A FinTech helping parents to invest and plan for their children’s financial futures is to close down two years after raising £2.1 million in seed capital from top VCs.
Nosso – formerly known as Hapi Plan – launched its app fully in early 2022 following backing from Octopus Ventures, Anthemis, Entrepreneur First, Ventures Together, Errol Damelin, Tracy Doree and Peter Hetherington.
Its founders Youssef Darwich (pictured) and Sigurjon Isaksson met in 2020 at Entrepreneur First. Darwich was the second employee at the digital banking service Tide and Isaksson was an early employee at Eigen Technologies.
“It is with a heavy heart that we inform you that from 28th February 2024 we will be winding down our operations and closing all Nosso accounts,” read a statement on the startup’s website.
“Any money invested through Nosso is still safely invested with BlackRock or Vanguard, who are not affected by our decision to wind down.
“We really appreciate the support you’ve given us and understand that this news is disappointing. Our first priority throughout this transition is to ensure that your money with us is transferred safely to its new home so you can continue saving for yours and your child’s future.”
Nosso offered children investment accounts that parents could track, manage and contribute to, while also providing each user with a unique contribution link that they could share with anyone for easy donations. The app also allowed family members to leave messages and pictures with their contributions.
Writing on Linkedin, Darwich said: “Unlike most posts you see on Linkedin, unfortunately this isn’t a positive update 😔.
“Earlier this week we emailed all our customers at Nosso to tell them that sadly we’ll be winding the business down and closing all Nosso accounts over the next couple of months.
“My main focus atm is to help our customers have a smooth transition to their new home but if you’re building something interesting in the fintech world, please feel free to reach out.”