It is a strange contradiction that the people most in need of help with their employee-sponsored retirement accounts have the least access to financial services, while Wall Street firms fight over high-net-worth individuals with vast investment assets. Chris Costello enjoyed a thriving career as a financial advisor, but it bothered him that his own mother and father were not wealthy enough to qualify as clients. So, he got together with two colleagues to build something for the 80M Americans without good options.

Chris is the co-founder of Blooom, a revolutionary app designed to help every American fix their retirement account, leveraging technology to automate the analysis and reallocation of client 401(k)s. With 20-plus years of experience building individualized portfolios, Chris serves as one of the nation’s foremost experts on employee-sponsored retirement plans, and he was named among the Top Ten to Watch in 2016 by WealthManagement.

Today, Chris sits down with Emerald to explain the inspiration for Blooom, discussing how the traditional model of financial advisory is broken. He shares the company’s intention to serve people with small accounts and describes why he and his co-founders are uniquely suited to take on this challenge. Chris also addresses how losing his dad to cancer strengthened his sense of purpose and why Blooom wants to help people pursue the things that feed their souls. Listen in for Chris’ insight on the deep fortitude necessary to be an entrepreneur and learn about his decision to make a contribution to the world by way of Blooom.

What You Will Learn

What inspired Chris and his co-founders to create Blooom

The flaw in the traditional financial advisory business model

Chris’ experience with friends who had DIY-ed their 401(k)s

Blooom’s decision to ‘run toward’ people with small accounts

How Chris is uniquely suited to solve this problem

Why Chris and his co-founders chose the company name

How losing his dad to cancer grounds Chris in his purpose

Chris’ intention to help people retire and feed their souls

Chris’ advice for aspiring entrepreneurs around doing good

Connect with Chris Costello

Blooom

Resources

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell

Betterment

Wealthfront

Connect with Emerald GreenForest

Creative Age Consulting Group

Emerald’s Website

Emerald on LinkedIn

Emerald on Twitter

Email: [email protected]

This episode is sponsored by the Creative Age Consulting Group. Men - Is it time NOW for you to make your mark? Visit timetomakeyourmark.com to apply for an invitation-only consultation.