A FINANCIAL GUIDE FOR THE NEXT GENERATION
That insight then became Milo, an intuitive app that tells users simply what to do with their money each payday. In place of complicated spreadsheets or budgeting tools, Milo provides clear, personalized guidance on how much to spend, save and invest based on each user’ s unique finances.
“ The ultimate goal is simple,” Wimer says.“ Milo becomes the go-to finance app for people in their 20s, helping our generation start their path to becoming a millionaire.”
As the founders began building the app, they leaned on a familiar source of support with INNOVA Commercialization, one of WVCAP’ s key partners.
“ Michele of INNOVA had been in our corner since our earliest days as students at WVU,” Wimer says.“ She’ s supported us through the initial stages of building our startup.”
West Virginia’ s growing startup ecosystem is establishing new opportunities for young founders to build companies without leaving the state. Across the Mountain State, innovators are launching businesses that both create jobs and solve real-world problems for individuals far beyond West Virginia borders.
One example of this innovation is Milo, a rapidly expanding fintech app designed to help people in their 20s take control of their finances. The company began with a group of West Virginia University( WVU) students who recognized a gap in financial guidance for Gen Z consumers that no one else was filling.
Co-founder Nate Wimer says the company’ s roots stretch back before the app’ s conception to his college days. Before Milo, Wimer and his team created a startup called Brite, a dailyuse app that alerted universities to students who were at risk of dropping out. The company was funded by the West Virginia Capital Access Program( WVCAP).
After receiving WVCAP funding, the company realized the Brite app was not sustainable for long term expansion, prompting a brainstorming session that ultimately led to the creation of Milo.
“ When we talked to our college student base, one theme kept coming up: they were about to graduate and had no idea what to do with their money,” Wimer says.“ School had never taught them. That insight became the foundation for everything we built next.”
INNOVA guided the team through stress-testing their business model, shaping product features and navigating the complexities of launching a fintech company.
Although WVCAP funds were originally meant to expand the Brite app, the company was able to pivot its use towards the development of Milo. The timing, Wimer says, could not have been better.
“ It significantly accelerated the closing of our raise, which allowed us to focus on growing the business,” he says.
The WVCAP funding became a turning point as Milo hired a fulltime engineer, a WVU graduate who otherwise would have left the state to find work elsewhere, and launched marketing campaigns that helped reach tens of thousands of new users.
moconnor @ wvhtf. org | wvhtf. org / innova-commercialization-group( 304) 333-6828 | 1000 Galliher Drive, Fairmont, WV 26554
hello @ milobuddy. com | milobuddy. com