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Grifin is a mobile robo-advisor investment application developed and co-founded by Aaron Froug and Bo Starr, two University of Florida alumni in 2017. The company also has a third co-founder by the name of Robin Froug. The application allows its users to automate investments in publicly traded retail companies (Starbucks, Amazon, Tesla, etc.) each time they purchase at that specific retailer. Since 2017, Grifin has been recognized by the SEC as a registered investment advisor and, prior to its launch, had built a waitlist of several thousand people. Grifin is a trademark of Interest Financial LLC.
The Grifin application is an automated investment platform that allows users to invest $1 each time they spend money with a linked debit or credit card. When a user shops at a publicly-traded company, that $1 investment is made to that particular publicly-traded stock option. However, when a user shops at local small businesses or other privately owned retailers, $1 is still added to the user's account to be traded as the investor sees fit. This automation enables users to continue setting aside money to build an investment portfolio on non-qualifying purchases.
During late January of 2021 amidst the GameStop (GME) controversy, Grifin saw more than a 1,800% increase in users as a result of competitor applications like Robinhood and Public blocking the sale of GME. Grifin's CEO Aaron Froug made a statement regarding the increase in users saying
"In the time where people were looking for alternatives to Robinhood, our position wasn’t, 'We're an alternative,' it was just, 'We're trying to have a different approach to investing in general."
- Powderkeg- "2020 Top Rated Cultures"
- Powderkeg- "2020 Leadership Team Culture Award Winners"
- Powderkeg- "2020 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Culture Award Winners"
- University of South Florida pitch competition winner
- Tampa Bay Inno's 2019 Inaugural Inno on Fire Winner
