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Equip snaps €2M for its platform that supports financial well-being of employees

Equip team
Image credits: Equip team

Financial planning is becoming more complicated with more product alternatives, individual responsibility, interest rates moving, inflation, tight housing market, falling stock prices, etc. Across income and wealth levels, people are worried about their financial situation and future, and lacked suitable and affordable solutions to get personal financial advice.

These challenges have made 60% of Dutch households financially vulnerable or even unhealthy, especially those under the age of 34. Amsterdam-based fintech startup Equip tackles this situation with its independent financial planning platform. It works with the mission to provide financial peace of mind for everyone.

Snaps €2M funding

Equip just snapped €2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by US-based XO Ventures with the participation of Antler that recently backed Getplace.io and a dozen angel investors with backgrounds in technology and the financial sector from Adyen, ABN AMRO, Secfi, Silverflow, and Van Lanschot Kempen. With this, the total funding secured by the company accounts for €2.1 million.

As per the company’s responses to TFN, Equip is poised to use this investment to support employees in their financial well-being the norm across Europe. Also, the company plans to expand its current team of 8 across design, engineering, and growth. Equip is also focused on developing its product to serve its users better, drive the market for employee financial well-being and be a leader in the sector in Europe in five years.

“Supporting financial well-being is the next big frontier for employers towards more satisfied, productive, and loyal employees. In the current economic climate, this support is no longer a “nice-to-have”, but a “need-to-have”, said Toon Peek, co-founder of Equip. “Our mission is simple: we want every employee to experience financial peace-of-mind, regardless of their income and wealth. Accomplishing this goal not only results in a positive effect on the bottom line of employers; together we’re also creating a positive impact on society.”

Idea behind Equip

Equip was founded by Toon Peek, Jan Klinkhamer, and Jan Cees van Senden in 2022 in Amsterdam. Toon Peek and Jan Klinkhamer both worked for eight years at J.P. Morgan and have experienced traditional financial services from very close by. Jan Cees has worked several years at McKinsey & Company in their digital business building practice, having worked with many companies including financial institutions.

They came together to establish Equip as they realised how complicated financial planning was becoming. They were annoyed by the excels we were maintaining to get some overview and do some analysis. Employers were also getting aware of this form of stress and are focused on eliminating any form of stress, especially in a tight job market, always looking for cutting-edge benefits that can attract and retain talent.

Equip lets employers pay for their employees’ use of their financial planning platform. This model solves some problems that D2C fintechs are struggling with. Overall, the startup secures the financial future for the next generations and sees a big opportunity to make a positive impact in the same.

The fintech startup has a team of 8, which comprises 1 female employee from India and the rest being European men. It is actively recruiting with fresh funds. The company faces competition from Otto Finance in the UK and Origin and Northstar Money in the US. As per the company, they are different from competitors as they provide simple actionable and want to change the paradigm that money is complicated.

Equip partners with employers to eliminate the primary source of stress for their employees: financial uncertainty. Equip’s platform offers employees a complete view of their current and expected financial situation, personal advice from experts, and educational content about finances.

Holistic view of personal finance

Equip’s platform offers employees a comprehensive set of financial planning tools to gain complete insight into their current and future financial situation. Advanced algorithms calculate what financial aspects individuals need to pay attention to and suggest direct actions to improve their current situation and achieve their future financial goals.

In all activities on the platform and suggestions, employees are supported by simple-to-use digital tools and explanations of the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’. All communicated in clear and understandable language. In addition, Equip offers employees direct access to certified and independent financial planners and coaches, whom they can contact as often as they wish.

Furthermore, the platform contains educational content about finances such as articles and videos, and interactive workshops are hosted regularly. None of the data and interactions of employees are shared with their employer or third parties to ensure the anonymity of use.

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