Wesabe, one of the first personal finance management tools I wrote about when WalletPop was but a young blog, announced today that after July 31 it would no longer operate the accounts tab of the website. In an announcement posted to Wesabe.com Marc Hedlund, CEO of Wesabe, cited the inability to maintain customer support and security on a shoestring budget.
Hedlund, who was known to contact users directly from time to time to help solve support problems, was able to share one bit of good news; the Wesabe Groups section of the website will remain open indefinitely. The "Groups tab," Hedlund explains, is cheaper to host, and it is a great resource to users who have relied on the community to help them make big financial decisions and offer financial advice specific to their situation.
In addition to the "Groups" section of Wesabe, the website was best known for its Data Bill of Rights, which assured users that, "your data belongs to you" and offered the ability for users to upload transaction data from their bank without linking accounts directly to Wesabe. Part of the Data Bill of Rights at Wesabe was the fact that the company did not use a third party solution to manage accounts and security. Instead, Wesabe built its own tool, which likely played a part in the cost of keeping data secure.
What does the closure of Wesabe, which was free, mean for the personal finance management space as a whole? Will you still be able to manage your money online for free next year, in five years?
The good news is that yes, there will still be tools which don't charge users a monthly fee to manage their money, but expect to see a greater focus on ads and tie-in products in these offerings. Ultimately, the personal finance management space will fall into three categories; free with ads, set monthly fee, or at your bank.
Aaron Patzer, the founder of Mint.com (2008), sold his company to Intuit for $170 million and has been ensconced as Vice President and General Manager of Intuit Personal Finance Group. But he hasn't forgotten his entrepreneurial roots. He's using that stack of cash from Intuit to make some angel investments of his own, including a stake in Jack Abraham's Milo.com, which is on this year's list. And he's also an informal advisor to Anapata's Ooshma Garg.
When he appeared on the 30 Under 30 list in 2008, Etsy founder Rob Kalin had just hired a professional CEO and given up day-to-day management responsibilities. But last December, Kalin retook the reins. Etsy has thrived since--the company is profitable and has been posting double-digit monthly sales gains. In his spare time, Kalin is working on a second company, Parachutes.org, an online education start-up.
Chaim Indig and Evan Roberts, the founders of Phreesia (2008), closed a $16 million Series D investment from Ascension Health Ventures in May. Phreesia, a self-service patient check-in company that makes electronic tablets for use in doctors' offices, will use the investment to expand its nationwide presence.
Involver founders Rahim Fazal and Noah Horton (2008), have added Facebook, the White House, and Sony Music to their client list. Involver, which helps companies and organizations build their video presence across social networking platforms, now supports more than 80,000 brands.
It's been a big year for Ben Lerer and Adam Rich and their company Thrillist (2009). Early in 2010, Lerer and his father Ken, co-founder of The Huffington Post, launched the New York City-based angel fund Lerer Media Ventures. And in the spring, Thrillist made its first acquisition, expanding into the e-commerce space with the purchase of Jack Threads, a flash-sale site for men's streetwear that works similarly to Gilt.com. With the deal, Thrillist diversifies its business, which was heavily dependent on advertising revenue, while Jack Threads will get its name in front of Thrillist's nearly 2 million e-mail subscribers. "We have the e-mail list and they have the vendor relationships," Lerer says. "The case we made is that it would be just so much easier for them if they didn't have to worry about building the audience."
Box.net's (2008) Aaron Levie and Dylan Smith grew their company more than 535 percent in 2009 and tripled revenue in the first half of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009. Box.net allows users to share, store, and access any type of digital file from anywhere at anytime, and now has more than 4 million users, ranging from SMBs to giants like Volvo, Audi and Coca Cola. The company launched one of the first customized business applications for the iPad, developed mobile applications for the iPhone and Blackberry, and also integrated with other mobile productivity applications. Last April, the founders landed $15M in Series C financing, led by Scale Venture Partners, bringing Box.net's total venture funding to $29.5M. Levie and Smith plan to invest aggressively in R&D and will add a significant number of employees.
