Aura Finance: Science-based Financial Wellness

77% of Americans are stressed about their financial situation and money is the leading cause of anxiety. Financial anxiety is at an all time high with rising inflation, looming recession and soaring debt. 

The problem disproportionately impacts women, young people, and people of color. Over the course of their lifetime, women will lose an approximately $2 million from underinvesting and under-advocating for themselves. More than 20% of millennials believe they will never be able to afford to retire. 50% of Black households and 49% of Hispanic households are not invested at all. Democratizing access to passive wealth generation requires building tools that meet historically marginalized, underrepresented investors where they are and working with them to co-design access points that help them reach their financial goals on their own terms. 

Building wealth has less to do with how much you know and more to do with how you behave. By operating from a place of fear and anxiety, individuals make irrational decisions which leads to suboptimal results and the cycle of stress repeats itself. That's why Aura focuses on healing your relationship with money so you can combat anxiety, make rational decisions and break the financial anxiety cycle. 

Most financial platforms on the market today focus solely on wealth generation using a “set it and forget it model,” but do little to manage financial anxiety. Personal finance is deeply personal; we take the time to get to know our investors, meet them where they are, and co-design personalized pathways to financial freedom tailored to their unique values, risk tolerance, and financial goals. By offering zero-minimum direct-indexing (a feature typically only available to account sizes greater than $100,000), investors can build hyper-personalized, values-aligned investment portfolios and unlock exceptional returns without high minimums or hidden fees. We also provide money coaching and rewards based learning to build confidence, overcome limiting beliefs, and achieve financial goals faster.   

Demo here: https://www.loom.com/share/d41...

Our customers are the 4 out of 5 Americans experiencing financial anxiety who want to feel better about their money. These ASAIs (aggressive savers, anxious investors) skew millennial and Gen Z, though we even have Gen X. The majority of our customers are 25-35 making between $100-250k (of which there are currently 35 million Americans). $68 trillion dollars is also expected to be passed down to these generations in the next 10 years, and we expect to be there to support them.

The growing wealth and investing gap is exacerbating inequality and erasing the middle class. Left unaddressed, skyrocketing rates of financial anxiety and inequality will lead to social and democratic unrest. Aura is creating an accessible entry point for young professionals to learn how to manage their finances and emotions related to money and the overall financial system. We leverage algorithmic and values-based investing, money coaching, and learn-and-earn financial literacy lessons to co-design tailored financial plans to address users' unique financial anxieties and help them build confidence to invest for a better life today and a better world tomorrow.

Not only have we validated that our customer wants behavioral coaching with a side of financial management, the broader market is also validating it. In fact, 85% of Gen Y and Z are demanding behavioral coaching with a side of financial management. Citation here: https://institutional.fidelity...

And 79% of Gen Y and Z vs. 62% for Gen X and Baby Boomers track how well their investments align with values. Citation: THE (R)EVOLUTION OF FINANCIAL ADVICE (eMoney).

Robo-advisors’ one-size-fits-all, “set and forget” approach does little for financial anxiety. Aura is the world’s first wealth engagement platform where investors learn to manage financial anxiety and generate passive wealth is what the next generation needs to start feeling better and building wealth.

Courtney Cardin (Co-Founder; President and Head Money Coach)

Bio: Courtney spent more than a decade working at the intersection of politics, policy, and finance to develop and implement inclusive economic development initiatives and models to promote innovation and entrepreneurship. She became a Certified Money Coach after her divorce from her husband (a wealth advisor) and realizing she needed to heal her own relationship with money. She has experience building coalitions and strategic partnerships with civic organizations, community leaders, influencers, and companies to promote sustainable brands and progressive causes, candidates, and policies. 

In 2019, Courtney moved to Melbourne, Australia, and launched an impact consulting business, BC Global Partners. Courtney advised clients around the world on sustainable investment and inclusive growth. A trained attorney with a focus on antitrust and congressional investigations, Courtney previously represented Fortune 500 clients, served as Senior Counsel for the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and an attorney for Secretary Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. Courtney received a B.A. in International Studies and a B.A. in Jewish Studies from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia and her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Kelsey Willock (Co-Founder and CEO)

Kelsey has been passionate about creating a more inclusive financial system for years. She started her Career at Goldman Sachs ultimately becoming a Vice Present in the Global Markets division working alongside the firm’s top hedge fund clients. In addition, she was an Ambassador for Launch With GS, Goldman Sachs’ billion-dollar investment strategy grounded in the belief that diverse teams drive strong returns. Kelsey earned a BS in Business and BA in English from Wake Forest University where she began her entrepreneurship journey working for a number of startups including an edtech, fintech, and ecommerce company. Upon graduation, saddled with student debt and financial anxiety, she began her financial wellness journey. She learned that making your money work for you rather than have it control you mentally and monetarily is a key financial wellness wanted to make the system more accessible.  She decided to leave Goldman Sachs in 2021 to join On Deck and started a blog called “Not Your Boyfriend’s Investment Advice” with the intention to help more underrepresented investors get started. She met Courtney early on in her journey where the two realized financial exclusion is not just about lack of access or education, it was a behavioral program. Shortly after, they decided to found Aura. She is a Series 63/7 holder, financial literacy author, and advocate for the democratization of finance.

Simon Blanchard, Ph.D. - Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor and Beyer Family Associate Professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. Simon Blanchard is the director of the MBA Certificate in Consumer Analytics & Insights. He is a behavioral psychologist, teacher of Digital Marketing and Marketing Intelligence to undergraduates, MBAs and executives.

Justin Fortier (CTO) - Senior Software Engineer with over 15 years building consumer and fintech digital apps. 

