HoneyBee

HoneyBee is a Los Angeles-based business-to-business financial technology company that sells an employer-sponsored financial wellness program as a workplace benefit. The program has three core components: Honey Funds, no-cost 0% interest funds employees can draw on demand to pay off debt or cover unplanned bills regardless of credit; Honey Academy, a live and recorded webinar and workshop series offering financial education for employees and their families; and one-on-one confidential sessions with money therapists or financial coaches (marketed as Honey Therapy and Bee Financial Coach) delivered in 30-minute phone or video calls to help employees build customized plans toward financial goals.

Product terms are tiered by employment status and tenure. Honey CASH provides smaller advances for minor expenses starting at $25, requires no credit check, is repaid in a single payment and is open to both full-time and part-time employees. Honey Funds starts at $100, requires no credit, is repaid in four installments and is limited to full-time employees with at least six months of tenure. Published loan terms state that a $500 loan carries a $0 finance charge, a 0% interest rate and repayment in four bi-weekly installments of $125, for a 0% APR. Education and coaching are available to both full-time and part-time employees, with education materials offered in English and sign-up and support resources also provided in Spanish.

The company operates as Ziero Financial doing business as HoneyBee and is a Certified B Corporation. It is licensed in California by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Finance Lenders Law (license #6046293) and appears in NMLS Consumer Access under ID #1802856.

Founding story

Co-founder and CEO Ennie Lim has said she was motivated to start the company after financial setbacks following her divorce, when her damaged credit left her unable to obtain affordable credit and she felt unable to ask for help. That experience shaped her view of the importance of financial control and led her to team up with Benny Yiu and Max Zschoch in 2017 to build HoneyBee.

Business model

HoneyBee sells a company-paid financial wellness benefit to employers, which sponsor access for their workforces. Employees receive the funds at no cost and 0% interest, and repay advances in one or four installments depending on the product. Lending capacity is supported by a $100 million debt facility from CIM.

The program is employer-paid: companies sponsor the benefit for their employees, who access funds, education and coaching at no cost and with no interest charges.

Traction

During the pandemic HoneyBee signed over 60 mid-market companies, grew users by 225%, delivered more than $2 million in rainy day funds, and saw on-demand financial therapy usage rise 172% year over year. Customers include Alameda County Community Food Bank, DC Central Kitchen, Kate Somerville, Community Catalyst of California, Southwest Water Company, Straus Family Creamery, Asian Art Museum, Pasadena Humane Society and Peachtree Health.

Latest developments

In September 2021 HoneyBee announced $5.7 million in equity funding led by FFVC, with participation from Resolute Ventures, Afore Capital, Rebalance Capital, K50, Financial Venture Studio and NBA all-star Baron Davis, plus a $100 million debt facility from CIM. Proceeds were earmarked for sales, engineering and customer success hiring, and the company said it would launch with Fortune 500 customers later that year.