Ben Kaufman (2007) sold Mophie in August of 2007 and began developing Kluster, a platform designed for group decision making and measuring influence. It's Kluster that drives Quirky, the social product development company that Kaufman launched in June 2009. Quirky develops one new product a week and shares the revenue with the influencers who helped develop each product. Since launch, Quirky has collaboratively developed 46 new products, hit threshold on 16 (the trigger that sends a product into production) and raised $6 million dollars in series A financing led by RRE (also an investor in Venmo, on this year's list.)
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In these tough economic times, many people are stepping up to be heroes of the Internet with financial advice ranging from "invest in gold!" to "don't invest in gold!" Whether you're looking to save more and living frugally or find a job during a recession, these are the best places to look for the most sound advice available on the Internet pertaining to personal finance.
The Simple Dollar
The Simple Dollar provides book reviews, lists, and commentary about handling finances, saving money, and all around spending in a more intelligent way. A great thing to look out for on this site is 31 Days to Fix Your Finances, which is a step-by-step (day-by-day) guide to getting organized in your spending in one month. A great resources for people in debt and those looking to become more frugal, The Simple Dollar is a well-rounded site with a lot of sound, down-to-Earth advice.
Get Rich Slowly
Another great blog, Get Rich Slowly covers savings, investment, and all around money management. Get Rich Slowly is a long-running blog with a lot of great advice about getting out of debt and transforming your life into a frugal, yet enjoyable, experience. Get Rich Slowly has some of the best advice I've read about investing, and the author is very wise in articles, which shows clearly in much of the writing.
Blogging Away Debt
Blogging Away Debt is a couple's journey towards paying off over $37,000 of credit card debt, accumulated after some poor choices and trying to failing in a venture to start a business. They decided something needed to change, and started this blog as a place to collect a lot of advice. With many loyal readers who've got some great input to add, the comments section of this site is not to be ignored. One of the best indebted blogs on the Internet.
Dual Income No Kids
Dual Income No Kids is a blog about personal finance for couples. It covers investing, savings, and making extra money if you should need it. Targeted specifically at couples without children, there are some great tips and insights to be found here. Pay attention specifically to their resources section, which is advice they've found valuable in their ventures and is unpaid.
The Financial Blogger
The Financial Blogger is a website dedicated mostly to financial planning. It includes some advice about choosing banks accounts, alternative income, and others, but the most advice to be found is on financial planning. Additionally, there are some attitude-preserving ramblings which are very entertaining, yet informative. It's a great site for browsing archives on a rainy day.
Living Off Dividends
A very inspiring blog. Living Off Dividends is a one-man blog devoted to talking about passive income. There is, again, some sound advice to be found, and I find that reading the personal stories of the author motivates me to increase my passive income and build a large empire online. If you can't find the motivation to do things, give this website a shot, for it's filled with inspiration.
Frugal for Life
Frugal for Life is a blog about being frugal. It's about living well on what you've got. It targets ordinary people (like you!) who want to live a good, healthy life, but who don't have a lot of money to do it with. A great, recent post on Frugal for Life is Why I Live Frugally (http://frugalforlife.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-i-live-frugally.html), which explains the choices made and the experiences leading up to said choices. It's also very inspirational and makes me want to spend less on things and put more away into savings.
My Dollar Plan
About investing, personal finance, and taxes, My Dollar Plan is an informative blog with some opinion and experience mixed in. A very well-written and inspiring post is 29 Steps I Took to Leave the Workforce at Age 29 (http://www.mydollarplan.com/29-steps-i-took-to-leave-the-workforce-at-age-29/), which I have been following for the last couple months.
Master Your Card
Master Your Card is, "The best credit card blog online," which focuses on, well, credit cards. It also talks about debt reduction, savings, and living frugally, along with some opinion polls for readers. A wealth of information and good tips to living a better life, Master Your Card is not a blog to be ignored.
Budgets Are Sexy
Last but not least is Budgets Are Sexy. A young, 20-something runs this blog with an attitude about sorting out personal finance. Check out the millionaire to-do list, the author's budget, and the best advice pages. They're where most of the great finds lie. Keep a look out for opinion-based posts, as they're highly entertaining, and actually pretty motivating at the same time.
That sums it up for the best 10 money blogs online. I encourage everybody to check them all out, as they each have a separate quality which makes them great. If I've missed any, or you have anything to add, leave a comment at the bottom of the page.
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