‘Ownership is the New Drip’: FinTech Founder Raises $4.4 Million in Seed Funding

Companies are creating new avenues in pop culture that’ll give upcoming generations creative opportunities to achieve financial stability.

Luke Bailey, Neon Money Club founder and CEO, launched a fintech company alongside Jacki Liao to present the digital generation a new approach to investing and financial growth. The company pushes the philosophy that “ownership is the new drip” by teaching the modern-day generation the value of owning the things they love to buy.

“…We coined the phrase ‘ownership is the new drip’ because our whole thing is what if you could show off your financial health profile? What if you could show off your investments? What if you could show off your financial wellness the same way you would show off a sneaker or show off a new piece of clothing,” Bailey told AfroTech in an exclusive interview.

According to the outlet, Bailey was exposed to banking in his late teenage years. After working in the industry for 18 years, he recognized the lack of representation in his environment and decided to take a step back from his job to pursue Neon Money Club.

The fintech company is a digital, invite-only club that embraces familiar concepts where users can explore investment arenas like streetwear, sneakers, and more. The club invites users into a safe space that offers resources and guidance for investing. AfroTech reported that investors are provided certainty for “an area that often has an intimidation factor within the community.”

“What if we could give our 20-year-old selves a safe space to go and not just learn the keys to the game and investing, but to actually do it right and to actually know the value of the things that they already know the value of,” Bailey explained.

“You could look in my closet right now and you can check out all my sneakers. You can check out all my drip. I got electronics around here. I’m sitting here looking at an iPhone, I’m talking to you on an Apple computer. I own those things, but I don’t own the company. So, how can I own a piece of that company that I already know is valuable and is already a part of my everyday life.”

Bailey and Liao are both sneakerheads and streetwear enthusiasts. Their bond over their shared passions was a major factor in creating Neon Money Club.

The platform emphasizes users being empowered to confidently invest their money without a hassle. Information is curated in the form of investment playlists, and each playlist has several stocks based on a particular theme. Bailey and Liao talked with over 100 venture capitalists, and after being recognized by investors, the company successfully raised $4 million in funding.

Bailey believes he is “the only Black tech founder in NYC to have raised that much in a seed round pre-product and pre-launch.”