Work Money founder Carrie Joy Grimes found that emotions like shame, avoidance, and comfort-seeking are the biggest barriers to financial health. Addressing one's personal "money story" and feelings is more critical for success than simply understanding the numbers.
Contrary to the "niche down" mantra, Work Money scaled to 9 million members by acting as a generalist resource. Focusing on quickly solving *any* financial problem for a user, rather than specializing, allowed them to provide immediate value and accelerate growth.
Work Money's founder avoids direct political lobbying, instead focusing on building market, constituent, and audience power. She believes politics is the *outcome* of shifts in these other areas, making them more effective primary levers for creating lasting, systemic change.
Founder CJ Grimes argues against financial advice rooted in shame, not just on moral grounds, but because it is ineffective. Shame fails to create sustainable habits, instead encouraging short-term fixes and avoidance that don't address root behavioral issues.
Work Money began as a simple website to answer urgent questions about stimulus checks during COVID. Its immediate, explosive growth demonstrated that the need for a single, trusted source of financial guidance for everyday Americans was a massive, permanent, and unmet market need.
Work Money's founder credits her 20 years as a union organizer for her success. The core skills of listening deeply to people's problems, identifying shared needs, and mobilizing collective action were perfectly transferable to building a 9-million-member financial community.
Work Money founder CJ Grimes transformed her financial behavior after paying back one small but aggravating $100 debt. This single accomplishment changed her self-identity from someone "bad with money" to someone capable, creating a positive feedback loop for all future financial habits.