Honeyfi Makes It Easier for Couples to Understand, Organize & Learn More About Money Together
Written by Meg Seitz · Photography by Julia Fay
Let’s talk finances, budgeting, and spending; then, maybe short-term and long-term financial goals.
Now, let’s talk about that AND add in all that for your spouse or partner, too – whether you two share financial accounts or not.
Did you just break into a cold, awkward and confused sweat?
Wipe your brow. It doesn’t have to be that way. Honeyfi just might be the solution. {Continued below}
Honeyfi is the world’s first financial management app designed for couples to understand, organize, and learn more together about not only their finances right here and now, but also in the future for short-term and long-term financial goals. It’s designed to link multiple bank accounts and credit cards securely; and then allows users to see how their respective household manages finances – all in one place. A keen bonus – the app is built to be flexible and smart with the power to review how users spend; identifying trends, providing financial insight and/or making recommendations as to a shared budget. As we all know in relationships, communication is key; and it’s a key feature on the app, as well– couples can comment on transactions, share insights and send messages to each other.
“Each of us had our own reasons for wanting to start it because it was a pain we felt,” Serageldin noted. “We landed on the Honeyfi idea because it really meant something to all of us.”
Some game-changing features: the app is bank-level secure, so your information is safe; the app is a fresh take on modern, financial inclusion, providing options for a lot of different types of couples, partners, or families, however much you share or don’t share with your spouse or partner money-wise – share all money and all accounts all the time, cool; share one family account, but keep separate, personal accounts, Honeyfi has your back; combine absolutely no money, and you can still use Honeyfi.
Last but not least, the app is free.
This level of quality, care, and service could only be delivered by people who know what they’re doing. Enter: CEO Ramy Serageldin and COO Joe Stanish who work in Hygge’s Camp North End; Honeyfi’s third co-founder, Sam Schultz, is based out of San Francisco.
Though Honeyfi went from ideation to beta form in just about a year’s time, the team worked with each other for a couple of years before that. When Stanish joined Moven in 2014, Serageldin was his first manager. Both came to Moven, a financial services start-up located in the country’s financial epicenter, with financial services experience, respectively – Serageldin had experience with Ersnt & Young and Bank of America; Stanish had previously worked at JPMorgan Chase.
They had early ideas to partner on a venture; ironically, none of which had anything to do with banking. As they riffed, they couldn’t escape a universal truth of the human experience – people are and will always be passionate about their money. Now, add in a partner or a spouse and their views of money and/or budgets and/or spending? And you feel an entirely different passion – perhaps, even pressure.
“Each of us had our own reasons for wanting to start it because it was a pain we felt,” Serageldin noted. “We landed on the Honeyfi idea because it really meant something to all of us.”
And it was an opportunity they had the experience to research and address.
“Ramy and I had the pleasure of spending our careers in banking,” Stanish says with a laugh. “So, we knew a lot about the industry. And trying to manage money with a partner seemed like a problem that we had the experience to fix; so, it was a good fit for us. And then, we got it in our heads that we could do this ourselves.”
And they’re for sure doing it. Honeyfi went live in the app store approximately two weeks ago; they’re revving up for a fundraising round; and – most importantly – they’re eager to engage new users on the free platform and in focus groups all with the idea of collecting feedback that will grow not only the app’s cultural footprint, but also the level – or perhaps just frequency – of financially-driven conversations between partners and couples both today and in the future.
If anything, this team thrives on being ahead of the curve.
Honeyfi moved into Hygge’s Camp North End at the beginning of July, just days after the location opened.
“We were interested in where the development was going here in Charlotte, and we thought Camp North End was a good spot for us and the Hygge community would be really helpful to what we’re building,” Stanish notes. “It fit a lot of the things we were looking for.”
And when you’re building a business, that fit is worth every penny.
Meet the Author: Meg Seitz is the Founder and Managing Creative Partner of toth shop, an agency with one goal: Elevate your brand’s content through powerful writing, creativity, and strategy. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor with Queens University and Founding Partner of the children’s book series, “Bea is for Business”.
She’s an English major with an MBA, so she can talk Homer’s “The Odyssey” just as well as she can talk sunk costs – though she’d much prefer the former.
Meet the photographer: Hi, nice to meet you! I’m Julia. I’m my happiest self when my camera is in hand and I’m taking in this big beautiful world around me! People are my jam and the fact that this job brings so many wonderful people into my life is pretty special.
I grew up performing mostly in front of the camera! Singing, acting, comedy improv – anything on a stage or in front of a lens. The roles began to switch as I entered my freshman year of college and found a creative outlet through photography. My first “real” shoot was when an engaged friend of mine asked me to photograph her and her fiancé. Within moments of getting started, I knew that this was it. Telling peoples love stories, that is what I’m supposed to do! I shot my first wedding at nineteen, and well you know what they say..the rest is history! We’ve been together ever since 🙂
