Expanding our Eco-system: welcoming cultural icons to Eco

It will take a cultural shift for the world to realize that your money can work for you — an inspiring idea in a time when financial services has become a race to the bottom. Eco wants to demystify financial services and put your money back to work for you.

To help us bring about that shift, we’re thrilled to share that some of the world’s most prominent cultural icons at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and business are supporting Eco’s mission through their investment in our recent fundraise (alongside a16z Crypto, Founders Fund, and more than one hundred others). 

Please welcome Sean “Diddy” Combs, Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman’s Thirty Five Ventures, Carmelo Anthony and Stuart Goldfarb’s Melo7 Tech Partners, Tiffany Haddish, Justin Blau, Larry Fitzgerald, Keisuke Honda, Kelvin Beachum Jr., and the a16z Cultural Leadership Fund to our Eco-system.

“I’m excited to be involved in Eco’s mission to transform how people save, earn, spend and send their money. Eco is providing much-needed transparency and control to users, and I think they have a real opportunity to reimagine how people think about money.”
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— Tiffany Haddish, Actress and Comedian

These remarkable investors have already won within the existing system. But by backing Eco, they are voting with their dollars for a better future — one where everyone is in control of their own money.

What’s the problem?

From the second you earn money, it is working for someone else. You probably get paid once every two weeks, even though you’re working every day — effectively extending your employer a zero-interest, two-week loan. And you might feel this pain even more acutely if you’re one of the millions of Americans who uses payday loans.

Once your money finally lands in your bank account, it starts working for the bank, who typically earn 100 times what they pay you. And then if you use most fintech products like Cash App or Robinhood, your money is earning someone else interest — and you’re getting none of it. Then tack on overdraft charges, convenience and minimum balance fees, money transfer restrictions, other confusing, hidden, and opaque charges, and more. The list goes on and on.

It’s hard to know how to manage your money and where to find the best opportunities. And, as with all things financial, the effects of this reality compound. Those with access get more and more, and those without access end up with less and less.

The solutions to these problems are not always simple, obvious, or fast. But one thing is clear to us: if you’re in control of your money, you become empowered.

“Melo7 Tech Partners is thrilled to partner with Eco in their mission to empower people to take control of their finances. Regardless of gender, race or income level, financial freedom is a right that everyone deserves, and that starts with financial literacy. We are excited to help transform banking to make it more accessible for all.”
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— Carmelo Anthony, NBA All-Star and co-founder of Melo7 Tech Partners

How does Eco solve this?

Eco is building an experience of ownership — a place where you can truly own your money. We seek to be a product where you aren’t subject to the whims of others, nor are you paying them to use your own money. A product where you have access to the best opportunities. A product that educates you.

We are at a cultural moment, on the precipice of breaking out of the old world. We’re getting sick of being disempowered — sick of losing purchasing power by leaving money in our accounts; sick of paying an average of $329 in fees to our banks every year; and sick of our money getting stuck and restricted by transfer limits. 

"Eco's model is simple and provides real, tangible value to its users, who have outgrown the confusing terms of traditional banking. As investors, we're excited to help them grow in the journey to provide more people with financial freedom."
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— Rich Kleiman, co-founder Thirty Five Ventures

We need to collectively realize that a better world is possible — one where everyone is afforded the same services, benefits, and opportunities.

Given this ambition, bringing global role models and tastemakers on board was crucial. They’ve personally done what so many dream to do: win within the existing system. They’ve seen how it works, and they believe something better can exist.

They’re excited about Eco because we’re giving people the experience of owning their money, and because Eco simplifies access to financial upside. Because we’re building Eco in an open and democratized way. Because by building a new system, we’re making it easier for everyone to win together.

To date, we’ve only shared the first step of that vision  — and it only gets better from here. Keep your eyes peeled. 

And in the meantime: put your money back to work for you. #takeyourcashback along with Diddy, Kevin, Rich, Carmelo, Stuart, Tiffany, Justin, Larry, Keisuke, Kelvin, and Chris.