SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Captain401, a modern, automated 401k provider for startups and small businesses, has closed a $3.5 million seed round of funding. Investors include Y Combinator, SoftTech VC, SV Angel, CrunchFund, Dave Morin's Slow Ventures, Susa Ventures, FundersClub, Paul Buchheit (creator of Gmail), Justin Kan (co-founder of Twitch), Michael Siebel (co-founder of Twitch), Jared Friedman (co-founder of Scribd), Jacob Gibson (co-founder of Nerdwallet), Greg Brockman (former CTO of Stripe), and Joe Montana (Hall of Fame quarterback).
Companies can use Captain401 to start a 401k plan for their employees entirely online in a matter of minutes. Ongoing administration is completely automated and pulls data from other HR software to eliminate repetitive data entry. Employees benefit from automated investment management services and a simple, modern interface.
With nearly $5 trillion in assets, 401ks are a standard employee benefit at large corporations, and the most requested benefit after healthcare. In spite of this, only 14% of small businesses are able to offer a 401k due to the stacks of paperwork, manual administration, and compliance headaches involved.
"Captain401 is automating one of the last big HR problems still untouched by modern technology," says Andy McLoughlin, partner at SoftTech VC. "The biggest pain point I hear from companies is that it's really confusing and tedious to administer a 401k. Now, with their technology-based solution, it's quick and painless."
Captain401 allows businesses of any size – even ones without an HR department – to give employees the ability to plan for their futures and save on taxes with a 401k. A shocking 78 million people in the United States work for companies that don't offer a 401k as a benefit. Captain401 aims to change that and in doing so, help solve America's looming retirement crisis.
"The retirement system today is hurting working Americans," says Roger Lee, co-founder and CEO of Captain401. "Nearly half don't even have access to a 401k, and the ones who do are in badly mismanaged accounts."
The average person's 401k routinely underperforms the market due to insufficient diversification, inappropriate levels of risk, and excessive fees. Captain401's optional automated investing service enables employees to follow the best practices of long-term investing and avoid these costly mistakes.
Captain401 consistently sees over 90% employee participation among its customers, thanks to an incredibly simple three-step signup process and interactive advice that guides employees through their savings and investment decisions.
Captain401 uses index funds from leading companies like Vanguard as the basis of its investment portfolios, and as part of its service, all investments are held in a secure trust account by one of the nation's largest third-party custodians.
About Captain401
Captain401 offers a modern, online 401k for small businesses and startups. Companies can set up a 401k plan entirely online in a matter of minutes. Ongoing administration is completely automated, and employees can save for retirement in just a few clicks, all while following the best practices of long-term investing.
The company was founded by Roger Lee and Paul Sawaya.
For more information, please visit https://captain401.com.
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SOURCE Captain401
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