One of the most rewarding aspects of my role as an investor at Inovia is the opportunity to support exceptional founders. Our journey with Emily Luk, co-founder of Plenty, is a perfect example. When our partner Chris Arsenault first encountered Emily in 2014, she was starting her career as a venture capitalist at BDC. Emily’s trajectory took her from Toronto to San Francisco, where she played a crucial role in scaling two prominent fintech companies.
She was instrumental at Stripe as an early member of the Growth team, and later as a founding member of the Finance & Strategy team, before she assumed the position of VP of Strategy & Operations at Even, which was later acquired by Walmart/One. Fast-forward a few years, and we had the privilege of working closely with Emily during her tenure as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Inovia, as she incubated the concept for Plenty. Naturally, we seized the opportunity to invest in the company’s Pre-seed round and were excited to take the lead in the Seed financing round in September 2023.
The Genesis of Plenty
The idea for Plenty emerged when Emily and her husband, Channing Allen, another fintech veteran, faced firsthand the challenges that millennial couples encounter in managing their finances. Dual-career partnerships comprise 80% of millennials in relationships, compared to 47% among Boomers. With more accounts at different institutions than ever, the joint account alone isn’t cutting it anymore. Yet, existing fintech solutions have failed to adapt to this reality.
The decision to focus on millennial couples is anything but arbitrary: Currently, over 30 million Americans fall into the category of dual-career millennial couples, earning more than $100,000 annually. As the largest generation in the workforce, millennials are poised to experience the most significant wealth growth over the next decade, making them a pivotal segment to capture for a wealth management solution.
Emily and Channing met working together at Even, a fintech startup that supported over 1.5M individuals living paycheck to paycheck. Leveraging their extensive fintech expertise, they designed Plenty to cater specifically to the unique needs of this generation. Their platform adopts a “yours, mine, ours” approach, allowing users to integrate their financial lives while maintaining individual autonomy seamlessly. This thoughtful design is already resonating with users, as one customer shared:
“I’ve been using Plenty since the beginning, and it’s been such an incredible tool to manage my joint financial goals with my husband. It’s slick with a clean modern intuitive feel. I highly recommend it to all my friends who are either just at the start of their financial journey or for those who are already well on their way to financial freedom.’’
Source: Trustpilot
The Future of Wealth Management
Looking ahead, Plenty’s potential extends beyond couples with the team’s vision of integrating the broader family network, including parents, siblings, and children alike. The company’s unique and highly adaptable multiplayer infrastructure makes this ambitious approach possible. We are excited to have led Plenty’s latest Seed financing round alongside prominent fintech figures like Adam Nash, Marc Goines, William Hockey, and Will Larson, as well as our long-standing co-investor and portfolio emerging manager, Garage Capital. As we continue to support Emily, Channing, and their team, we are confident in Plenty’s potential to redefine wealth management for future generations.