Dave (also known as Dave.com[1]) is a digitalbanking service. The service' main focus is on cash advances.[2] This service works off of tips and subscription fees rather than overdraft fees.[2]
Services
Dave's main service is short-term lending. The company does not charge interest, or origination or similar fees, instead charging for expedited service, and a monthly fee to use the service, and giving the option to "tip" the company.[3][4] Lauren Saunders of the National Consumer Law Center expressed concern that some users may feel compelled to tip, resulting in it being not too different from paying interest.[5] Dave launched a banking service in 2019,[6] through a partnership with Evolve Bank & Trust.[7][8] It has a service for finding side-work called SideHustle.[9]
History
Shark Tank star Mark Cuban led a $3 million seed investment round in the company, saying he was crushed by overdraft fees in his twenties. The CEO of Dave, Jason Wilk,[10][circular reference] was the former creator of AllScreen, a company which was also originally funded by Cuban who put in a $300,000 investment.[11][12] After the initial investment in Dave by Cuban and other investors, the total funding of the app has increased to $180 million, after the $50 million investment by Norwest Venture Capital.[13] The Dave app was the Apple App of the Day in April 2017.[14] It has been downloaded 10 million times on iOS,[14] and over a million times on Android devices.[15] In July 2019, the company was named one of the next billion dollar startups by Forbes.[14] In October 2019, Dave received a valuation of US$1 billion, and had over 4 million users.[4][3]
Dave was ranked number five in Inc. Magazine's list of 5,000 fastest growing companies for 2021.[16] Dave went public on NASDAQ via SPAC on Jan 6 2022 through VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings III created by longtime Dave investor Victory Park Capital.[2][17] The initial valuation was $4 billion.[18]