Philly start-up trying to improve financial literacy snags equity stake from Enterprise Center

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Mical Jeanlys-White remembers how her grandmother built wealth as an immigrant to the United States from Haiti, and it was primarily through savings clubs that she invested in the family’s future.

“I saw my immigrant family members join small savings clubs and saw the impact of that community effort towards a goal. My grandmother was a super saver,” Jeanlys-White said.

But instead of investing that money in the stock market or other financial products, it grew slowly in savings accounts, she said.

“It allowed them to become homeowners and real estate investors, but many of them never invested in the stock market, which has some of the highest returns,” she said.

And that small-scale approach had its limits and lacked certified financial planners in the process who could help guide investors with taxes and manage investment portfolios.

“So we saw this tremendous opportunity to bring together wealth advisors and a community experience to help more people grow wealth,” she said. “We already have folks in 22 different states and we have 19 vibrant communities.”

After working for major financial institutions like American Express and JPMorgan Chase, she launched the tech start-up in September 2021.

WealthMore was selected to receive an equity investment from a new fund created by The Enterprise Center, a local community development organization that helps small businesses.

Enterprise Center Capital Corp. is a registered Community Development Financial Institution and invested $250,000 in six different fast-growing businesses totaling $1.5 million in recent months.

Three of the start-ups are based in Philadelphia, including procurement technology tool Stimulus and inclusive cosmetic brand Pound Cake.

The other start-ups include Bon AppéSweet, a date-sweetened chocolate business, TracFlo, which sells technology for the construction industry, and Wellthi, a social mobile banking app.

Ian Lawrence, head of Enterprise Center Capital Corp., said in a news release that investing capital directly is “the most effective way to aid minority business owners and entrepreneurs when building their legacies.”

Wealthmore has 10 employees and has raised more than $1 million from investors so far. The start-up expects to launch a free community membership this year so individuals can glean insight from the social media groups. The goal is to hit 100,000 members by the end of the year.

“All of our communities are led by wealth advisers and [free users] will also have access to our wealth planning tool,” she said.

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to reflect the company name of Wealthmore with 10 employees, having raised more than $1 million so far.