Socially Financed Research
Investment Thesis
Socially Financed is a community-driven fintech investment syndicate founded by a group of fintech operators, investors, and entrepreneurs with deep experience building financial services and technology businesses. The fund leverages their hard-won expertise and network to identify and support early-stage entrepreneurs transforming financial services. The founders—Albert Cheng (Chief Growth Officer at Chess.com), Stephen Sikes (COO at Public.com), and Aaron Larue (Co-founder of Deferred)—all have extensive backgrounds at SoFi, one of the most successful fintech companies. They believe in the power of community investing and operate both through a formal Venture Fund and an AngelList Syndicate.
Investment Focus and Thesis
Socially Financed focuses exclusively on early-stage fintech and financial services companies. Their investment thesis centers on identifying entrepreneurs who are transforming financial services through technology. They emphasize:
- Operator-led investing: The team's deep experience building financial services products gives them unique insight into product-market fit and operational challenges
- Community leverage: They leverage their extensive network of fintech operators, investors, and entrepreneurs across the ecosystem
- Early stage support: Providing not just capital but also strategic advice, introductions, and operational guidance to early-stage founders
- Fintech ecosystem expertise: Deep understanding of payment systems, lending, investing platforms, crypto infrastructure, and employee benefits
Portfolio Composition
Socially Financed has invested in 30+ companies as of 2023, focusing on seed-stage investments. Their portfolio spans diverse fintech verticals:
Payments & E-commerce:
- Accelpay (e-commerce for alcohol, Seed)
- Omella (payments, forms & signatures for schools, Seed)
- Method Financial (payment and debt management, Seed)
- Pave (cash-flow API, Seed)
Alternative Investing & Wealth Management:
- AltoIRA (self-directed IRAs for crypto & alternative assets, Series B)
- Equi (family office for everyone, Seed)
- Moment (next-generation fixed income tools, Seed/Series A)
- Atomic Invest (investing-as-a-service, Series A)
- Vartana (B2B payment plans, Seed)
Lending & Mortgages:
- Doorvest (high-yield rental homes, Seed/Pre-seed/Series A)
- Pylon Lending (embedded mortgage lending platform, Pre-seed/Seed)
Crypto & Digital Assets:
- Ejara (investment app for Africa, Seed)
- Talos (institutional crypto trading tech, Series A)
- ZeroHash (embedded crypto infrastructure, Series C)
Global Fintech:
- Hapi (Robinhood for Latin America, Seed)
- Homli (Zillow for Europe, Pre-seed/Seed)
Banking & Deposits:
- Modernbanc (bank-as-a-service platform, Seed)
- Rho (better business banking, Series A)
Consumer Financial Wellness:
- StellarFi (build credit with every bill payment, Seed)
- Step (banking for teens, Series C)
- Bennie (employee benefits platform, Seed)
Embedded Lending & Services:
- Inspectify (home inspection marketplace, Seed)
- AngelList (investing platform, Series B)
Stage and Check Size
Socially Financed primarily invests in Seed stage but has participated in Pre-seed, Series A, and later rounds. Their typical check size range is $50,000 - $500,000 based on portfolio analysis, which is consistent with angel syndicate participation. They are not leading large institutional rounds but rather adding meaningful support to companies they believe in.
Lead Tendency
Socially Financed primarily follows rather than leads rounds. They participate in syndicate structures through AngelList, positioning themselves as supporting investors with strong value-add through operator expertise and network introductions rather than as lead institutional investors.
Recent Activity and Fund Status
As of January 2026, Socially Financed has not made formal investments in 2026 yet. However, the fund structure includes:
- Venture Fund: A formal fund vehicle through AngelList Ventures
- Syndicate: An AngelList Syndicate for broader community participation
The fund maintains active engagement through their Slack community and Twitter presence. Their most recent documented activity shows continued participation in fintech investments, particularly in growing companies in their portfolio.
Geographic Focus
Primarily United States-based, with portfolio companies headquartered across major tech hubs including San Francisco Bay Area, NYC, and other US cities. Some portfolio companies serve international markets (e.g., Hapi for Latin America, Ejara for Africa).
Team and Expertise
Albert Cheng - Chief Growth Officer at Chess.com
- Product executive and ex-entrepreneur
- Deep experience across fintech (SoFi, New Wave) and consumer tech (YouTube, Duolingo, Chariot)
- 40+ startup investments made
- Known for supporting passionate founders
Stephen Sikes - COO at Public.com
- Responsible for operations, revenue, customer support, legal, compliance, and risk management
- Former SoFi Invest business lead and founding team member
- McKinsey engagement manager focused on growth and digital strategies for financial services
- US Army Cavalry officer background
Aaron Larue - Co-founder at Deferred
- Previously co-founder of Balance Homes (acquired by EasyKnock)
- Product leader at Zillow, SoFi, and Clara Lending (acquired by SoFi)
- Excited about remote work and founder support
All three founders have deep roots in the SoFi ecosystem, giving them insider knowledge of what makes fintech companies successful at scale.
Decision Process and Timeline
As a syndicate-based fund, Socially Financed operates through consensus decision-making among the founder community. Investment decisions appear to be made relatively quickly given the syndicate structure, with founders making independent decisions but coordinated through their shared network.
Investment Requirements
- Accredited investor only - vehicles are restricted to accredited investors
- Warm introductions preferred but not required given their community-driven approach
- Clear fintech focus required
Notable Co-Investors
Based on portfolio analysis, they frequently invest alongside:
- Y Combinator
- Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
- Sequoia Capital
- First Round Capital
- Goodwater Capital
- QED Investors
- Bessemer Venture Partners
- Village Global
- Better Tomorrow Ventures
- Not Boring Capital
Anti-Thesis
Socially Financed explicitly avoids:
- Non-fintech sectors
- Companies without clear fintech/financial services focus
- Unvetted founders without strong backgrounds
Community and Network Value
Beyond capital, Socially Financed provides significant value through:
- Direct introductions to their operator network (fintech executives, founders, operators)
- Operational advice based on deep fintech experience
- Access to their Slack community of 100+ fintech-focused investors and operators
- Strategic guidance on product, go-to-market, and regulatory considerations
- Founder peer support and mentorship