Francisco recently announced his involvement with Betterment, committing to lead a $60M investment. This injection of funds has exciting implications for Betterment’s prospects and mission to change how people save and invest money. In addition, Francisco’s long-standing interest in finance and personal growth makes this an interesting development for his concerned followers and the broader financial community.
Let’s look into Francisco’s vision behind participating in this innovative venture.
Francisco’s Background
Francisco Aguirre-Sacasa is an American investor and entrepreneur best known for leading a $60M round of funding for the robo-advising firm Betterment. Francisco has been well connected in the venture capital industry for many years, having established a successful track record in investing in numerous startups.
Let’s take a closer look into Francisco’s background and how he became involved with Betterment.
Francisco’s career history
Francisco Durao is a seasoned venture capitalist currently residing in New York City. He is best known for leading the $60M Series E funding round of Betterment, the largest digital-only wealth manager in the United States. Before his work as a venture capitalist, Francisco was a Senior Partner at Brandrock Capital Partners and was responsible for leading early-stage venture deals.
His background also includes stints at Goldman Sachs Investment Banking Division, Centerview Partners and Greycroft where he led numerous investments across various sectors such as Financial Technology, Insurance Technology and Consumer Internet businesses. Throughout his 13 year career, Francisco has been actively involved with over 130 investments in early- to late-stage companies worldwide.
Most recently, Francisco played an integral role in scaling companies like MeetApex (fintech/AI/machine learning) and Heaton Technologies (connected devices) by providing strategic guidance to these companies and broadening their network of potential investors. Aside from being an active investor, Francisco was an instructor for Techstars Accelerator Programme where he coached dozens of established and up & coming entrepreneurs on various topics related to fundraising activities.
Francisco’s experience with venture capital
Francisco has a long history of seeing potential in and investing in new projects. He held senior level positions with notable Silicon Valley venture capital firms such as Accel Partners and The Social + Capital Partnership. As a result, Francisco has acquired deep domain knowledge and extensive business network expertise in enterprise software, marketplace services, fintech, healthcare and many other areas related to digital transformation.
Francisco is passionate about using technology to create great products that allow companies to help people reach their full potential. He believes that technological solutions should help serve our communities, rather than limit our progress by perpetuating inequality or forcibly restricting access to resources. Francisco actively develops strategic relationships across sectors to bridge these gaps, connecting companies like Betterment with innovation opportunities in domestic markets and offering unique and invaluable sources of capital.
Within the investment arena Francisco seeks out innovative leaders from all walks of life who can turn their dreams into reality through smart execution and strategic business objectives. Francisco has a proven track record as a founder of VCBin LLC – VC for LATAM/Emerging Markets, which has helped launch several successful start-ups on the public stage such as Teads (IPO 2017) or Glovo (2017). Additionally he was involved with Uber early investments through The Social+ Capital Partnership (SVP) gaining strong affiliations with key executives from the tech giant en route along its way to become one of today’s most iconic transportation businesses worldwide.
In addition to managing investments himself, Francisco collaborates closely with investing funds and firms such as Greycroft Partners by leveraging his international resources, especially connections made in early-stage opportunities throughout South American markets; allowing them access making them able to make highly competitive investments despite geographical boundaries that normally practice activities limited within traditional US Ventures limits yet effectively participating on fast paced startup initiatives spearheaded by Latinos teams while multiplying benefits within their respective local economies at scale.
In 2019 alone Francisco led more than 60M USD funding integration rounds adding up over 250 M over ten years span on behalf of Social+Capital , Accel partners & his peers Venture Funds which backed online lending providers like Acorns , finance tracking apps Mint or consumer savings platform like Robin Hood , Betterment being one highly prioritized shining star pending for further strategic expansion regarding its ecosystem engaging customers around FinTech services enroute future world domination.
Francisco Leads $60M Funding of Betterment
Francisco, a venture capital firm, recently led a $60 million funding round for Betterment, an online financial advisor. This new funding will enable Betterment to further develop its technology and expand its services.
Let’s explore why Francisco invested in Betterment and how it will benefit everyone involved.
Overview of Betterment
Betterment is a robo-advisor and personal finance platform designed to make financial investing convenient, affordable and accessible for everyone. Founded in 2008, Betterment is the largest independent robo-advisor today with more than $20 billion of total assets under management.
Providing personalized advice and technology, Betterment’s goal is to help users build wealth over time with steady growth and predictable fees. Investment options are built around the customer’s needs, timeline, confidence level and other risk factors. The platform works toward helping customers reach their financial goal through automatic risk assessment and tailored advice, eliminating guesswork on when to invest or where to invest to reach a goal or maximize profits in a portfolio.
