10 Hot US Startups in Fintech in 2021
With the recent global scenario in frame, we can very well witness that the Fintech industry is all set to grow leaps and bounds in the coming time.
For those of you who are not well-informed about the fintech industry, keep reading further to find out what it is, why is it a good industry for you as aspiring product managers, and what are the top 2020 US fintech startups to look up to!
What is Fintech?
Fintech is an abbreviation used to refer to financial technology, an industry that offers financial services using technology like software, or applications. There exist a number of companies that provide both business-to-business and business-to-customer fintech services. Ranging from mobile payments and cryptocurrency, to banking and health services, this industry serves us in innovative ways.
This booming industry has disrupted the world by providing new and competent products and services to ease our lives. As of 2019, the fintech startups globally amounted to a whopping $34.5 billion in funding. Over the recent years, many investors have gained interest in the industry.
In simple words, fintech is the present and the future of how the world operates! I can guarantee you that for us Product Managers, there exists an enormous opportunity in the world of Fintech. Being placed in this fast-paced and excitingindustry, you can rapidly learn and develop yourskills as excellent Product managers.Believe me, here, the sky is the only limit!
Here are the 10 hot and trending fintech startups in the US.
1. Acorns
As of 2019, Acorns, the fast growing investment application,is worth $860 millionand for great reasons. The application is a fantastic way to get started in the world of investing and that too without much hassle! They have the mission of empowering users to invest and earn by taking micro-investing steps.
Established in 2012 by Walter Wemple Cruttenden III and Jeffrey James Cruttenden, this fintech startup has developed a base of over 4.5 million loyal users. The application lets the users to smartly invest and grow money with a monthly fees ranging froma minimal $1 lite to a maximum $5 family subscription.
Moreover, an Acorns account could be easily set up in under 5 minutes and can automatically create a diversified portfolio. It has recently raised $105 millionin Series E funding.
Current PM Job Opening at Acorns
2. Chime
Co-founded by Chris Britt and Ryan King in the year 2013, Chime has established itself as one of the leading fintech service providers in the industry.It was valued at $1.5 billion in the year 2019.
Chime works with a clear mission of providing financial peace of mind to millions of Americans using an online Chime bank account. The company reportedly had only 1 million accounts in 2018.
Fast forward to 2020, the company today has 8 million accounts. An award – winning mobile app, Chime, lets its users to manage all their online banking in one place. Further, it provides a debit card, an access to paychecks two days early and a free overdraft protection of upto $100.
Based on the employee reviews, Chime is THE company to work with. It has a well-defined set of core values working diligently towards making financial peace of mind a reality for Americans.
Current PM Job Openings at Chime
3. Coinbase
Coinbase was born with a far-reaching idea of making Bitcoin easily and securely accessible to anyone around the world at any given moment.
Co-Founded by the current billionaire CEO Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam in 2012, Coinbase, today is used by over 35 million users in more than 100 countries globally.
Users trust Coinbasenot just to buy and sell cryptocurrency but also, to earn, store, and use more of it.This fintech company has clearly made a mark as one of the safest platform to trade cryptocurrencies. Today, it is reportedly valued at $8 billion.
Coinbase has recently expanded to provide crypto custodial services to institutions along with a personal wallet to those looking for more privacy. Also, the company currently acquired Earn.comfor approximately $120 million, to further allow its bitcoin users to make payments in bitcoin.
Some of the current PM Job Openings at Coinbase
4. CreditKarma
One of the best known personal finance companies,Credit Karma, keeps its users at the center. They believe that technology and data can make finances easier for anyone and everyone and that too for free!
In 2007, this fintech company was bought to life by the current CEO Ken Lin, CRO Nichole Mustard, and CTO Ryan Graciano. Today, Creditkarma is worth some $4 billion.
According to Creditkarma, a better financial future starts with being able to check credit scores for free. It is the company’s mission to enable every one of their members with the required knowledge, tips and tools to be able to turn the financial dreams into a reality.
Thus, unlike other companies, Creditkarma doesn’t need its members to register a credit card. It reportedly has a more than 85 million user base.
Current PM Job Opening at Creditkarma
5. Opendoor
Opendoor, a rising fintech company, makes buying homes easier for its members. They have reinvented new and innovative ways to help people take this important life decision in one simple and coherent transaction. The company operates in 21 cities.
Headquartered in San Francisco, the company was established in 2014. The current CEO Eric Wu, CTO Ian Wong, and JD Ross together founded the Opendoor with the mission to enable everybody with the freedom to move. Since then, the company has served over 80,000 members and is expected to grow further.
Inman, the leading real estate information source, has recognized Opendoor as the most innovative company in the industry for the last 3 years.
Some of the current PM Job Openings at Opendoor
6. Plaid
One of the most trending fintech company, Plaid has established itself as the easiest application to allow its users to connect all their financial accounts in just one place.
Founded by Zach Perret and William Hockey, the application focuses on democratizing financial services using technology. Plaid provides intelligent tools and a beautiful customer experience to its more than tens of million user base. The company is enthusiastic about building a better and inclusive financial infrastructure. It offers developers the right tools to create simple and easy-to-use modules for the users.
In 2012, Plaid started its operations by building the technical infrastructure APIs to connect its members, traditional financial institutions, as well as developers. Fast forward to 2019, it was at $2.7 billion.
Plaid has recently acquired Quovo, an investment data aggregation company, for approximately $200 million.
Some of the current PM Job Openings at Plaid
7. Ripple
Established in 2012, Ripple is one of the top fintech companies operating globally. It strives towards providing better financial services by building an inclusive financial system.
Ripple is a leading company in the industry for great reasons. It has the most advanced block chain technology to facilitate global payments. With the help of unique technology, financial institutions are now able to expand and explore new markets across the world.
Co-founded by Chris Larsen and Jed McCaleb, the company is headquartered in San Francisco. Ripple has its own RippleX open source code platform to empower the developers and entrepreneurs to create real-world payment solutions on the XRP Ledger.
Today, Ripple is the only block chain company with hundreds of users across more than 55 countries. As of 2019, the fintech company was valued at $10 billion.
Current PM Job Opening at Ripple
8. Robinhood
Known as the pioneer of commission-free investing, Robinhood, provides numerous ways to make the best out of your money through mobile.
In 2013, Baiju Bhatt and Vladimir Tenev, classmates at Stanford, got together to establish the Robinhood Application. Now, it is reportedly worth over $5.6 billion.
Having doubled its users from 2018 to 2019,to around 6 million users, Robinhoodhas established itself as one of the top fintech companies out there. It offers free buying and selling of cryptocurrencies through Robinhood Crypto.
Recently, the application fell off the Forbes Fintech 50 list 2020 due to a competitive market.
Some of the current PM Job Openings at Robinhood
9. SoFi
Established as a student loan refinancing startup in 2011, SoFi is now one of the leading fintech companies in the industry. It has now expanded into other financial services like insurance, personal loans and robo-advising. SoFi started as Social Finance Inc.
Today, it has a wide user base of over 1 million members. It was founded by Mike Cagney to primarily expand its services only to millennials. As of 2019, SoFi is valued at $4.4 billion.
SoFi operates with the mission to help its members get the money right.
Current PM job openings at SoFi
10. Stripe
Cofounded by the current CEO Patrick Collison and President John Collison, Stripe is a technology company that helps its members to manage finances online. From startups to public companies, the fintech company has a wide user base.
Stripe was born in 2011 as a payment processing service, it is now valued at approximately $22.5 billion. Last year, the company launched a new corporate credit card for better functioning.
