Tell us about Belong
Belong is a wealth-building platform and we are on a mission to embolden a new generation of long-term investors.
Millennials are the first generation in history to be worse off financially than our parents, and despite making up the majority of the population (22%), we own less than 5% of the stock market. Belong estimates that 18 to 44 year olds in the UK have accumulated approximately £300B of cash, which implies that we are sitting on the sidelines during our primary wealth-building years.
We need two things in order to build long-term wealth – time and money, because money needs to compound over time. We will never have more time ahead of us than we do today, but many of us struggle to get started, whether that’s due to a lack of confidence around investing, a sense of inertia, or feeling like we don’t have enough upfront cash available to make it worthwhile.
Belong is changing this by encouraging young people to get started earlier, and tackling the blockers that stop us from taking a long-term perspective on investing.
As a generation, we still have enough time ahead of us to see any long-term investment we make today pay off before retirement. At Belong, we give our customers the right tools, inspiration and opportunities to harness the advantage of time, in building sustainable, long-term wealth.
We secured £2.95m in pre-seed funding, which we are incredibly proud to say was the largest pre-seed round raised by female founders in Europe, to date. The funding round was led by Octopus Ventures, with participation from prominent Fintech angel investors and serial entrepreneurs, including Ricky Knox, Gautham Radhakrishnan, and Nutmeg co-founder, William Todd.
What do you think makes this company unique?
Belong is the first wealth-building platform to offer customers an optional, low interest, ‘Boost loan’, which enables more money to be invested upfront, enhancing investment returns over time. Customers then repay the Boost loan separately, in small monthly installments, allowing their investment to continue to grow.
In the past, applying leverage, or borrowed capital, to enhance long-term financial outcomes has been restricted to wealthier investors. But with a £1,000 minimum investment, Belong is an accessible way to start building wealth for a wider array of prospective investors.
Belong is also owning the narrative on the power of taking a long-term perspective on one’s wealth – it’s in our name: be long – and everything we do is about encouraging our customers to connect with their future selves.
What can we hope to see from Belong in the future?
Our vision for Belong is to be the ‘go-to’ place for young people to establish, grow and, eventually, use their wealth. We are embarking on a lifelong journey with our customers, engaging them while they are younger and then serving them as their needs evolve. Our guiding principle when it comes to the product roadmap is to be 100% customer-led.
As a company, we are passionate about cracking open and leading the conversation about personal finance. We are giving everyone a seat at the table, and empowering them with the tools and the confidence to take part in the conversation. If this sounds like a conversation you want to be a part of, perhaps give us a follow us on Instagram.
