Ocho wants to rethink (and rebrand) personal finance for business owners

When Ankur Nagpal sold Teachable for a quarter of a billion dollars, he felt lucky. Then, he quickly felt lost trying to navigate the financial systems of a country he was not born in and learn the institutional language often spoken fluently only by the historically wealthy.

It would be a few years of freelancing and building a venture capital firm later, before Nagpal returned to the moment as one of the early catalysts for his new startup, Ocho. The company, which launched publicly today, wants to make it easier for business owners to create and manage their own 401(k) retirement accounts.

Personal finances are tough - and it's a story as old and difficult to disrupt as time. And while Nagpal agrees that there isn't a "north star" company that has shown how to tackle financial literacy at scale, he hopes Ocho's 10-person team may just have a not so boring corner that will change that.

Ocho joins the many fintech companies aiming to modernize and truly rebrand the retirement account away from traditional providers like Charles Schwab or Fidelity, or expensive solutions like lawyers and consultants.

"I started exploring the space, and we realize that everyone - like Robinhood to Coinbase - is just spending unsustainable amounts of money to acquire customers, but not making money from them. themselves and continually need these big rounds of funding just to exist," Nagpal said. "I actually expect there to be a really tough 6, 12, 18 months for fintech companies in particular. "

Ocho's difference from the competition, he believes, is its focus on the market. "There are so many companies targeting startup founders and their wealth - there's literally a new one launched every month or two, all backed by great VCs, but no one is focused on the owner of the startup. company that is doing well but is not a startup founder or a startup employee,” he said.

Instead, Ocho builds on Nagpal's experience working with creators when he was building Teachable. Teachable has helped creators create revenue streams, Ocho wants to help those same creators take their revenue and invest it, harvest it, and scale it in smart ways.

“At Teachable, we have helped these people make money online and now there are many places where creators, freelancers and entrepreneurs can make money online. But how can we help them think about wealth creation?" Napal said. Ocho's long-term vision is to offer products beyond solo 401(k)s that help business owners create wealth.

Human Interest is one of Ocho's closest competitors; raising $200 million at a $1 billion valuation last year. Nagpal says Ocho differentiates itself because it focuses more on individuals, freelancers, and creators, rather than the Human Interest target, small and medium-sized businesses.

Right now, Ocho charges a flat annual fee of $199 to help individuals start their retirement account. Setup takes about 10 minutes and 48 hours to get final confirmation.

The big challenge for the startup is to get the right solopreneurs to take care of their retirement accounts. He's looking for people who have income-generating businesses, but don't have full-time employees. If you have a side job to your full-time job, you can create a 401(k) just for side hustle, but you can't contribute full-time income to the retirement account.

Image credits: Ocho

Nagpal thinks he can achieve early adoption through smart nurturing...