500 people on our app with 100 paying customers ($15/month)

Aura is applying to Solve to be surrounded by impact driven founders building the next generation of fintech. We are also particularly interested in learning from the expert community in how to more efficiently iterate on our product and scale. Our next milestone is to grow from 100 to 1000 customers and we want to learn from experts that have done it as well as delivered measured results that prove we are truly making people feel better about their money.

Aura is the first financial wellness platform that focuses on behavior change and your relationship to money. We do this by measuring your financial wellness, putting you on a personalized learning journey, and offering digital money coaching to help you build wealth. Our core goal is to improve how you feel about your money; which in turn helps you make better choices. 

Our program is rooted in science, backed by leading psychologists at Georgetown and Cornell.

In 2008, robo-advisors emerged from the Great Recession leveraging technology to expand access to passive markets and bring wealth management to the masses. Fifteen years later, it is clear that the one-size-fits-all, “set and forget” approach does little for managing financial anxiety. Financial health is declining and more than 77% of Americans are experiencing financial anxiety. Money is the leading cause of stress in the U.S. and financial insecurity disproportionately impacts women, younger people, and people of color. 

We know that we can’t build more inclusive economic systems without including women, young people, and people of color in the conversation. For too long, financial jargon, high minimums, and complex barriers to entry have kept underrepresented investors out of the game. Thanks to technological innovation, fractional-share investing, and behavioral science, we have the tools to build a more empowered, diverse investor base. Increasing the number of diverse investors in the financial system will lead to more inclusive conversations about financial systems and economic power. We’re making room at the table for diverse voices to lead those conversations and imagine what better systems can and should look like so we can start building them, together. 

We are leveraging internal user data and metrics to create financial wellbeing scores. 

In the next 5 years, Aura will help create more conscientious, empowered investors who work together to build a more inclusive financial system that works for all. In order to get there, we’re focusing on helping people heal their own relationship with money. User’s participation in scales, mindfulness check-ins, and education challenges all indicate how users’ relationships with money and financial literacy skills evolve. 

Our advisor, Dr. Simon Blanchard, is also developing the world’s first financial mindfulness scale and leading the effort to integrate several academic-based scales onto the platform. These buzzfeed-like quizzes will help provide insights about individual money habits and relationships. Our financial wellness scales will also measure how these scales impact an individual’s financial anxiety and interpersonal relationship development. Finally, we are working with our advisor, Robyn Morrison, to develop internal impact metrics to measure the impact of Aura the organization by promoting diversity of leadership and our investors base and working to ensure that our platform is advancing our mission of helping underrepresented founders get into the market, generate passive wealth, and reduce financial anxiety.

We leverage academic scales to assess our customers Financial Mindfulness score. The score measures how accepting and aware they are of their financial situation. Throughout their experience with Aura, we aim to improve their financial mindfulness score which we are in the process of researching if it truly makes individuals make better decisions. Since mindfulness can reduce anxiety, we have high conviction financial mindfulness will reduce financial anxiety and lead to better decision making and a path where our customers can feel better (we ask them often how they are feeling about money and track their progress) and build wealth (we also track this on the app).

At Aura, we work with you to change your belief patterns and your behavior and build healthy, sustainable financial habits for life so you can increase your net worth and feel better about your finances. 

The solution is similar to Noom which focused on behavior change for weight loss. Weight loss in theory is simple - eat healthier and exercise yet people don't do it or stick to it. Financial management is similar - spend within your means and save for the future, yet people don't do it. Aura is the first platform that focuses on your relationship to money first and promote positive behavior change so you can truly start feeling better and living your version of a rich life. Sound financial management is about 95% therapy and 5% strategy. Getting people to do the strategy is the hard part and that is our bread and butter. 

By filling this massive gap in the market, we can work to close the wealth gaps, rebuild the middle class, and heal the next generations trauma around money.

Personal finance is personal and trust is paramount. In addition to direct investing and educational support, Aura offers 1:1 coaching and self-directed mindfulness practices to help users understand their emotional relationship with money and empower them to take control of their finances.

We use zero-minimum direct indexing and customizable impact screens to build hyper-personalized, values-aligned investment portfolios. We also provide individual money coaching to build confidence, overcome limiting beliefs, and achieve financial goals faster. 

With Aura, the journey to financial freedom is self-paced, collaborative, and tailored to each users’ unique financial needs and goals. 

All users are invited to participate in a free coaching session and have access to intentional investing through direct indexing - a feature typically only available to six-figure minimums. With direct-indexing, users can customize their portfolio using our ESG impact screens without hidden ETF fees. Don’t want to invest in tobacco or oil, just filter it out. Put your money to work to grow wealth and build a better world.

We are a diverse team founded by 2 females. We are building the product we wish we had at the beginning of our journeys as the majority of products are not built with women or people of color in mind. 

Aura is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) in all aspects of our work. 

1. Diverse content: Our content creators come from a range of backgrounds and cultures to ensure that we provide inclusive content that is representative of our diverse community. While we are building with women and people of color in mind, we are gender agnostic as we do not aim to be exclude anyone. 

2. Cultivating inclusivity: We aim to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all users. Our app is designed to be accessible to people of all backgrounds.We also strive to use language that is inclusive and avoids perpetuating harmful stereotypes.

3. User feedback: We encourage feedback from our users, and we take their suggestions and concerns seriously. This helps us identify areas where we can improve in terms of promoting diversity, equity, and inclusivity.

4. Continuous learning: We are committed to ongoing learning and improvement in our approach to DEI. We regularly review our content and practices to ensure that we are promoting inclusivity and avoiding bias.

Overall, Aura is committed to creating a safe and inclusive space for all users, and we strive to promote diversity, equity, and inclusivity in all aspects of our work.