A VC for Individuals & Families

Our Philosophy

The value of financial planning is the clarity received when financial trade-offs are reframed within the context of an individual’s life. What is important and worth pursuing has a dynamic relationship with one’s understanding of which levers are available to them and at what costs. As the financial implications of decisions become less abstract, it is easier to focus on thriving instead of surviving.

We’re passionate about engaging great people to help make their vision a reality. In that sense, we view our client’s household as a startup. Dreams are not enough to ensure success in business or personal finance. Pursuing a vision requires skill, patience, luck, resilience, adaptability, and resourcefulness. This means increasing income earning potential over time, avoiding inefficient financial decisions, capturing the upside of private company stock, and a disciplined investment philosophy for compounding wealth to ensure they don’t outlive their financial runway.

Being good with money is a 21st century survival skill, and we don’t believe in excluding people from the benefits of financial planning by imposing investment minimums. We operate like early investors in our clients’ future rather than waiting for them to put in the hard work to accumulate millions of dollars and then capitalizing on their efforts.

We are great at identifying blind spots because we have experience supporting tons of people in similar situations, but our conviction comes from our planning process. We start by getting to know our clients on a deep level. We then integrate financial planning and tax planning to help clients understand the trade-offs of their opportunity set. When needed, we implement a sophisticated investment solution to ensure their portfolio supports the life they want over the long-term.

As our clients grow, so does Upstart. We don’t pressure clients to invest, have expectations for what they choose to do with their life, or set benchmarks for a “successful exit.” We partner with clients so they can pursue their vision as efficiently as possible and help them iterate through uncertainty as life unfolds. Additionally, we introduce them to trusted partners that add value to other aspects of their lives that touch money. 

Our vision is to build decades long relationships with our clients and be there to support them every step of the way, irrespective of how much money they can invest when we begin working together. We believe this approach is how we collectively create a better future.