Ask Felix is among 10 Radial Ventures products that are preparing to enter the market or are already doing testing with initial customers.
Aging can bring awkward questions about financial management, especially in an era with a thousand digital subscriptions and e-payments.
A new product launched by Radial Ventures seeks to provide a layer of comfort and security in an empathetic way.
The startup, Ask Felix, is a web app that helps children monitor their parents’ bank account and do monthly budgeting. The app is targeted to the grown children who then handle the sensitive discussions with their parents.
“As Baby Boomers age in the era of digital information and e-commerce, there are a thousand different ways to spend money without intending to do so,” said Nicholas Barone, senior VP of design at Radial Ventures and the principal at AskFelix. “A lot of people are concerned and they don’t know what to do. This is a problem that needs to be solved.”
Radial is a venture studio created by the 43North Foundation to build new tech startups rooted in Buffalo. It is populated with some of Buffalo’s leading entrepreneurs, engineers and designers who develop ideas internally and then spin them out into new companies.
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Ask Felix is among 10 products that are preparing to enter the market or are already doing testing with initial customers.
Ask Felix went live with early users a few weeks ago, but is now commencing a dedicated marketing push with social media ads. It includes a 30-day free trial with a monthly cost of $9.99 per month. It offers a monitoring only tool with automated reports, not a way to actually manipulate or control the accounts.
The team is considering several distribution options, including partnerships with assisted living facilities and financial institutions.
Barone said Ask Felix has several adjacent competitors, which is a signal that the market believes this is a problem worth solving. The plan is to hone its functionality and product-market fit, then invest heavily into growth to try and get the company ready for a Series A round of funding.
“This is a very simple use case: you see an odd charge so you text your parents and ask them what’s going on,” Barone said. “I’ve been using it with my own mom and it’s great. By providing a secure and non-invasive environment, you can see a lot of charges that are either unnecessary or they don’t understand.”
