Executive Summary: Venmo is a digital wallet that lets users transfer money between each other using the company’s app. With Venmo, users can furthermore pay at selected merchants, either online (using the Pay With Venmo feature) or via the company’s debit card. Venmo makes money through fees that it charges merchants on every Pay With … Read more

Executive Summary: Affirm is a FinTech company that issues point-of-sale loans to consumers. It works together with merchants, such as Walmart or Shopify, to over loans ranging from 3 to 36 months. Customers directly transact with Affirm via the company’s website or one of its mobile apps. Affirm makes money through the interest that customers … Read more

You may not realize it, but the financial industry is currently undergoing one of its biggest shifts in recent memory. Just a little over a decade ago, over 50 percent of our purchases were still conducted using cash. Today, that number is below 20 percent. This is, in large part, driven by the advancements of … Read more

Executive Summary: Honey is a browser extension that scrapes the web to automatically find the best deals for its users. The company works with over 30,000 retailers across industries such as fashion, electronics, travel, and many more. Honey makes money from affiliate commissions that it earns for every coupon that is redeemed via its extension. … Read more

Executive Summary: Discord is a communication platform that allows gamers (and everybody else) to organize themselves in so-called servers. The platform is available on Android, iPhone, Mac, Xbox, PlayStation, and PC devices. Discord makes money from its Nitro subscription packages. Other sources of income include server boosting as well as fees it receives from games … Read more

Executive Summary: GoFundMe is a crowdfunding platform that simply allows anyone to raise money for social causes. Campaigns can be launched in various categories, ranging from emergencies to medical. Individuals as well as teams and charities are eligible to open campaigns on the platform. GoFundMe makes money by charging users a fee for every donation … Read more

Executive Summary: Acorns is a mobile-first investment platform that allows users to invest their spare change. Members can also open a savings (both for adults and children) as well as an IRA account while saving money through the company’s cashback program. Acorns makes money by charging users a monthly subscription fee. The company offers three … Read more

Executive Summary: Credit Karma is a personal finance company that is best known for providing credit scores free-of-charge. It allows users to access their credit data at any time. Plus, the company proactively monitors a person’ credit health and suggests various ways to improve their score. The business model of Credit Karma is centered around … Read more

Executive Summary: Redfin is a real estate brokerage that utilizes technology to optimize the home buying and selling experience. The business model of Redfin is based on charging a listing fee for every home sold through its platform. Furthermore, the company makes money by flipping homes, charging a service fee (via RedfinNow), issuing mortgages, as … Read more