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SaveUp operates a digital platform encouraging positive financial behaviors. Its core offering is a free online rewards program and mobile application, incentivizing users to save money and pay down debt. Users earn credits for financial progress, gaining opportunities to win prizes, transforming money management into an engaging activity.
The company was co-founded in 2011 by Priya Haji and Sammy Shreibati. Haji, an experienced entrepreneur, aimed to solve problems for people in need, inspiring SaveUp’s structure as a tool to improve financial habits. Shreibati contributed technical expertise, bringing this vision of incentivized growth to fruition.
SaveUp primarily serves individuals actively working to improve their financial health, specifically those focused on increasing savings and reducing outstanding debt. The company’s vision centers on making responsible financial decisions accessible and enjoyable. It strives to cultivate sustained financial well-being through its rewarding system.
SaveUp has raised $7.0M across 2 funding rounds.
SaveUp has raised $7.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
SaveUp was a fintech technology company that developed a free mobile app and web platform rewarding users with prizes and credits for saving money and paying down debt.[1][2][4] Targeted at Americans struggling with personal finances, it addressed low savings rates and high debt levels by gamifying financial responsibility through partnerships with consumer brands, offering chances to win cash, cars, or vacations for everyday actions like balance monitoring and debt reduction.[1][2][5] The company raised approximately $6-7 million from investors including True Ventures and BlueRun Ventures, achieved early recognition as a top website, but filed for bankruptcy and shut down on November 29, 2017.[1][2]
SaveUp was founded in November 2011 by Priya Haji and Sammy Shreibati in Lake Forest, Illinois, initially as an iOS app and website to incentivize saving via prizes.[1] Tragically, Haji died from a brain aneurysm shortly after launch, after which the company partnered with the Filene Research Institute and gained traction, including PCMag's Top 100 websites list in 2011.[1] In 2015, Paul J. Burt acquired the company, shifting leadership while maintaining its core rewards model; it expanded to Android and continued operations from locations like San Francisco and Illinois until bankruptcy in 2017.[1][2][3]
SaveUp rode the early 2010s fintech wave emphasizing behavioral economics and gamification to tackle U.S. household debt crises post-2008 recession, when savings rates hovered near historic lows.[1][2] Its timing aligned with mobile app proliferation and rising interest in personal finance tools like Mint, but differentiated via prizes amid growing demand for engaging alternatives to dry budgeting.[1][5] By influencing user habits through rewards, it contributed to the startup ecosystem's exploration of fintech incentives, paving the way for later apps in savings challenges, though market saturation and operational challenges limited its scale.[2]
SaveUp's innovative prizes-for-saving model showed promise in fintech but ended in 2017 bankruptcy, highlighting execution risks in gamified finance amid competition.[1][2] Post-shutdown, its concept echoes in modern apps using cashback or challenges for financial health, shaped by trends like embedded finance and AI-driven nudges. While defunct, SaveUp's legacy underscores enduring demand for fun, rewarding tools in personal finance, potentially inspiring reboots in a matured ecosystem. This early pioneer reminds how timing and sustainability define tech disruptors in debt-heavy markets.[1][2]
SaveUp has raised $7.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
SaveUp's investors include BlueRun Ventures, SV Angel, True Ventures.
SaveUp has raised $7.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $5.0M Series A in July 2012.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 1, 2012 | $5.0M Series A | BlueRun Ventures, SV Angel, True Ventures | |
| Sep 1, 2011 | $2.0M Seed | BlueRun Ventures, SV Angel, True Ventures |