“All you need is a dollar and an adult sponsor to start investing right away,”
“All you need is a dollar and an adult sponsor to start investing right away,”
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“All you need is a dollar and an adult sponsor to start investing right away,”
Two eager college students with an interest in investing saw a need and launched a company during the pandemic to fill that void.
“When I went to open my TD Ameritrade account, I was 16, and it took weeks and emails and phone calls to open the account,” said Harrison Martindale.
Martindale and his 20-year-old business partner, Luke Moberly, said high school classes barely touched the surface on investing and the current brokerage system is clunky and set up for baby boomers.
“In recent months, we’ve seen a lot of media on Game Stop, AMC, crypto currency, and investing is a lot more accessible to students,” said Luke Moberly, a Lincoln High graduate, and freshman at Stanford University. Moberly is an app developer and coder as well.
Moberly said there was a real need for a safe, educational platform for teenagers to learn about the stock market and invest with caution and oversight for the long haul.
“Right now, our product is focused on 13 to 17 year old’s,” said Moberly.
During the pandemic, the two lead a team to develop their company called “Bumper,” an online investment app for teenagers.
The name comes from the concept of “bumper cars,” which Moberly said are a lot of fun—with the safety of a rubber bumper all around them.
www.joinbumper.com
“Being able to make a disruption is what we want to do,” said Martindale, a finance student in the entrepreneur cohort at the University of Nebraska Omaha.
The Bumper app includes learning modules and access to hundreds of stocks which can be purchased on-line through an investment firm with the oversight of a parent.
“All you need is a dollar and an adult sponsor to start investing right away,” said Martindale.
The two said the app is ideal for students in business classes, clubs, or an engaging activity to share with a parent or grandparent.
“The parent has oversight over the portfolio the entire time, so they know exactly what their teenager is investing in and they can approve or deny the request,” said Moberly.
The app doesn’t allow teens to borrow money for purchases or day trades. It’s a Generation Z friendly format with an average investment account of $25 right now.
Martindale said because the app just launched three weeks ago, they’re seeing lots of parents and high school students logging in to sample the product. The app has more than 500 clients so far.
The project was financed by startup business accelerator NMotion in Lincoln. NMotion chose Luke as an entrepreneur with promise and awarded him $100,000 to launch his idea. Moberly took a gap year before starting school at Stanford to grow his idea. He previously launched a successful gaming app. Mentors paired him with Martindale and UNO and the two met, mostly over Zoom, to create their company.
“We’re investing in founders and we work alongside them to unpack ideas that could be a whole new category of creating companies. We are looking for potential and coachability and Luke had it all,” said Scott Henderson, NMotion Managing Director.
Henderson chose Moberly for the grant before meeting him in person.
“I was very overwhelmed. I had never seen anywhere close to that amount of money in my life and so it was very surreal to see six digits in the bank account,” said Moberly.
Other than spending a few dollars on gas and groceries, Moberly said all the money went toward creating the product which is free to customers.
Henderson said his firm is reaching out to local talent and growing entrepreneurs in Nebraska, sponsoring 10 startups in just a few years.
“What it makes me realize, is the amount of support structure that’s around people now, especially in Nebraska. That was not the case 30 or 40 years ago,” which is why Henderson said he left the state to grow his ideas. He said investing in our best and brightest talent has to be a priority.
To learn more about the teen investing app go to www.joinbumper.com
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