A great follow-on article was done by Will Romano at the Wisconsin Inno. Full article can be found here.
“We see ourselves being a tool in their tool belt to help employee retention,” Kalmon said. “With a partnership with Benny, employers now have the opportunity to increase (ESPP) participation and also increase inclusivity.
Benny co-founder Alok Jain (left) and CEO and co-founder Andy Kalmon
- Benny (HeyBenny.com), a Techstars ‘22 company, helps employees take full advantage of their Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) by lending them the money they need to maximize their benefits
- Customers include employees from: Microsoft, Salesforce, Alaska Airlines, T-Mobile, & more
- Benny is currently accepting new customers across the US
MADISON, WI – JUNE 08, 2022 Benny, the platform helping consumers build wealth with their benefits, today announced their graduation from Techstars Boulder and the closing of a $1M pre-seed funding round, led by Matchstick Ventures.
Andy Kalmon started Benny because he was one of millions of people who couldn’t afford to participate in his Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). Because of this, he was leaving almost $2K on the table each year. This was money he couldn’t afford to access and no one was offering a solution. He was missing out on one of the largest wealth building benefits available to him.
“It was a grind, but eventually, I was fortunate to get just enough breathing room in my financial life to be able to start taking advantage of my ESPP… I wish I could have done it years before but there wasn’t a company looking out for me and my best interests, that’s why Benny was created. I believe there is a massive opportunity in the employee benefits space, specifically wealth-building benefits, like employee stock purchase plans. I’m not just talking about education, but actual financial products that are built by the people, and for the people who are experiencing this pain. That’s what we’re building at Benny.” – Andy Kalmon, CEO & Founder of Benny.
Benny’s early customer reception is impressive, attracting customers from Microsoft, Salesforce, Alaska Airlines, T-Mobile and more.
“Employers right now are looking for new ways to attract and retain talent, that’s no secret. What we like about Benny is that it takes existing benefits and ramps up participation by removing the financial barriers to make them more inclusive. Couple that with increasing pressure on employees’ paychecks and you can’t help but get excited by a product that truly helps employees earn more and increase engagement for employers. A solid win-win.” – Ryan Broshar, Partner at Matchstick Ventures.
Natty Zola & Ryan Broshar at Matchstick Ventures believe in Benny’s mission and the market opportunity, investing $1M into Benny’s pre-seed round. The $1M pre-seed round will be used to accelerate Benny’s customer acquisition, product development and recruiting efforts.
About Benny
Benny is a financial wellness platform that provides education and innovative lending solutions to democratize participation in ESPPs (employee stock purchase plans), allowing employees to take advantage of their company’s programs and build wealth.
About Matchstick Ventures
Matchstick is an impactful early-stage technology investor in the North and Rockies. They invest where innovative ideas, huge markets and most importantly, ambitious and diverse founders strike. Matchstick exists to act as a catalyst for its founders, partners, and startup communities.