BodesWell
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
Some sections are still being researched2 / 4
Sections to complete：02 · 05
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
BodesWell was a Boston-based fintech startup founded in early 2019 by Matthew Bellows. It built automated, software-based financial planning tools that let consumers track budgets and investments against life milestones - buying a home, funding a child's college education, starting a business, retirement - instead of relying on human advisors. The company raised about $1.5 million from investors including Cleo Capital, Ex Ventures and HubSpot CEO Brian Halligan, partnered with American Express (whose venture arm invested in late 2020) on a self-service planning pilot, and was acquired by American Express in June 2022.
02 / FAILURE REASONS
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded in Boston
BodesWell was founded in early 2019 by Matthew Bellows with the goal of democratizing financial planning by letting consumers build their own financial plans in software.
- Amex Ventures investment
In late 2020 American Express's venture arm invested in BodesWell, and the startup teamed up with Amex's Digital Labs to co-develop a self-service digital financial planning tool.
- 'My Financial Plan' pilot
In July 2021 American Express launched a six-month pilot of 'My Financial Plan', a BodesWell-powered planning tool offered free to about 25,000 select Amex cardmembers.
- Acquired by American Express
On June 6, 2022 BodesWell was acquired by American Express.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN / AFTERMATH
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.