Belong, a pioneering wealth-building platform, has emerged from stealth mode, setting a new precedent for startups in the sector.
Founded by the formidable duo of investment banker Avion Gray and behavioural economist Samantha Rosenberg, Belong is poised to democratise access to wealth-building for a broader audience, with a keen focus on the millennial generation.
The startup has announced a staggering £2.95m in pre-seed funding, marking the largest such round ever secured by female founders in Europe. This remarkable achievement was made possible through the backing of Octopus Ventures, alongside notable Fintech angels and serial entrepreneurs like Ricky Knox, Gautham Radhakrishnan, and Nutmeg co-founder, William Todd, underscoring the widespread confidence in Belong’s mission and leadership.
Belong’s platform is a beacon of innovation in the WealthTech landscape, uniquely offering retail investors the option of a low-interest ‘Boost loan’. This feature is designed to amplify the potential of long-term investments in equities by allowing investors to increase their initial investment amount. The strategy leverages the power of compounding, with the loan repayable in manageable monthly installments, thereby making sophisticated investment strategies accessible to a wider demographic.
The funding will fuel Belong’s mission to make wealth-building avenues, traditionally reserved for the affluent, accessible to a wider demographic. This includes scaling up the platform’s unique offering and expanding its reach to empower professionally-employed millennials to build substantial long-term wealth.
Belong’s approach to wealth building is particularly relevant in today’s economic landscape. Millennials, despite being the largest demographic, hold a minuscule share of the stock market. Belong is set to change this narrative by tapping into the significant cash savings millennials have, which are often parked in low-yield accounts. The platform not only aims to provide a viable investment avenue but also to instil confidence among millennials to invest for the long term.
Belong Co-Founder and CEO Avion Gray passionately remarked, “We need two things in order to build long-term wealth – time and money, but we rarely have both of these elements concurrently. Millennials still have the time ahead of us to see any long-term investment we make now compound and pay off before retirement, but we often struggle to get started. Whether that’s due to not being able to secure a mortgage, lack of confidence around investing or feeling like we don’t have enough cash available to make it worthwhile – Belong is changing this.”
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