FinTech News
Stash Hires Independent Audit Chair Amy Butte, Eyes IPO
The stock trading app Stash has hired an independent audit chair as the company reportedly moves toward an IPO.
About the hire (and what it means):
Recently, Stash announced that it had tapped Amy Butte to serve as the company’s first independent audit chair. Previously, Butte has served as director, advisor, and CFO for several companies. Additionally, she currently serves on the boards of Bain Capital Specialty Finance and DigitalOcean, while her previous board positions include seven years on BNP Paribas USA and six years on the Fidelity Strategic Advisers Funds Boards. According to Stash, Butte has long been focused on engaging and educating the next generation of investors.
As TechCrunch confirms, the hire is part of Stash’s plans and preparations to go public.
On top of that:
In addition to hiring Butte, Stash also announced that it had raised $40 million in funds. This investment was led by accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Inc. along with Goodwater Capital and Union Square Ventures. However, instead of equity, the round utilized convertible notes.
About Stash:
Stash is a stock trading app that also offers some unique features. For example, the company offers a Stock-Back debit card that allows customers to earn up to 1% back on purchases they make. What’s more, the Stock-Back earned will match the transactions retailer when possible — such as earning $SBUX stock when making purchases at Starbucks. The company has also been known for its weekly “Stock Parties” where users can earn a small slice (usually around $0.12) of a select stock.
What they’re saying:
Commenting on Stash’s new independent audit chair, the company’s CEO Liza Landsman said, “The addition of Amy, who is amongst the most accomplished leaders in the financial services space, plus a new round of financing from marquee investors, are clear indicators of the strength of Stash’s business. It also signals our widely ambitious future.” She continued, “We will move even faster to scale while committing to increasing levels of rigor and transparency—all in service of supporting our millions of customers. Profitability, and the flexibility it provides, is within reach.”
Additionally, Butte said of joining the team, “Stash uniquely combines financial services and tech to create real value for its customers, in all the right ways. With its scale and differentiated business model, the possibilities for Stash are vast and extremely exciting. I’m thrilled to join Liza and the rest of the board to help ready the organization for the future.”
My thoughts:
Honestly, as soon as I saw the press release about Stash’s hiring, I immediately knew it was part of a plan to go public. That’s overall good news as it feels like it’s been a while since a FinTech I was familiar with hit the market. In fact, the last one may have been Robinhood (which I’d call a rival of Stash in some ways). Of course, that company didn’t have the greatest success in going public, so here’s hoping that Stash can do a bit better if and when they do take that giant step.
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