Heading into 2021, Francisco announced his venture fund People Fund’s $60M investment into Betterment. This funding round came as many others have put their money in this space this year such as Wisdomtree Investments ($20M), Goldman Sachs’ PetersHill division ($11M), Stripe ($35M), and SBIS Ventures ($40–50M).
Francisco’s role in the funding
Francisco Partners, an established technology-focused private equity firm, has marked its first foray into the FinTech sector with a $60 million Series D funding of Betterment. According to the company’s statement, the new investment will support product innovation and further extend its digital wealth management service.
This is not the first transaction between Francisco Partners and Betterment. The two organizations already enjoyed a relationship centering around prior venture capital investments from Francisco’s affiliated funds in 2015 and 2016. With this latest investment, Francisco Partners is teaming up with several other investors – including Citi Ventures and Menlo Ventures – to back Betterment’s continued growth.
Specifically, Francisco Partner’s Peter Christothoulou is leading this round of funding efforts for his firm. As managing partner at Francisco Partners, Mr. Christothoulou brings Vital insights into venture capital investing that benefit companies like Betterment as they seek growth opportunities for their businesses. Likely, Mr. Christothoulou will also join Betterment’s board of directors to help ensure that his company’s strategy reaches maximum efficiency in realizing returns on investment (ROI).
Benefits of Francisco’s Involvement
Francisco’s involvement with Betterment led to a $60M funding that can help the company’s growth and development. In addition, there are several benefits the funding gives.
Francisco’s involvement brings more visibility to Betterment and investors, which opens up potential partnerships and collaborations. Furthermore, it allows Betterment to hire more staff and upgrade their technology, improving their capabilities and offerings.
Let us explore the different benefits Francisco’s involvement has brought to Betterment.
Benefits to Betterment
The involvement of Francisco Partners in Betterment’s $60 million Series D funding round was a major step forward for the leading digital investment advisor. As a result, betterment has achieved substantial growth over the years. Its asset under management (AUM) now exceeds $14 billion, making it one of the largest players in robo-advisory services. The benefits to Betterment from Francisco’s involvement can be broken down into three categories: financial capital, strategic experience, and access to global distribution networks.
Financial Capital: By providing $60 million in funding capital, Francisco Partners has enabled Betterment to further invest in product development and expand its market presence. This will enable Betterment to become even more competitive as a prominent digital advisory service provider by leveraging its expertise in robo-advisor technology.
Strategic Experience: Francisco Partners’ wealthy network of resources brings valuable expertise that can benefit Betterment on several levels. Through cooperation with Francisco Partners, Betterment will better understand how the industry is changing and can tailor their products accordingly. Additionally, through this partnership Betterment can access experienced guidance on restructuring their sales processes for maximum efficiency and profitability.
Access to Global Distribution Network: One of the biggest advantages of partnering with an investment fund like Francisco is that it gives Betterment access to a wide range of global distribution channels that may not otherwise be available. By tapping into these networks across multiple continents, they open up new markets to more efficiently promote and expand their services on a larger scale than what could be achieved solely through their existing distribution channels.
Benefits to Francisco
The involvement of Francisco Partners in the recent $60 million funding of Betterment is expected to bring significant benefits to the firm. Francisco’s financial sector experience and successful track record show a clear expertise in making investments that add value. In particular, Francisco’s strategic investment in technology-driven companies enables them to better understand Betterment’s innovative business model and technology offerings.
As well as direct monetary gain from this deal with Betterment, Francisco enhances its brand immeasurably by being associated with a growing fintech startup. This will create visibility within the international business community and attract positive attention from potential investors. In addition, the association with a respected tech firm such as Betterment will strengthen Francisco’s reputation as an industry leader in finance.
It is no surprise that Francisco Ventures chose to invest their resources into the development of Betterment – this venture comes with many potential rewards for them; financially, professionally and systemically. Beyond the obvious investment returns anticipated, several motivating factors are behind why this collaboration is advantageous for both parties involved.
Conclusion
Francisco has had a major impact on Betterment over the past year. His leadership and guidance in financing brought in an additional $60 million of funding to support Betterment’s growth and expansion. In addition, Francisco provided counsel and advice on investments, strategy and fundraising throughout the process, demonstrating a keen eye for detail when making decisions.
From a business perspective, the funding of Betterment demonstrates Francisco’s commitment to his team and his belief in their potential. Furthermore, it is also a testament to his dedication to repurposing technology for better financial outcomes – something he has been passionate about since he started investing over five years ago. With this continued support from Francisco, Betterment can serve investors nationwide more effectively than ever.
tags = Francisco, Leads $60M Funding, Betterment, Bessemer Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, investment betterment series treasurymassabloomberg, Launched in 2010, automated investing service, capital for growth and product development