Uncle Moneybags

Your uncle might not always be a good bet for financial advice, but this ‘online avatar’ of him might just be the thing. A marketplace that connects users with financial advisors, MoneyUncle offers a range of services such as tax, insurance, risk and retirement planning.

Founded by Mumbai-based Akshay Dedhia in April 2016, the start-up has 20 advisors on board as of now. “While access to high quality advice and finding a good advisor is tough for customers, finding right clients is an issue for advisors too. MoneyUncle helps out both,” says Dedhia.

Set up with an initial investment of Rs.10 lakh, the platform works on a subscription model for advisors. “The one-time sign-up fee (for advisors) is Rs.5,000,” says Dedhia, adding that they will start “incorporating pay per lead/recruitment fees after a few months.” As of now, the user is charged only if he hires an advisor, in which case the fee is decided by the latter. Going ahead, Dedhia says, MoneyUncle is expected to charge 20-30% per lead from the advisors.

While the founder puts the total assets under advice so far at Rs.1 crore, he is bullish that the ‘uncle’ will rise in popularity as the company invests more in marketing, technology and user acquisition.