Indianapolis fintech startup Habits lands $1.1M investment

Social media can be tricky territory for financial advisers, who must abide by regulatory limits on how they use such platforms.

And that seems like a business opportunity for Indianapolis-based financial technology startup Habits Inc., which launched in 2021 and offers an online platform where advisers can connect with prospective clients.

“Think of us as just being a master matchmaker,” said Habits co-founder and CEO Jack Boudreau.

Habits recently closed on a $1.1 million round of pre-seed funding led by Georgia-based investment firm Atlanta Ventures, with participation from Indianapolis-based Elevate Ventures and Bloomington-based Flywheel Fund. The round closed Nov. 22 but was not announced publicly until this week.

Also this week, Habits is wrapping up its participation in the FinTech Innovation Lab accelerator program organized by Chicago-based nonprofit group 1871. Habits was one of 47 startups from the U.S., Canada and Argentina selected for this cohort of the program, which began in October and ended this week with a three-day summit.

Boudreau, who is originally from suburban Chicago, is a Butler University graduate who now splits his time between Indianapolis and Houston. His co-founder is New York City-based Veera Budhi, who serves both as chief operating officer and chief technology officer.

Before launching Habits, Boudreau worked for nearly five years at J.P. Morgan, most recently as a Chicago-based private banker and, before that, as an analyst.

So, he said, he understands the regulatory restrictions that advisers must abide by when it comes to their use of social media—the advance approvals they need to obtain, and the disclaimers they must include.

“Everything needs to be monitored, and it’s very hard to do that on social media,” Boudreau said. “Financial advisers are strongly discouraged to produce content or to share their stories publicly on social media for fear of the repercussions that it could create.”

At the same time, advisers have a keen interest in networking and making business connections—and a lot of that activity happens online these days.

Boudreau launched Habits as a compliant way for advisers to connect with people who are themselves actively searching for a financial adviser. The platform is geared towards individuals in their mid-20s to mid-40s seeking their first financial adviser, perhaps motivated by a major life change such as buying a home, getting married or having a baby.

The platform makes money from fees that investors pay to be listed. The site is free to use for the individuals seeking an adviser.

Interested advisers go through a verification process that covers things such as their approach to financial planning, their areas of expertise and their fee structures.

Prospective clients, in turn, provide information such as their financial goals and what they’re seeking from an adviser. Users can also use the platform to share their financial information with selected advisers.

When Habits closes the books on 2024, Boudreau said, he expects that the company will have earned just over $300,000 in revenue for the year.

The company is currently working with more than 50 financial firms, including some in Indiana, with more than 250 additional firms on a waiting list to join the platform, Boudreau said.

Habits currently has about seven employees, most of whom are based in North America, Boudreau said. The company is in hiring mode, with five jobs and two intern positions listed on its website as of this week.