Following a year-long paid pilot, Raise Financial is preparing to bring its investing platform to a broader market.
Today, we announced the close of a $2 million equity seed round. The funding marks an important step forward as we work to help younger Americans build meaningful market exposure earlier in life.
The raise follows a year-long paid pilot in which Raise operated its product with paying members and experienced no customer churn, even through a period of significant market volatility. More than 1,600 people have joined our waitlist over time.
We will use the funding to scale the platform from a successful pilot to a broader public release, expand our operational infrastructure, grow the team, deepen strategic partnerships and invest in customer education and acquisition.
Raise was created to address a growing constraint facing younger investors.
Many financially motivated Gen Z and Millennial professionals want to build long-term wealth, but higher living costs leave less room in their budgets. Their contributions remain small, and meaningful market exposure can take years to build.
Raise closes that gap by putting more capital to work earlier in the investment journey, without asking members to stretch their monthly budgets.
Members choose a monthly membership tier that fits their budget. Raise puts a larger S&P 500 position to work on their behalf from day one, greater than their monthly budget alone could build. The position is structured with a buffer designed to protect against short-term market declines.
Members keep 100% of the returns generated by their position. Raise earns revenue through the monthly membership fee rather than taking a share of those returns.
“The old financial playbook no longer works the same way for this generation,” said Wesley Belden, Founder and CEO of Raise Financial. “People are facing higher living costs, starting to invest later and often have less room to build meaningful wealth over time. We do not see that as a reason to lower expectations. We see it as a reason to innovate. Raise is designed to help more people become owners in the market earlier and more meaningfully.”
“We have built the product, put it in the market and operated it with paying members through a volatile year,” Belden said. “This funding allows us to take what we learned from the pilot, scale responsibly and bring Raise to far more people.”
“Raise has built a thoughtful solution to a real challenge facing younger investors, and I am pleased to support the company’s next stage of growth,” said investor, S. Craig Lindner, Co-CEO of American Financial Group.
Raise’s growth comes as Nashville’s fintech ecosystem gains momentum. According to Launch Tennessee, the state outpaced both the Southeast and the U.S. in deal and capital growth during the first half of 2025.
Built in Nashville, Raise is scaling from a proven paid pilot in a market that reflects many of the same financial pressures facing the young professionals it was designed to serve.
About Raise Financial
Raise Financial puts wealth-building within reach for today’s young investors. As younger generations struggle to build the long-term wealth their parents were more readily able to achieve, Raise designs financial products that address the root economic challenges holding them back.
This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Returns are not guaranteed.
