Free personal finance tools might be able to teach you the basics of budgeting, but many apps include pretty serious flaws, including intrusive ads, a lack of investing features and poor customer service — to name just a few.
That’s why Sean Collins, CEO of Cinch, decided to create a new model in the form of an online financial guidance platform.
“Free things like Mint and Credit Karma give access to your data to third parties that send you ads and take your personal information,” Collins said. “We are actually looking at you as if you are your own fiduciary agent, making a promise that we will always do the best thing for you.”
Founded in 2014, Cinch offers an AI-powered platform that takes a holistic view at your financial life to optimize financial decisions for you.
By analyzing everything from your salary to spending, Cinch pledges to help you meet your fiscal goals large and small — whether that means paying off credit card debt or finding the best deal for car insurance. Cinch does this via its recommendation engine, which constantly updates its digital bank of knowledge with information about new credit cards, insurance products and even debt repayment methods.
We are actually looking at you as if you are your own fiduciary agent, making a promise that we will always do the best thing for you."
Armed with this data bank, Cinch is able to constantly optimize its recommendations for your finances — something even the most dutiful human researcher would struggle to do.
Collins said the platform starts by optimizing your everyday finances, such as your debt, savings and day-to-day cash flow before turning to your larger financial obstacles: buying a house, saving for retirement, etc.
“We want to bring everything together,” Collins said, “your cell phone plan, your mortgage, your student debt...you shouldn't have to go to five apps or providers to know where you stand.”
While Cinch currently only offers recommendations for your finances, eventually Collins envisions a product that automates your financial decisions, whether that means switching your insurance to a cheaper product or creating a budget to pay off your student loans.
“Software automation is going to keep becoming a bigger part of our lives and we’re leading the way,” Collins said.
Because Cinch is committed to having zero ads, the company provides users with a 90-day free trial before charging them $4.99 per month, or, “the cost of a latte for financial superpowers,” Collins said.
Outside of offering the product to individuals, Cinch’s larger business model is to partner with employers and employee benefit providers who would offer Cinch as an employee perk.
In 2018, Collins said his goals are to add several new verticals (including one for consumption and spending); deepen Cinch’s current AI-powered solutions; and develop more relationships with third parties who want to offer Cinch’s product to their workers.
If you’re interested in working at a forward-thinking fintech company, Cinch is actively looking for engineering talent and AI experts, Collins said. The startup currently employs 47 in downtown Boston.
