Mo Money, Mo Problems

CJ MacDonald
3 min readApr 27, 2021

Step closes $100,000,000 Series C to accelerate growth 🚀

We’re closing out Financial Literacy Month this April in a BIG way. In the words of the late Notorious BIG, Mo Money, Mo Problems. In December, Step raised a $50,000,000 Series B. Today, less than 5 months from our last round I am humbled and excited to share that Step raised another $100,000,000 to further accelerate growth, product development and hiring to keep up with the demand we have seen since launch. In less than six months, Step has amassed more than 1.5 million users, 88% of whom say Step is their first bank account. Mo Money, Mo Problems?

Raising money often gets misrepresented. Fundraising is not an end achievement. It is simply further validation and support in our journey and enables our team to focus on building the best banking experience possible. It raises the bar and forces the team to deliver at a much higher level. If we are smart and stay focused we have the opportunity to build a generational brand. Too often, companies raise money and spend it recklessly. In a lot of cases they get ahead of themselves and lose focus. At Step, we are up for the challenge!

Our goal and mission has not changed; build a trusted banking platform that compliments today’s modern lifestyle and teaches not only teens, but also families how to better manage money. As we move into a cashless era where digital content and transactions fuel our daily lives, the need for innovation in financial services has increased.

The World has gone through massive changes the past 14 months. The way we work, transact and communicate has all changed and many wonder what the new norm will be. Money has evolved and changed over the years and it is clear that cash is a thing of the past. For decades people transacted with cash and checks, but lets face it, cash does not work in today’s modern economy. The reality is, change is hard. A few things covid has confirmed is there is not need to go into a bank anymore and less people are comfortable using cash in general. Merchants have adopted mobile payments and consumers are transacting digitally more than ever. Online merchants gained an extra $107 billion in 2020 thanks to the pandemic. Change can be good and this number will surely grow in 2021.

We are excited to welcome General Catalyst to the Step family who led our Series C which closed last week. Huge thanks to Kyle Doherty and Hemant Taneja from General Catalyst for the confidence and support to step up and lead this round. We would also like to welcome Jared Leto, Franklin Templeton and Stephen Curry as investors. Lastly, thanks to our existing investors that have continued to support us along the way. There are too many to mention but without each and everyone of you we would not be able to do what we do. Our #stepfam is strong and continues to grow.

Want to join us? Check out our careers page or please message me to help change banking for the next generation in a BIG way!

Onward and upward! 🚀

CJ

Follow me on Twitter: @cjmacdonald

Follow Step on Twitter: @step

Follow Step on Instagram: @stepmobile

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CJ MacDonald

Founder & CEO at Step. Previously Co-Founder at Gyft. Technology Entrepreneur, Investor, Cyclist, Foodie, Optimist and Hockey Fan just living the CA dream!