Recently, estate planning tech startup Vanilla was concluding a Series A capital raise when founder Steve Lockshin pulled in a major first-time tech investor: NBA basketball legend Michael Jordan. With Jordan’s help, Vanilla closed their funding round at $12 million. More importantly, Lockshin had guided his 25-year relationship with Jordan into direct fintech investment.
With the addition of Jordan, Lockshin has another high-profile name on the list for Ultra, Vanilla’s new feature designed specifically for ultra-wealthy clients. Lockshin notes that clients with massive estates such as Jordan (estimated at more than $1.6 billion) have unique needs that require custom-made digital tools to properly understand and manage. With a mission to “simplify everything,” as Jordan’s business partner and fellow Vanilla investor Curtis Polk put it, Lockshin has designed Ultra to offer investment strategies, tax savings, and to-the-minute data in a simple, easy-to-digest package.
Both Jordan and Polk had worked with Lockshin for over two decades, trusting his expertise to help manage their considerable estates. “Steve has been a leader in demystifying and simplifying personal wealth management, investing, and asset protection,” Polk said. Jordan’s participation in direct fintech investment will not only bring Vanilla’s expertise to bear on his own portfolio, but is expected to build additional hype for Lockshin’s latest venture.
