Business of Fintech, Keys to growth, Path to growth

Growing with Purpose: Insights on product-led growth and customer acquisition strategies from and for emerging financial firms

  • Three off-the-beaten path financial firms navigated the economic headwinds of 2022 and 2023, managing to succeed where many others struggled.
  • Executives from Brigit, Majority, and Grasshopper Bank share how strategies tailored to their company ethos drove strong performances amid uncertain times.
close

Email a Friend

Growing with Purpose: Insights on product-led growth and customer acquisition strategies from and for emerging financial firms

In the face of the challenges posed by a difficult economic climate in 2022 and 2023 that squeezed profits for many — three financial firms managed to beat the odds.

Brigit, a personal finance management (PFM) app; Majority, an online banking platform for immigrants; and Grasshopper, a federally licensed digital commercial bank reported strong stats across different areas of their businesses this year.

  • The uptick in revenue: Brigit surpassed $100 million in revenue for the previous year as announced by the firm in April 2024. Mint’s departure may have cleared the way for other PFM apps to thrive, but the milestone achieved by Brigit goes beyond merely filling a gap left by Mint, even if that aspect holds some truth. The firm seems to have found a winning formula with its multifaceted model of financial wellness tools. Brigit’s core value proposition revolves around cash advances and other protections against overdraft fees.

  • The influx of funding and larger user base: Majority raised $20 million in new funding after doubling its user base by June and is projected to hit a $2 billion valuation by the end of this year.

  • The upswing in deposits: Grasshopper Bank, which launched in 2019, broadened its focus in 2021 to serve a wider range of business clients. This shift included bringing in a new leadership team, introducing new business services, and overhauling its technology infrastructure between mid-2021 and mid-2022. These efforts drove significant growth, with deposits soaring from zero to almost $1 billion and approximately 1,000 new small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) joining its digital platform monthly.

Embracing advanced technology is becoming a baseline for firms seeking to excel and stand out.

But what underlying approaches helped these offbeat and relatively young financial firms, each with a distinct market focus, grow successfully and achieve significant milestones during uncertain times?

1. Launch new products; but not in silos

Growth and expansion are closely tied to launching new products. While this approach can be effective, it calls for thorough planning and mindful execution. One way to maximize the potential of products is for companies to dismantle silos


subscription wall for TS Pro

0 comments on “Growing with Purpose: Insights on product-led growth and customer acquisition strategies from and for emerging financial firms”

Path to growth, Payments

How Discover is tapping into niche consumer segments as a pathway for growth

  • In recent years, Discover has leveraged a key growth strategy that focuses on engaging niche consumer segments and enhancing customer loyalty, among other initiatives.
  • The secret sauce of this approach can be seen in the firm's strategic moves: a concentrated focus on a niche yet widely recognized customer base carried out through a measured approach.
Sara Khairi | October 17, 2024
New banks, Path to growth

How Grasshopper uses team building and customer acquisition strategies to catalyze its growth

  • Grasshopper has recently grown its talent pool by bringing on four new executives to fill key roles in startup banking, embedded finance, product management, and SMB/SBA lending.
  • We look at how team building is intertwined with Grasshopper’s growth strategy and its growth trajectory two years post-relaunch.
Sara Khairi | September 26, 2024
Banking, Making better partnerships, Path to growth, Podcasts

How are emerging community banks building effective tech partnerships? 

  • This episode builds on the de novo community banking theme, exploring the origin, growth, and technology paths of two community banks: RockPointBank in Tennessee and Moultrie Bank in Georgia. 
  • Both banks are young, having been founded during the pandemic, and while they share some commonalities like limited budgets and staffing, they each have unique markets and growth strategies. The variety of perspectives on the same challenges is what makes their story interesting.
Sara Khairi | September 19, 2024
Artificial Intelligence, Path to growth, The Quarterly Review

The Quarterly Review: Current’s CTO Trevor Marshall’s working on building better models and shooting for step function improvements

  • CTO of Current Trevor Marshall dives into his focus on optimization and building better tools for his teams.
  • We also get a novel look at what success means to a neobank's CTO and summarily, 1% to 5% improvements aren't enough.
Rabab Ahsan | September 17, 2024
Banking, Making better partnerships, Path to growth, Podcasts

‘Banks use about 35% of their available technology, and we didn’t want to be that bank’: Craft Bank CEO, Ross Mynatt, on evolving tech preferences among community banks

  • Hey, I'm Tearsheet's Sara Khairi, kicking off as your new host of the Tearsheet Podcast alongside our editor-in-chief, Zack Miller. Ready to shake things up, I'm excited to bring you some episodes of my own. My very first episode takes you to Atlanta, where we explore the growth and tech preferences of Craft Bank.
  • Ross Mynatt, CEO of Craft Bank joins us to discuss his journey as a first-time CEO, the choice of Jack Henry as their core tech partner, and the strategies behind Craft Bank’s $250 million asset growth in just under 4 years.
Sara Khairi | September 05, 2024
More Articles