Finder expands its footprint in the US with plans to open an office in Denver next month to support rapid growth.
Finder says Denver is their second US office. The fintech company already has an office in New York since 2016.
After undergoing an extensive and competitive review process, Finder chose Denver, Colorado as the company was offered tax incentives worth US$2.5 million from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, acknowledging the nearly 200 new jobs it is aiming to bring the region over the next eight years.
The incentive makes Finder the first Australian business to benefit from the recent agreement signed by the New South Wales government and Denver.
According to Finder, Denver is being dubbed “the next Silicon Valley” for innovation and tech talent with major tech businesses like Google, Facebook, and Slack opening offices in the city.
Proximity to East and West coasts makes Denver an attractive option for Finder. It also has a flexible time zone that works for global businesses.
Finder saw a meteoric rise in the last 18 months. Last month, it became the first comparison platform in Australia to achieve Consumer Data Right (CDR) accreditation from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
This milestone follows Finder’s acquisition of tech company GoBear in April 2021 and the launch of its Australian-first money management app in 2020 which has already garnered more than 300,000 downloads.
Finder founder Fred Schebesta says this is the next step towards expansion. He says Finder views the US as a key growth market, both in terms of customers and for hiring new talent.
“Finder exists to help more people around the world save money and make money. We have a great opportunity to play a role in improving the lives of 350 million Americans,” Schebesta notes.
“Now more than ever, customers are looking for simple ways to take charge of their finances and grow their wealth—and we can help with that,” he says.
Schebesta says Finder will use the Denver office as the hub to launch the Finder app in the US market in the near future.
“Finder will utilise the high calibre talent in the region to grow its product and technology team and expand its services, launching the successful Finder app to the US market,” he explains.
Finder is hiring 200 new roles across its product, technology, finance, and publishing teams over an eight year time frame. Hiring has begun with several roles already being advertised on the Finder Careers page.
This will represent significant growth for the business which currently has just over 500 employees globally with more than 70 based in the US.
Finder USA CEO Don Ross, who joined the business in February following senior leadership roles at Trustpilot and Bankrate, says Denver was an ideal fit for Finder’s next stages of growth.
“It’s a really exciting time in Finder’s history as we scale to become the most useful and valuable personal finance platform for consumers.”
“Now more than ever, there's a hunger from our customers to develop a deeper understanding of their finances and find valuable ways to both save money and create wealth,” he concludes.
This second US office will take Finder’s total offices globally to seven (New York, London, Toronto, Manila, Sydney, Wroclaw, and Denver).
Finder says Highland, Union Station, Five Points, and Elyria Swansea are currently being scouted as potential neighbourhoods for Finder’s Denver office.
According to LinkedIn’s recent Workforce Report, employment in Denver was up +1% in 2020, while San Francisco, Washington, DC, and New York are all down, -13%, -11% and -9.4%, respectively.
