Meet Emily Luk, the Co-Founder and CEO of Plenty, a platform designed to transform how modern couples navigate investing and planning for their futures.
The idea for Plenty came to life when Emily and her husband, both fintech veterans, struggled to find a straightforward way to manage their finances as a couple. During their engagement, they were frustrated by the need to juggle multiple apps and accounts just to have basic financial conversations. After speaking with hundreds of other couples facing the same challenges, Emily saw a clear opportunity. She decided to build the solution they were all searching for—a platform that would simplify money management and help couples make confident, collaborative financial decisions.
During our conversation with Emily, she shared the challenges of breaking through traditional financial industry norms, the importance of staying true to your core values, and her advice for other women entrepreneurs.
Tell us the story behind your company’s founding. How and why did you start working on Plenty?
When my husband and I got engaged, we looked everywhere for a product that would make it easy for couples to answer basic financial questions like: Where’s our money going? What are we on track for? Where’s the best place for our money?
Everywhere we went, it felt like a mess of logins, accounts, and separate apps. It made it so much harder for us to have basic financial conversations. After researching and talking to hundreds of other couples, we knew we weren’t alone.
We’d both met and fell in love while working together at a Silicon Valley fintech company. Before that, we’d spent more than 10 years working in fintech each. I had a background as a CPA and CFA. We were tired of looking for something that didn’t exist yet, so we decided to roll up our sleeves and build the product we wanted as co-founders.
“Success is knowing that I made a difference in someone’s life through the effort I put in; that something was made easier or better.”
What is the underlying mission of Plenty? How does your work make a difference in people’s lives?
Our mission is for every family to build wealth. We dream of a future where families have plenty for the things they want in life. Not a life of yachts, jets, or luxury. But enough. Enough for buying a house, going on that spontaneous trip, supporting their kids however they like, and living out their years in peace—whatever that means. A life where we don’t stress, wondering if we have enough for the dreams we have. Where the possibility of what could be isn’t closed off to us.
Our product aims to support couples in making that mission a reality by providing access to great investment products, an easy-to-use platform to track their money, and educational resources to support tough conversations.
How have you navigated the growth of Plenty while staying true to your core values?
We believe a company is the sum of their incentives. Our business model is aligned with our values. We’ve built a business model around a subscription membership instead of the traditional push-debt-products or by selling user data to advertisers, which is common in the personal finance world. We’ve aligned our incentives to help you build medium- and long-term savings through structuring a cash+ product that offers a 4.7% rate (after our fixed 0.2% fee), and automated investing portfolios.
How do you personally define success? In what ways does this definition guide both your business and personal life?
Success is knowing that I made a difference in someone’s life through the effort I put in; that something was made easier or better. Success through Plenty is knowing that we’ve made couples feel more optimistic about their futures by helping them make real progress. Progress can be witnessing a couple engage in meaningful discussions about their finances, investing more, or building up savings faster.
What advice would you give to other women wanting to start or grow businesses in an intentional way?
Invest in a community that can support you through the lows and cheer you on through the highs. You’ll need people who remind you of who you are and what you’re capable of through the inevitable mistakes or failures.
Emily is a member of Dreamers & Doers, an award-winning community that amplifies extraordinary women entrepreneurs, investors, and leaders by securing PR, forging authentic connections, and curating high-impact resources. Learn more about Dreamers & Doers and get involved here.