Step
Mobile banking that helps build credit
- 201-500 employees
- Fintech
- B2C
- Cryptocurrency
- Banking
- Investing
- Financial Services
- Mobile
- Ventura, Palo Alto, CA
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Company mission
To create a bank that gives users the tools to become smarter with their money and reward them along their financial journey.
10% employee growth in 12 months
Our take
Thanks to an increasingly mobile-native and plugged-in younger demographic, fintechs have a new market to play for: teens and young adults. It’s led to fierce competition, but Step is one of the players leading the pack.
Step’s offering is a fee-free, interest-free visa card, with instant payments and easy account management that is optionally controlled by a parent (or sponsor). The idea is to offer a relatively low-risk sandbox in which young people can build up financial literacy along with a good credit score, whilst enjoying the benefits of digital banking.
Some savvy TikTok marketing by Step, along with flashy backing from celebrity investors, has helped it rapidly onboard over 3 million users and cultivate strong name-brand recognition. In 2026 it was acquired by MrBeast's company, a move which Step hopes will amplify its platform so that it can broaden its reach.
Freddie
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Benefits
- Competitive Medical, Dental, Mental Health & Wellbeing benefits
- 12 weeks paid parental leave, baby bonus to support unexpected expenses and flexible return to work
- 401k Retirement Plan
- Annual Professional Development Reimbursement Program
- Flexible Work From Home and Time Off Policy
- Stock Options
Funding (last 2 of 4 rounds)
Apr 2021
$100m
SERIES C
Dec 2020
$50m
SERIES B
Total funding: $176.3m
This company has top investors
Leadership
CJ MacDonald
(Co-Founder & CEO)Originally worked in Senior Sales and Business Development roles at Synapse, LiveOps, and Luminate, the latter of which was acquired by Yahoo. Subsequently co-founded Gyft, ultimately acquired by First Data.
Alexey Kalinichenko
(Co-Founder & CTO)Previously a Software Engineer at Microsoft and Google, before moving into a Senior Engineer role at Square. Left to serve as CTO for Token.