071 | Silicon Valley FI | Chris Hutchins | Grove

Published: April 16, 2018, 7 a.m.

071 | Chris Hutchins, founder/CEO of Grove, a new, optimized financial planning company based in San Francisco, talks about how a life and career of entrepreneurship led him to the FI community, and his current business venture. And, how his new company meets the needs of the average person better than a traditional financial planner.

What you'll hear in this episode:
  • Is Chris a risk taker or financial conservative?
  • How did Chris find his way into the financial planning and optimization world?
  • Was Chris an entrepreneur growing up?
  • Chris got his career started through relationships built in college \u2013 how can building relationships help open doors?
  • Passion for entrepreneurship led Chris to make a move from New York to Silicon Valley.
  • Although most people in the Silicon Valley have tech-related qualifications, Chris found his foothold in business development.
  • How did Chris land his first job in the Silicon Valley?
  • What steps did Chris take to earn an income after he was laid off in 2008?
  • Did Chris\u2019 wife buy into his ideas of financial optimization, and how has that developed within their relationship?
  • What are the drawbacks or negative sides of frugal and financial optimization in a high-cost environment?
  • How does Chris create a \u201cmemorable moment\u201d each month?
  • Chris found himself as a source of financial consultation for his friends, and his current business idea grew from there.
  • The world of financial planning, in its current state, is focused on the already wealthy, and the exchange of information between planners and customers is both inefficient and confusing.
  • How does Grove change the process of financial planning, and how does the software help Grove work more efficiently?
  • Grove costs $600 a year \u2013 significantly less than a traditional financial planner.
  • What services does Grove provide its customers?
  • Financial goals are really just sums of money that someone wants to set aside, no matter the purpose.
  • Why should someone in the FI community consider using Grove\u2019s services?
  • How do Grove advisors function a bit like personal trainers?
  • On a personal level, how is Grove a different venture for Chris, different from some of his previous companies?
  • Would Chris take an offer to buy Grove?

\xa0

Resources mentioned in this episode: