the financial adviser built for you

Thrive's founders set out to change something that has been treated as 'just part of life' for a long time: very few people have access to credible financial planning. Traditional financial advisers target their business toward the ultra-rich. Most people have neither the time nor expertise for effective do-it-yourself financial planning. As a result, misguided financial decisions cost people billions of dollars a year in unnecessary fees, finance charges, and missed opportunities.

At Thrive, we're offering excellent financial advice tailored to you and your needs. Instead of using complicated financial jargon, we speak your language and help you rethink the way you approach your finances. Our user-friendly tools show you how you can take control of your financial life, and start accomplishing your goals. With Thrive, you'll gain an understanding of what your money really means today and what it will mean tomorrow.

how we got here

Thrive's founders, Avi Karnani and Ori Schnaps, noticed that many of their friends were mystified by simple financial issues. Avi found himself repeatedly answering the same questions, like "what exactly is a 401k, anyway?". Ori realized that most people who were struggling with debt had made the same financial mistakes. The two came together and formed Thrive: a company founded to provide friendly, free, and accurate financial guidance.

After two years in development, Thrive was released to the public in October 2008. In February 2009, Tree.com offered to bring us into the family. Excited by the opportunity to help even more people by working with an established leader in online finance, the team decided to accept the invitation and join Tree.

Which brings us to today. Working in a lovely space in lower Manhattan, the Thrive team is a family of around 20. We include engineers, designers, support people, guys with white boards, pirate squirrels, and crazy scientists - all dedicated to bringing the best possible free financial advice to the web. We play Rock Band 2, muck about with fencing gear, sing lullabies to the Thrive babies (so cute!), and work 16-hour days. We love our jobs and what we're building, and we hope you love using it.

what we do

Thrive is where smart personal finance decisions start. With a unique blend of management and advice tailored just for you, we make financial decisions simple and fun. Whether you want to pay off a credit card, improve your credit score, buy a home, or track your expenses, Thrive will make the process easy and enjoyable.

After signing up, we'll ask you to log into your bank accounts so we can create a secure "tunnel" to your bank, which is really just a one-way path: your bank can give us information, but we can't change anything in your account. Your banks will send us daily updates about your balances and transactions, so that you can monitor all of your finances in one simple interface. We then use this information to give your personalized advice.

After you upload your accounts, Thrive starts making sure your money is working for you. Thrive organizes and categorizes all of your transactions so that you can quickly learn where you spend your money. To help you make better decisions, Thrive provides highly personalized advice that you can access anywhere, any time. And the longer you use Thrive, the better our advice will get.

Throughout it all, Thrive will be around to guide and help you, a trusted advisor that puts YOU first. We'll keep you up-to-date with valuable account alerts so you can avoid major snafus and make sure all your accounts and savings plans are on track and meeting your needs.

what we believe

• Everyone has the right to financial advice based on their unique needs.
• Gaining financial control can help people better accomplish their goals and dreams.
• If answers are clear, and financial management is made easy and fun, then people will make better decisions.
• Personalized is better than generic, satisfied better than troubled, sustainable better than momentary.
• Financial education should not be left to institutions that profit from financial mistakes.
• Financial advisers don't have to be stiff, stodgy, boring, or wear suits.
• We are in this together and even if Thrive isn't perfect, with the help of our users and the strength of our team, we can make it better every day.