Hello Alice, a fintech platform, has managed to reach a milestone where it has been able to distribute over $50 million in grants within the first four years following the launch of the operation.
Founded in 2020 by Carolyn Rodz and Elizabeth Gore, Hello Alice has emerged as one of the leaders in the process of giving entrepreneurs necessary access to capital, financial education, AI-driven business planning tools, and connections to valuable industry resources. The platform’s growth has been supported by corporate partnerships that include major players such as Mastercard and Wells Fargo.
The firm has witnessed significant milestones, culminating in completing a successful funding round for Series C raised earlier in the year that set its valuation at $130 million. Since its inception, Hello Alice focused on assisting small businesses working in a wide array of industries, ranging from traditional retail to emerging technologies and sustainable energy sectors. From the earliest generational business to newer start-ups, its grants programs have benefited companies at various stages of their organizational cycle, with nearly half of the recipients founded within the last five years.
“We started as a tiny business that assists tiny businesses,” said Gore, hitting on the core mission of the company: to strengthen America’s backbone, its small businesses. “Main Street still plays an essential role in the country’s economic engine, and it also needs more boosters and funding to support it,” Gore added.
Among Hello Alice’s flagship initiatives is the Equitable Access Fund, which was seeded with an initial grant from Wells Fargo. This $70 million fund serves to improve the access to credit and capital of small-business owners, particularly those who come from underserved communities, such as women and minority entrepreneurs. The program has partnered with institutions, including First National Bank of Omaha, to drive the mission forward.
In 2022, Hello Alice collaborated with Mastercard to launch the Hello Alice Small Business Mastercard credit card, designed to help businesses establish their credit profiles.
Mastercard is also one of the key partners in the Equitable Access to Capital Program under Hello Alice, aiming to address one of the biggest challenges that small businesses face: access to capital. Ginger Siegel, head of Small Business in the U.S. at Mastercard, says that the collaboration directly addresses capital needs hindering small business growth.
Hello Alice’s continued success highlights the increasing importance of partnerships between fintech platforms and traditional financial institutions in creating more equitable opportunities for small business owners.
