Worthy Financial

Worthy Financial is a financial technology platform. It enables people to save money — and make money — by purchasing SEC-qualified bonds with a 5% yield.

The company’s mobile app automatically rounds up users’ credit and debit card purchases to the nearest dollar amount, and deposits the difference into an account.

Once the roundups reach $10, a bond is purchased that earns a guaranteed 5% interest rate.

Start-up financial technology companies, also known as “Fintech” companies, are surging in popularity right now for consumers.

And with that consumer popularity comes M&A activity. In fact, according to a February 2018 article from CB Insights, “More banks are beginning to acquire Fintech start-ups.”

In addition, several mobile apps that encourage saving money through automated roundups have achieved enormous success — for example:

Acorns, a mobile platform that enables users to invest pocket change into various investments, has attracted nearly 3 million subscribers in less than four years. And it's received funding from notable companies including PayPal.

And Digit, a mobile app that analyzes a user’s spending habits and automatically saves a calculated amount each day, has helped users set aside more than $1 billion in just three years.

Worthy Financial’s approach offers users a different way to save. It enables them to purchase bonds that provide guaranteed interest, as opposed to investing in the volatile stock market.

For consumers, the app is free.

Worthy makes money by lending out its funds to small businesses. These businesses pay Worthy an estimated 13% interest on the loans, providing Worthy with a steady revenue source.

Bonds can be purchased in three different ways:

1) The “Buy Bonds” button on the app allows users to purchase bonds at any time.

2) Users can set up recurring payments so they can reach the $10 threshold for buying a bond; or

3) The app can automatically round up a user's daily purchases so they can reach the $10 threshold.

Worthy’s bonds were "qualified" for sale by the SEC earlier this year. Since then, users have purchased more than $300,000 worth of bonds.

In addition to helping users earn interest from the bonds, Worthy plans to partner with merchants who'll contribute cash back to Worthy users when they shop.

With this system, merchants will benefit from increased business, while Worthy users will benefit financially by visiting places where they already shop.

Team Background

Alan Jacobs - Chief Strategy Officer

Alan has more than 40 years of experience in investment banking and finance.

He previously served as Chief Strategy Officer for peerbackers, the crowdfunding platform founded by Sally Outlaw.

For more than 13 years, he served as Executive Vice President of Global Net Financial, an international financial company. While there, he focused on the company’s global acquisition strategy.

Alan spent 20 years as Managing Partner of several investment banking companies, including Boca Raton Capital Corp., International Capital Growth, and Ladenburg Thalmann.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Franklin & Marshall College and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Sally Outlaw - Founder & CEO

Prior to starting Worthy Financial, Sally served as a co-founder of peerbackers, an online crowdfunding platform. In addition to her daily responsibilities with the company, she served as a contributor for Entrepreneur Magazine and gave several talks on the topic of equity crowdfunding.

She formerly served as Owner of Blaze Realty Group, a real estate company based in North Carolina.

In addition, she spent more than 20 years in the television industry, serving as a producer and Head of Production for several media companies including Next Wave Productions, which she co-founded.

Sally obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Media Studies from the University of Minnesota.

Jack Richards - Senior VP, Marketing & Operations

Jack sits on the Board of Directors for Worthy Financial and serves as the company’s Vice President of Marketing and Operations.

He previously served as Vice President, and later President, of Titan Transloading, a storage and transportation company focused on materials such as sand and oil.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics from Texas Tech University.

Dana Albright - Director

Dana is the Founder of Dana Albright Media, which provides articles and periodic conferences on crowdfunding.

She also founded FinTechREVOLUTION, a platform that provides the latest finance-related content, specifically in the areas of personal finance and retirement planning.

Dana co-founded two financial-related conferences, LendIt and FinFair. Both events showcase companies and speakers in the financial technology industry.

She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from George Washington University.

Randy Pohlman - Director of Corporate Development

Randy brings experience managing both public and private companies to Worthy Financial.

He previously served as a senior executive at Koch Industries, a chemical manufacturing company.

In addition, he served more than 23 years as a dean at Nova Southeastern University.

Randy earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Finance from Kansas State University, as well as a Ph.D. in Financial Economics from Oklahoma State University.

Jang Centofanti - VP Operations

Before joining the team at Worthy, Jang formerly served as Customer Service Manager for Du20 Holistic Oasis, a wellness center offering services such as massage, herbal medicine, and acupuncture.

For six years, she served as Director of the Hazel Crawford Childcare Center. While there, her duties included managing a staff of teachers and communicating with parents.

She formerly served as a banking center manager for a Bank of America branch. While there, she led the branch’s sales team and conducted performance evaluations of employees.

Jang earned an Associate’s degree in Fashion Marketing and Business from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale.

Andrei Popovici - Senior Software Developer

Andrei formerly served as Founder of Adyus, a software company that specialized in building mobile apps.

For more than six years, he spent time as a freelance photographer.

In addition, he formerly served as a website developer for MIA Design Group, a company producing canvas print images, as well as NADA Scientific, an online company providing resources for science education.

Andrei earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the State University of New York College.

Co-Investors