Lindsay Dorf: Empowering Women Through Retail Investing with Astor
Among her circle of friends, Lindsay Dorf stands out as the one with an extraordinary ability to decode the complexities of retail investing. Her knack for understanding the financial landscape has made her the go-to person for advice, especially among her peers. “I had a lot of friends come to me asking for investing advice,” Dorf shared in an interview with TechCrunch. “There were two things I really saw: One, the people around me, they were brilliant, but didn’t have confidence in investing. The other was that there was so much that we’d figured out on the institutional side, from my time at BlackRock, that just hadn’t made it to the retail investor sector.”
The Birth of Astor
Recognizing the gap between institutional knowledge and retail investing confidence, Dorf began to envision a tool that could empower her friends, particularly the women in her life, to feel more secure in their investment decisions. This vision led to the creation of Astor, a free personal finance platform designed specifically for women. Astor merges community support with investing in a way that feels approachable and engaging. “Through the community, women can feel more comfortable asking if they are making the right decisions,” Dorf explained.
Understanding Your Financial Landscape
Upon downloading Astor, users are prompted to input their bank and brokerage information, allowing the app to provide a comprehensive overview of their financial situation. This feature enables users to visualize their financial landscape, including emergency funds, savings goals, retirement accounts, and personal investment accounts. Dorf likens this functionality to that of Mint, a former financial planning app, which also aimed to give users a clear picture of their net worth. However, it’s important to note that Astor is not a brokerage; users cannot execute trades on the platform.
Investment Insights and Gamification
Astor goes beyond basic financial tracking by offering detailed investment breakdowns. Users can analyze their annual returns and compare their investment strategies against market benchmarks like the S&P 500. The app categorizes holdings by performance, asset class, and returns, providing users with a clear understanding of their investments.
One of the standout features of Astor is the Path to Wealth, a gamified experience that simplifies the financial journey. This feature allows users to visualize their money strategies as a “Game of Life,” guiding them through steps like establishing an emergency fund and setting new savings goals once they achieve initial milestones. “We help you on this journey to figure out what’s your current state and what you’re ready for,” Dorf said.
Building a Supportive Community
The community aspect of Astor is pivotal to its mission. Users can compare their investment returns and portfolio breakdowns with others in the community, fostering a sense of shared learning and support. To protect privacy, users only see percentage allocations rather than specific dollar amounts. “You can see your own risk and return for investments, then look at my profile and see my risk and return,” Dorf explained. This feature encourages users to engage in conversations about their strategies, empowering them to learn from one another.
Why Women?
Astor’s focus on women is rooted in research indicating that women are three times more likely to feel confident in investing when they understand what others like them are doing with their money. Unfortunately, many existing social investing platforms, such as eToro, tend to have a predominantly male user base, leaving a gap that Astor aims to fill.
Navigating a Crowded Market
The fintech space targeting women is becoming increasingly crowded, with competitors like Frich, Alinea, Ellevest, Your Juno, and Clever Girl Finance. However, Dorf believes Astor differentiates itself through its unique focus on investments rather than just financial aggregation, as well as its emphasis on community learning. “It’s a lot less about Astor giving advice, and a lot more about you joining the platform, figuring out your situation, and then using your community to make the decision that you want to make,” she said.
A Strong Foundation in Finance
Dorf’s background in finance gives her a distinct advantage in building Astor. Her career began at BlackRock, where she worked on the fintech platform Aladdin, developing products for portfolio managers. She later honed her skills at Google, learning how to create consumer-friendly tools. When she decided to launch Astor in 2021, she enrolled in a two-year MS/MBA program at Harvard, which she described as “a bit like an incubator.” This program allowed her to combine engineering and business skills, ultimately leading to the successful launch of Astor.
Funding and Growth
Dorf’s entrepreneurial journey gained momentum when she won several business plan competitions at Harvard, securing initial funding from NFX and MBA Fund. This financial backing enabled Astor to hire an engineering team and begin development. In March, the company closed a total of $1.4 million in funding from various investors, allowing for further expansion of the team and user base. By April, Astor opened its waitlist and quickly attracted over 2,000 users, a number that has since grown to over 3,000.
Future Aspirations
With a user base primarily composed of women aged 20 to 35, Astor is witnessing hundreds of conversations initiated on the platform each week. To enhance the user experience, the company has recently onboarded certified financial planners to offer coaching. While Dorf has not disclosed specific revenue models, she emphasizes that the current focus is on learning from users and developing new features based on their feedback.
Astor aims to integrate financial health into the broader concept of overall wellness, recognizing that financial stress can significantly impact mental health. “Over the next few months, we’re creating that pillar of financial wellness and new features users are asking for,” Dorf stated, highlighting the platform’s commitment to evolving alongside its community.