Contxto – As someone who recently dealt with a traditional bank’s BS, it’s way too easy to understand why startups are proving to be an interesting alternative for handling financial or banking affairs. And investors know it as well.
Today (27), news broke that Gradient Ventures led a Series A for US$14 million in Mexican Fondeadora. Other round participants included Y Combinator, Scott Belsky, Sound Ventures, Fintech Collective, and Ignia Partners.
As for future plans, the challenger bank wants to help its users make the most of their money.
Fondeadora going the extra mile
A new service the startup intends to launch will make investors out of its users (sorta). When a person deposits money into their Fondeadora account, they’ll earn interest because the startup shall invest in a secure asset.
“We’re investing in government bonds, it’s a very secure type of instrument. In Mexico, you can get [a] five or six percent interest rate,” co-Founder and co-CEO Norman Müller told TechCrunch.
Users won’t be swimming in cash, mind you. The safer the investment, the lower the return. But it helps shield money’s value from inflation. And it’s a helluva lot better than what lousy banks offer (which is essentially nothing, BTW).
Building the Fondeadora brand
Entrepreneurs Norman Müller and René Serrano founded Fondeadora in 2018. Since then, the startup has participated in Y Combinator’s renowned accelerator and raised ~US$18 million in equity capital.
And although Mexico’s fintech landscape is growing, Fondeadora has managed to stand out.
A quick dive into its website and social media shows it’s built a product and brand with loyal followers—one of whom is even part of the Contxto team. This can be attributed to its slick design and unique voice.
But above all else, I’d say it’s due to the quality of its product. I recently compared fintech apps from Mexico and found that Fondeadora’s had the highest ratings and praise.
Rightly so, word of mouth makes for the best marketing. And its numbers reflect the Fondeadora fandom. In late 2019, it managed more than 30,000 accounts and now it has 150,000.
Thanks to its latest investment, undoubtedly this number should soar.
Related articles: Tech and startups from Mexico!
-ML
