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Monarch Money
In today's episode, we're diving into one of the biggest stories of the past year in consumer fintech. Join us as we unravel the strategic masterstroke executed by Joyce Lin and the forward-thinking team at Monarch Money. Picture this: you wake up one morning to the news that your biggest competitor, and the original leader in personal finance, has decided to close its doors for good - not due to lack of traction or cash, but because leadership wanted to focus elsewhere.
That’s not exactly what happened to Joyce, Chief of Staff at Monarch Money, but it’s close. In November 2023, Intuit announced that it was shutting down Mint. The #1 most downloaded personal finance app, which Intuit acquired back in 2009 and reportedly had 3.6 million monthly active users in 2021, would no longer be available in March 2024.
This was a huge boon for the team at Monarch. If you're unfamiliar, Monarch is a personal finance application and budgeting app, very similar to Mint. They bring together everything you need to manage your finances effectively, allowing you to track all of your account balances, transactions, and investments in one place. The company is incredibly mission-driven and has always made a point of meeting its customers where they are. And, from the early days when Val Agostino, Jon Sutherland, and Ozzie Osman first launched Monarch in January 2021, that’s been a fairly unusual channel – Reddit. When rumors of a shutdown started to swirl in Mint subreddits in the Fall of 2023, Joyce and the team had time to devise their strategy and quickly launch into action by the time the low-key announcement was posted on Intuit’s blog in November.
Read more:
Techcrunch | Personal finance app Monarch sees bump in users following Intuit’s news it is closing Mint
Business Insider | As Mint prepares to shut down, Redditors are hyping up a competitor built by the same guy
ZDNET | I tested the best Mint alternatives, and this is my new favorite money app
Special Offer: Use the code MINT50 to get 50% off your first year and a 30-day free trial. Sign up today.
About Joyce Lin
Joyce Lin, a seasoned professional in strategy and operations, currently serves as the Chief of Staff and Head of Operations and Partnerships at Monarch Money. With a background that includes impactful roles at DoorDash, Spotify, and IBM, Joyce brings a wealth of experience in driving growth and innovation. She has an MBA from Yale University and is currently based in Phoenix, Arizona.
Connect with her on Linkedin, here.
On Diversity in Fintech :
Fintech in Tanzania:
In Tanzania, the fintech scene is buzzing with innovation, transforming the way people handle their finances. With the ubiquitous presence of mobile phones, digital payments have become the norm. M-Pesa stands tall as a pioneer, offering a range of services from money transfers to bill payments, all at the swipe of a screen. Traditional banks haven't been left behind either, rolling out their mobile banking platforms for easy access to accounts and transactions.
Read more:
Fintech GTM roles:
Head of Business Operations, Teal.dev (Seed, API), Remote
Head of Product Marketing - B2B Fintech, Zeal (Series A & YC’19, Embed payroll), San Francisco, CA
Head of Revenue, Embedded Payroll, Gusto (Series E, HR Software), San Francisco, CA
Principal Product Manager, Lending Partnerships, Upstart (Series D, Crowdfunding / Lending), Remote
Staff Product Manager, Growth, Navan (Series G, Travel/Spend Management), Palo Alto, CA
Sales Director, Fintech, Apex (Almost Public, Wealth Management), Austin, TX
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Monarch Money: Joyce Lin