, working for startups and high-growth companies providing solutions for accounting, audit, regulatory reporting and online education services.
“Having these two different backgrounds and merging them together into a fintech company was kind of natural," Biancavilla said. "So it was pretty neat that we were able to combine our different strengths."
Phoenix a proving ground for Svvy's platform
The Valley market has been a significant proving ground for Svvy’s platform.
“Phoenix has a great track record of being a really nice place for financial services and companies to serve consumers," Biancavilla said. "Very specifically, because we're large. We're also business-friendly compared to some of the other large markets.”
Biancavilla and Utke primarily bootstrapped Svvy, which is already generating buzz in other cities nationwide.
“I've been on the road talking about Svvy at different conferences. I just did one in Chicago … We're getting people who are pinging us asking, ‘When is it going to be available in New York?,’” Biancavilla said. “So we're gathering all the data to make sure we're opening in the markets where we're starting to get traction.”
The platform is free for users but generates revenue via a subscription fee from advisers and experts, according to company documentation filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company has also received inquiries about expanding its platform to include experts in other industries.
“We're looking at re-engaging some of our users as we add Realtors, insurance agents or lawyers onto the platform,” Biancavilla said. “We haven't done that quite yet. But we've been building it out to be able to match people with other types of experts."
