WANT TO INVEST, SAVE, AND GIVE AT ONCE?
VIMVEST IS THE APP FOR THAT
In a perfect world, investing for our future, saving for the things that make
life sweeter and supporting causes close to our hearts would be as easy and
automatic as swiping our card at Starbucks. Now, there’s an app for that with
a Silicon Valley-style tech startup right here in Sarasota.
Set to launch this month, the Vimvest
app is a hub of inspiration designed
to unify a person’s investing, saving,
and giving goals, allowing them to
automatically direct a portion of
each dollar saved toward the goals
they select. Vimvest is the brainchild
of co-founders Margaret Hixon,
Phillip Dickson, Stuart Dickson,
and Justin Bailey. Margaret, Phillip,
and Stuart bring decades of wealth
management expertise, while Justin
brings an expertise in product design
and technology. The app’s unique
capabilities have also snagged the
interest of Kevin Harrington, founder
of the As Seen on TV brand and
one of the original sharks on Shark
Tank. Harrington is a lead marketing
consultant for the launch.
“Our goal was to bring financial
planning into the 21st Century, similar to
what Facebook did for communication
by building an ecosystem that allowed
communication to thrive as never
before,” said Phillip Dickson, Vimvest
co-CEO. “We have built an ecosystem
around financial planning that allows
people to easily and enjoyably
invest, save, and give. It really is a
revolutionary way to distribute money,
think about your future and consider
the future of the community.”
With the Vimvest app, users can
establish long-term goals, such as
putting money away for retirement
or their children’s college education
through its investing services. The app’s
saving services accommodate shorterterm
goals, such as funding vacations,
vehicle purchases, and can serve as a
powered wish list. It is connected to
the Amazon database so users can
select specific products for which to
save. Users also can connect with
personal campaigns and a database of
nonprofits to which they may choose
to give. Each dollar vimvested, as they
call it, is split among those three areas
according to priorities set by the user.
Depending on circumstances, a user
could set investing for retirement as
a high priority, saving for a vehicle
as a mid-level priority, and giving to
a favorite charity as a lower priority
depending on the amount of funds
they have available. Funds are split
automatically, and amounts, goals
and priorities are easily changed as
someone’s needs shift. The app even
allows a user to automatically deposit
a certain amount every time they swipe
their card to make a purchase.
“We’re trying to create the most
holistically balanced financial
experience out there,” said Justin
Bailey, Chief Technology Officer. “The
combination of micro-investing, microsaving
and micro-giving is incredibly
powerful. If enough people become
vimvestors, then Vimvest could change
the world.” Because the app is designed
specifically with Millennial and Gen
X users in mind, it is not intended to
simply be a place to check on numbers
and charts. Engagement, community,
and inspiration is vital to Vimvest.
“We wanted to create a place for
inspiration, so we’ve developed a
goal marketplace,” Bailey said. “There
are goals covering most milestones,
activities, items, and causes you can
think of. That way, when you come into
the app, you don’t need your ideas in
place. Shopping for and shaping your
future should be fun, not a chore.” A
discover section is designed to entice
users to see the community side of all
things related to their goals. Glimpses,
which are full screen image stories
similar to Twitter Moments, connect
compelling stories to actionable goals.
Vimvest also has a daily feed of helpful
ideas on topics such as setting goals
or how to choose worthy causes to
support.
“We believe the Vimvest app has huge
potential. It is the result of a lot of
effort by the best talent from Sarasota
CONNECT: 844-828-9200 | 3322 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota, FL 34239 | www.vimvest.com
/www.vimvest.com