Finance baby!

ETFs, shares, pension provision - for many people, these are topics that they have heard of, but don't really understand. The two founders of the Stuttgart-based start-up finance baby! now want to change this. With their financial education platform, which is specifically aimed at women, they want to give women more insight into the world of finance and encourage them to take their finances into their own hands. In this interview, they tell us how this came about, what the fintech market in Baden-Württemberg is still lacking and what they would change as mayors of the Swabian metropolis.

How did you come up with the idea for your start-up?

The idea actually came from a personal problem of my own during the first lockdown last year, when the topics of short-time working, redundancies and financial uncertainty were suddenly everywhere to be seen and heard. Denise was suddenly terrified of being made redundant and realized that, should this happen, she would have hardly any buffer in her bank account to keep her afloat and, far from that, she had no idea whatsoever about her finances. The topic was always something distant that you push away from you because it's so unpleasant and it's more fun to spend your money in the here and now anyway.

Denise started researching and looking for a solution that could be explained clearly and simply and, above all, in a way that would take away the fear of the topic instead of adding to it. However, there was absolutely nothing that would have been suitable and so she quickly took the topic into her own hands by starting to talk to as many women as possible about money. She quickly realized that it wasn't just her, but pretty much every woman she spoke to. Then it was clear: we had to find a solution - and if no one would build it, then we would build it ourselves.

Why did you focus specifically on a female target group and what challenges does this entail?

Offers in the financial sector are strongly geared towards men. For one thing, the content is not presented in an understandable way, so it is often assumed that women already have prior knowledge, which is usually not the case. In addition, many of us have grown up with traditional role models and often still live in these roles ourselves: the man takes care of the money and finances, the woman stays at home with the children, has the lower income and leaves money issues to the man. This creates a fear of contact with the topic and women don't even dare to deal with it themselves. But if the situation arises that you suddenly no longer have the financial security of a man for whatever reason, then you have to deal with the issue but you don't know how and you don't have a starting point that tells you exactly where to begin and which steps to take one after the other.

In many areas there is still no equality between men and women, and the same goes for money. For example, the gender pay gap is currently 18%, which means that women are paid on average 18% less than men for doing exactly the same job. Another example: the pension gap. On average, women receive 59% less pension. And this is due, for example, to the fact that women stay at home even more often to bring up their children and naturally earn less or nothing at all for this time. There is a lack of equality here. Women should receive the same amount of money for the same work and not be treated differently just because of their gender. Or men should be allowed to take parental leave more often.

Where did you get to know each other as a team?

We actually got to know each other during Teresa's internship at Mädchenflohmarkt. Denise was head of the marketing team at the time and realized during the interview that she really wanted Teresa on board. We had the cool and gigantic task of carrying out a major rebranding together and rolling it out on all channels. The collaboration on this project worked so well and we simply realized that we complement each other very well in terms of our skills and characters.

How do you perceive Baden-Württemberg as a FinTech location?

Quasi non-existent. We hardly associate BW with FinTech, except for the Stuttgart Stock Exchange and the associated Stuttgart Financial initiative, which is currently setting up a really cool project to change exactly that. We think that a lot of FinTechs are moving away because the topic of recruiting is particularly difficult, as is finding investors in this area. BW is strongly geared towards sustainability, which also makes it extremely difficult for us to be seen or even receive funding. As a female founding team, it's twice as difficult.

What else would you like to see for the future of Baden-Württemberg as a business location?

Definitely better funding opportunities for early-stage start-ups that do NOT come from the university environment. We think it is clearly wrong to invest so much money in university start-ups, as the founders often have no professional experience and the solutions are very theoretical and do not correspond to reality. Something also needs to change in terms of promoting women and female founders.

What tips would you give to other women who would like to found their own start-up?

Don't let yourself be put off and also show a human side to investors. We don't have to bend ourselves just to collect money or appear strong in front of a jury. Maybe that will bring us victory in the moment, yes. But in the long term, those who remain true to themselves and are honest and open will benefit. And if that means showing uncertainty in some moments or honestly saying that you don't share an opinion, then that's fine.

In the long term, those who stay true to themselves and are honest and open will benefit

Denise, finance baby

Where do you see your start-up in three years' time?

finance, baby! is a learning platform, a place of trust and a movement for more equality. For a long time, we thought that the next step absolutely HAD to be the founding of a GmbH and the first round of financing. However, we actually decided to remain independent for as long as possible and to bootstrap finance, baby! for the time being. We are currently concentrating fully on expanding our learning platform and thus revolutionizing the communication of financial knowledge for everyday life. To this end, we launched a crowdfunding campaign on 24 June, which will finance the professionalization of the platform. This means we are concentrating on the development of the desired features, the content production of online courses for specific topics.

In the long term, we see finance, baby! as a meeting place - a home for women, so to speak. That's why we're launching finance, baby! Meet Ups throughout Germany, where we will talk about financial topics without taboos and have incredibly great women as speakers. The first print products will also be available soon so that we can pick up women directly in their everyday lives and make everyday struggles easier.

Which woman is your biggest role model?

Denise: I have to be honest and say that I know some really, really great women, but I don't really have a role model. If I had to choose, I would probably say Christine Caine. Christine is the founder of the A21 initiative, which campaigns against human trafficking and forced prostitution. She has fought unbelievable battles, experienced great suffering and yet has not stayed down, but has turned everything she has experienced into strength with which she helps others. For me, this is probably the most impressive life story I know.

Suppose you were mayor of Stuttgart for a day, what would you change?

We need to start seeing and understanding people instead of mapping out theoretical, perfect paths that only shine on paper.

Denise, finance baby 2021

Denise: I think I would move away from theoretical ways of thinking and rules and let people have their say. In politics, decisions are often made and advice is given that is far removed from the reality of our everyday lives. Anyone whose employer did not respect the home office regulations should complain about health and safety and take action against the employer. But let's be honest: what 19-year-old young professional who can barely afford her rent and is afraid of losing her job would choose this path? This is just one example of many. We need to start seeing and understanding people instead of mapping out theoretical, perfect paths that only shine on paper. We need to listen. Participate in life to understand. We need to see and acknowledge struggles and offer a solution to them.

Thank you very much for the interview.

About the founders:

After studying communication sciences at the University of Hohenheim, Denise worked as a marketing manager at the Stuttgart-based start-up Mädchenflohmarkt. Together with Teresa, who studied Advertising & Market Communication at Hdm, she was responsible for a major rebranding of the marketing department. The two colleagues became friends and subsequently co-founders. Since October 2020, the two of them have been taking off together with Finance Baby.