We're thrilled to announce GFR Fund's investment in Alinea, an innovative platform redefining financial empowerment for GenZ women. Alinea is not just about investing; it's a movement empowering women to take control of their financial future.
The idea of Alinea started in a classroom. Anam Lakhani and Eve Halimi, co-founders and co-CEOs of Alinea, met at Columbia University. They had a similar struggle despite having both interned at Wall Street: they didn't know how to invest. And they'd soon realize it was a common struggle shared among many women of their generation.
"The GenZ female demographic has always been underserved," said Halimi. "Only 20% of the users on Robinhood are female. However, with the rise of social media, and with women's earnings and generational wealth on the rise, we knew there was a market. And we thought it'd be a good time to build Alinea."
With the vision to support GenZ women on their wealth-building journey, the team founded Alinea and worked on the product during the pandemic. in 2021, they applied to the startup accelerator Y Combinator and got accepted.
Everything in the Alinea app is tailored to the needs of its GenZ audience, and the team makes sure that the product is beginner-friendly. With an annual subscription, users can use Alinea’s automated investing model or create customized "playlists" with stock options curated for them.
"We listen to our customers, and everything we've built until today is based on customer feedback," said Halimi.
Alinea understands the power of community. The team invests a considerable amount of time and resource growing an online community as digital natives themselves. They're especially active on TikTok, a platform where a lot of its Gen-Z audience live on. Through strategic social media efforts, the team has not only built a user base but also created a space for open dialogue.
The company's official TikTok account @alineainvest has gained over 5K followers and 28.3K likes. And the co-founders' account @anamandeve, where they create more personal and relatable content about financing, has reached 40K followers.
The company's social media presence also allows the team to hear its community voice first-hand.
"By building a community on TikTok, we can get instant feedback and huge impressions, which has helped our product and brand grow," said Halimi.
"Customer experience and the sense of community have evolved over time. The experience of investing is also changing," said Yasushi Komori, General Partner at GFR Fund. "Eve and Anam have a keen grasp on what kind of experience the new generation is seeking and excel in building and nurturing communities. Just like how Robinhood created the investment experience for the Millennials, Alinea will be the investment experience for the new generation."
Alinea has ambitious plans to expand its suite of financial services, providing more personalized offerings to its growing user base. The team is working on integrating AI into the decision-making processes, making users' investing experience more intelligent and customized.
GFR Fund is proud to be part of Alinea's journey towards reshaping finance for GenZ women. Together, we're committed to fostering financial inclusivity, empowering women to make informed investment decisions, and ensuring a more equitable financial landscape for all.
"We're very excited to have GFR onboard," said Halimi. "They're incredible partners who understood what we were doing from the beginning. And they've gone above and beyond in only a few weeks of working with us to help achieve our milestones."
If you're an investor or LP looking for partnership opportunities, reach out to us at hello@gfrfund.com. For startups, please pitch to us by filling out this form. We'd love to hear from you!