When Matt Watson traded in his Wall Street job trading high-yield credit to try his hand at a startup, he made a surprising discovery: His smart, talented and driven colleagues often struggled to bring those skills to their personal finances.
“They work incredibly hard to earn a paycheck … but they don’t know how to make the most of that income and benefits,” Watson told me from London where he was enjoying the final days of his honeymoon.
Watson moved on from his first startup, insurtech Indio Technologies Inc., in 2019 to co-found and lead Blend Financial Inc., which does business as Origin Financial. (No relationship to Blend, the San Francisco mortgage fintech.) Employees at DocuSign, Chime, Zynga, Nextdoor and Blend, the mortgage fintech, now rely on Origin’s services to manage their finances, including retirement planning and paying off debt.
As CEO of Origin, Watson this week closed on the company’s $56 million Series B round led by Dick Costolo and Adam Bain’s 01A, General Catalyst and Lachy Groom, with existing investors Founders Fund, Felicis Ventures and Abstract Ventures also participating. The financing placed a $400 million valuation on the San Francisco company.
Financial wellness, especially tied to the workplace, is a hot space. Other startups tackling employees’ financial wellness as part of their business models include Nudge, Oakland’s Even and San Jose’s BrightPlan. Established companies have also introduced financial wellness offerings such as Paychex’s FinFit program for the company’s payroll clients.
“You’re seeing these wellness programs pop up across the board that are trying to solve the biggest drivers of stress and the biggest problems people face in everyday life,” he said. The ability to manage money and finances also affects whether workers can access a range of typical employee benefits, whether it's fertility, mental health, child care or health care.
Origin said its competitive advantages include not selling its own financial products to its clients' employees and offering customized advice from certified financial planners.
Watson also touts the advantages of building a startup in San Francisco.
“The fabric of San Francisco is very strong when it comes to entrepreneurship and starting companies. We’ve really doubled down on San Francisco,” Watson said, citing the Bay Area’s deep talent pool.
Origin plans to double its workforce of 75 people in the next six months or so. The hiring will occur at its San Francisco headquarters and its office in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where Origin co-founder and chief technology officer Joao de Paula lives.
“We’re going through another big inflection point in the business,” Watson said of the hiring plans.
Of course, it helps in such times to have a partner willing to be accommodating of media interviews, fundraising pitches and the like in the midst of a honeymoon.
“My wife is a CEO of a billion-dollar company herself, so she knows the drill,” Watson said. “She cuts me some slack when we’ve got these big, big things going on and totally understands.”
