The seemingly harmless trend poked fun at women’s spending habits (“If it’s on sale, I’m saving money!”) – and many of us laughed at its relatability. But look a little closer, and it raises a bigger question: why is women’s relationship with money so often framed as irrational and frivolous?
Two people whose attitudes to personal finances and economic empowerment couldn’t be further from that stereotype are Gaby and Ali Rosenberg, the co-founders of the Blossom app. In fact, while many of us were Girl Math-ing on TikTok, this sister duo were already two years into the growth of their fintech app, which launched in 2021 and aims to democratise access to fixed-income investments.
“We just wanted to build something that wasn’t going to exclude anyone at all,” says Gaby.
“65% of people on the platform are women,” Ali adds. “And the most successful use cases tend to be from women – they contribute consistently, start small and increase, and make fewer withdrawals.”
If your eyes glaze over when someone mentions terms like “fixed income,” you’re not alone. But it’s less Wall Street, more common sense. The basic idea is that fixed investments are a way to grow your money with stable, predictable returns. Unlike higher risk financial products like shares or crypto, where the value can fluctuate, fixed investments pay you a set amount regularly. Blossom makes these types of investments accessible to everyday people – which were traditionally only available to the super-wealthy.
Their key products – Blossom Save and Blossom Plus – both provide flexible access to funds and invest in a diversified portfolio of fixed-income assets, including corporate bonds (loans to companies), government bonds (loans to the government), mortgage-backed securities (bundles of home loans), and cash (lower risk holdings like bank deposits).
Studies show that only 48% of Australian women demonstrate basic financial literacy, and among teenage girls, it’s just 15% – worrying numbers for the future of women’s participation in financial decision-making.
For many, investing seems too complex, intimidating, and out of reach, leaving them disengaged or overwhelmed – and that’s the problem Gaby and Ali are trying to solve. “A lot of people in Australia still think that you need a lot to start investing. But with Blossom, you can start with $5. That’s a really important gap we’re trying to fill,” says Gaby. Essentially, they didn’t just build Blossom for the finance bros – they built it for the rest of us, too.
The sisters grew up around financial conversations – money talk was normalised at the dinner table. But it was their lived experience as young professionals during the COVID-era market crash that truly sparked the idea for Blossom.
“It was during COVID, when the crypto bubble had burst, the stock market had crashed, and interest rates were at an all time low. There was serious volatility in the market,” explains Gaby. “What typically happens in moments like that is high-net-worth individuals sense the uncertainty and immediately move their money into safer, lower-risk fixed income investments – it’s what’s known as a ‘flight to safety.’ But those opportunities often come with high barriers to entry: minimum investments of $250K, long lock-up periods, and hefty management fees.”
“That basically shuts out everyday investors like us. We saw this gap – that in times of global uncertainty, the best low-risk options are reserved for the wealthy, while retail investors are left scratching their heads, unsure of where to turn.”
They cite two key moments when they realised the business had serious potential. The first was when it dawned on them how much a tool like Blossom would benefit their own finances. “We created something that we would want ourselves,” says Ali.
The second was when they sent out a preliminary survey to friends, family, and their wider network – and over 500 responses came back, confirming many of their assumptions. “We wanted to make sure that we weren’t just getting overexcited, but the survey showed that it was a problem that needed to be solved for many people. It gave us an idea of what the product should look like and some of the features. That was really a pivotal piece of the puzzle which informed what we were going to create as the first version to market,” Ali explains.
As women in fintech, Gaby and Ali are outliers. A recent Deloitte study found that just 2% of total capital raised in Australia goes to all-female founding teams – and women remain underrepresented in decision-making roles across the country, making up just 27% of investment teams in Australia’s financial services sector.
They bootstrapped the business with a family loan – which meant no chasing fast returns to please investors. Just the space to build slow and smart. This frugal, strategic mindset is deeply woven into Blossom’s identity and mirrors the philosophy behind their investment strategy. They had the benefit of a supportive start – but their approach offers lessons for any founder, whether you’re starting with savings, small loans, or seed funding. Being clear on your financial limits, spending only when it adds value, and staying grounded in your long-term vision can help build a business that’s sustainable, not just scalable.
Among the challenges they worked through when launching Blossom, choosing the right co-founder wasn’t one of them. “We’re very fortunate to be sisters and co-founders,” says Ali. “We didn’t have to get to know each other or figure out how to work together – we’ve had 28 years of that already. The beauty of our partnership is that we have really different skill sets, and as time goes on, that only becomes more apparent. We naturally stay in our lanes: I’ll focus on partnerships and strategy, while Gaby’s behind the scenes leading execution and product. It works really nicely.”
When envisioning their customer, they refer to their four ‘Charlies’ – fictional personas that guide their product decisions. Two are women, two are men – covering everyone from young professionals to retirees. It’s helped them stay focused on what real users actually need.
“Every part of Blossom has been built based on feedback from our users. We’ve focused on truly understanding the problems our customers face and delivering solutions that meet those needs,” says Gaby. “From there, it’s been about turning those engaged users into advocates – encouraging them to refer Blossom to their networks. Finding our first hundred diehard customers and building exactly what they wanted helped spark a network effect that’s been key to our growth, and something we’re really proud of.”
This user-first mindset is evident in their future plans. Having just launched in New Zealand in their first international expansion, the next steps are ramping up their presence there and continuing to respond to their community’s needs.
“One of the most requested features from our community has been joint accounts, which will allow users to set shared savings goals and contribute together. That’s launching in the next few weeks and will hopefully drive some strong community-led growth. Later this year, we’re also introducing kids’ accounts – another feature our users have asked for,” says Gaby.
“And we’re currently scoping our third product: a higher-yield option with a longer lock-up period. Our customers have been saying, ‘We love what you’re doing, but we want to put our money to work even more.’ So we’re working on what that looks like.”
“Looking ahead, our goal is to reach $500 million in funds under management in the next three to five years – five is probably more realistic. But above all, we want to keep growing sustainably and continue doing right by our customers, delivering the daily returns we’ve been proud to maintain since day one.”
For budding founders in and out of the finance and tech industries, Ali offers this advice: “Everyone tries to learn as much as they can before starting something new – but the truth is, you’re never going to know everything upfront. The best way to learn is by doing. Just dive in, start, and try. Whether you succeed or fail, you’ll learn so much along the way – and you’ll be better for it. The best time to start is now.”
Gaby encourages founders to keep lifting each other up: “We’re also lucky to be building on the progress made by the generations before us – they’ve helped pave the way. But there are still incredible women out there who want to support other women. Go find them, lift each other up, and from there, the world’s your oyster.”
Amid the noise of savings hacks and viral get-rich-quick schemes, Blossom is proof that financial confidence doesn’t have to be complicated – or exclusive. And that’s the real Girl Math.
