Fintech SecureSave used this deck to raise an $11 million seed round
- The COVID pandemic underscored the need for Americans to have more savings for emergencies.
- SecureSave, a fintech launched in 2020, partners with employers to offer emergency savings accounts.
- See the 20-slide pitch deck SecureSave used to raise the seed funding.
The origins of SecureSave — a Kirkland, Wash.-based fintech that works with companies to offer emergency savings accounts, or ESAs, to employees — began with a single email to a Seattle-based venture studio and investor.
Co-founders Devin Miller and Bassam Saliba each spent years working in financial technology at companies such as TaxAct and Equiom. But as the pandemic turned the US economy upside down, they realized their idea of stimulating employee savings was more salient than ever.
Miller sent a note to Pioneer Square Labs in Seattle asking if they were still stopping new companies, even in the midst of what seemed like “the end of the world,” he told Insider. The venture studio was interested, introduced Miller and Saliba to who would become their third co-founder – personal finance expert and author Suze Orman – and SecureSave was officially launched in September 2020.
Miller said SecureSave’s business is rooted in a basic premise: Too few Americans have enough money saved for emergencies. A Bankrate survey from June revealed that more than half of adults across the country are uncomfortable with their level of emergency savings – and that only one in four have saved more for emergencies than a year ago.
In some ways, emergency savings accounts are similar to health savings accounts, where workers can set aside pre-tax earnings to save for medical care. Those with an employer-sponsored ESA set up regular withdrawals from their paychecks into a dedicated account for emergency funds, up to certain limits. But the money is withdrawn after tax, so funds can be withdrawn at any time without penalty (unlike retirement accounts) and can be matched by employers.
Employers are “looking for some kind of silver bullet, something that’s simple, that has good impact, is very measurable and not too difficult to do. It really resonates with employees, and solves very clear problems around loans and financial wellness,” Miller said.
In the U.S., health savings accounts have grown over time into a nearly $100 billion industry, by assets under management, according to HSA industry group Devenir. A decade ago, this figure was approximately $20 billion. Miller estimates that ESAs, still small in number today, will see similar growth and could reach $50 billion in assets over the next decade — especially as policymakers consider legislation that could incentivize employers to offer rainy-day accounts and matching contributions.
Miller said SecureSave’s ESA offering is designed to be as easy for employees to adopt as possible. They can open standalone accounts separate from their 401(k)s, set up automatic deductions and use an app to track balances. Employers, meanwhile, have the option of matching contributions. SecureSave, Miller added, has seen a 55% adoption rate among employees at the companies they work with, with the average employee saving $83 per month.
Employers who offer SecureSave as a benefit pay between $1 to $3 per employee. But according to Miller, employers recognize that ESAs can pay for themselves — through employee retention and as a competitive advantage in hiring.
Two years after its launch, SecureSave’s clients now include the San Antonio Spurs organization and the California Council of SEIU, one of the nation’s largest service worker unions. SecureSave has also partnered with three major benefits distributors – Milliman, Truist and Transamerica – who can now offer ESAs as a companion product to other benefits, and has also signed Wells Fargo as a lead custodian.
In June, SecureSave raised $11 million in what Miller said was an “additional seed round,” after the startup first raised $3.5 million in January 2021 from strategic backers such as Pioneer Square Labs. Investors now include Truist Ventures, which led the fundraising in June, as well as crypto giant FTX and Stearns Financial Group.
