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This Friday, the ������Ƶ team is taking the day off for a very important day — Founders Day. This company holiday commemorates the founding of ������Ƶ, honors the foundation co-founders Ryan Caldwell and the late Brandon Dewitt built at ������Ƶ, and gives us a strong reminder of the values and purpose that push the ������Ƶ team forward.  

The Founding of ������Ƶ

In 2010, Ryan and Brandon were on separate, but similar, paths. Ryan started MoneyDesktop, the foundation of what is now ������Ƶ, and Brandon co-founded the company MyJibe — a personal finance web application company. Both businesses had a mission rooted in helping people better understand and manage their finances. And, both founders had a love for making a difference in the future of mankind. 

Brandon flew to Utah to talk more with Ryan to learn more MoneyDesktop and simply never left. Their shared passion and purpose turned into months of strategizing, planning, and writing code together. In November 2011, MoneyDesktop acquired MyJibe, creating ������Ƶ. 

Building the ������Ƶ Values

The founding of ������Ƶ was driven by a strong purpose to shape a financial system that better serves families and innovation. To align with this mission, the early leadership established ������Ƶ’s core values with intention. The values that guide our aspirations are:

• Purposeful Contribution: Contribution demands execution and ������Ƶ chooses to have a strong bias towards execution.
• Exuberance for Life: We believe we get the chance, but also have the responsibility, to uplift others by being inspirational, encouraging, kind (even when being firm), and loving.
• Founder Mindset: When encountering any problem, we ask ourselves, “If not me, then who? If not now, then when?”
• Foundation of Trust: We are a data-driven organization that believes in radical honesty. We leverage metrics and data to celebrate our capability, increase our transparency, optimize our accountability, and expose our vulnerability.
• Objectivity in Discourse: Data determines merit of claims in a debate.
• Cognizance: We choose to have empathy and be aware of how we are affecting others – always being respectful, fair and kind to team members, the company, partners, clients, end-users, competitors, and the world.
• Iterative Innovation: We believe in highly iterative and rapid innovation. We start small, make quick cuts, test assumptions, fail quickly, make adjustments, and improve.

Living as a Founder

While each of our values push the ������Ƶ team to be better, Founders Day serves as a strong reminder to embody a Founder Mindset. This value involves taking initiative and acting when encountering challenges. A Founder Mindset drives a shared sense of ownership and a commitment to leave our communities better than we found them. And, in today’s world, that’s more important than ever.

������Ƶ recently found that 31% of consumers say they are worried about their ability to cover an unexpected expense. This unsettling statistic proves that consumers need help with their finances. And, 31% of consumers agree they don’t feel financial providers do enough to support their financial needs. Today, there is a greater need than ever before for the industry to take ownership and provide consumers with the tools that will help them achieve positive financial outcomes. 

Let’s all take this dedicated time to consider the purpose behind our work and life — and how we can continue to empower the world.

Learn more about how ������Ƶ empowers the world to be financially strong.