Spark Advisors

What is Spark Advisors?

Spark Advisors is a Medicare brokerage dedicated to simplifying healthcare for older adults. They support over 600,000 beneficiaries annually through a network of 6,000 agents. A Rho customer since 2020, Spark Advisors has leveraged the platform to scale alongside them, raising a Series B funding round in 2024.  

Challenge

Cumbersome processes mixed with disparate systems

Before adopting Rho, Spark Advisors faced significant challenges with a bevy of legacy financial management tools. Most notably, having to use several platforms to diversify their cash and spend across banking, corporate cards, and treasury. So, as they scaled from seed funding to Series A, they began their search for a modern financial solution to manage their growing operational complexities.

Byron Edwards, COO of Spark Advisors, recalled one particular experience that set the stage for their eventual switch to Rho. 

“I literally couldn’t figure out how to send a wire. I was 15 buttons deep, just trying to send money. In general, the UIs we were navigating were a bit frustrating. For example, if I wanted to pay invoices, I’d have to go in and make a profile for every vendor. It was just burdensome to do that—a lot of unnecessary layers of complexity.”

Add to that the hurdles of managing multiple accounts across different platforms was creating unnecessary friction and risk. “We preferred to keep everything we needed in a single platform rather than tethering systems together and logging into multiple accounts. We were really looking for a solution that was different than the other ones I’d used in the past. I thought all those were lacking in some way or another.”  

When they started their search for their next banking platform, they prioritized modernity and capability above all. This started with a platform that was easy to use, powered by an intuitive interface. “I didn't want to have to call someone or send an email because I had full visibility into what was happening with our finances.”

Solution

A startup-friendly business banking solution

Ultimately, Spark Advisors chose Rho for its modern, end-to-end financial management platform—the returns were realized almost immediately. At the onset, they were struck by just how simple it was to get onboarded. “Getting set up with Rho was easy,” Byron noted. “I made a decision within a day; getting everything sorted out took about a week.” But as they dove deeper into the platform, they noticed just how frictionless the entire experience was. 

“Right out of the gate, it was so much easier to see who we were paying out and when money was coming in. It was also simple to set up user controls. I remember trying to set up controls with another bank…there were just so many options. It was hard to understand who got to see what,” said Byron.

Given that Spark Advisors is structured with multiple entities, Rho’s support for several separate bank accounts has added to their efficiency in managing business finances. “It's very easy within the platform to swap back and forth between those different accounts. We’ve been very pleased with how that was rolled out.” 

Results

A scalable platform to manage business finances that saves dozens of hours per month

Now having been on Rho for several years, the platform has significantly transformed Spark Advisors’ financial operations in measurable ways:

• Hours saved: The bulk approval process for invoices that once took nearly a week now takes just 10 minutes—a 90% reduction in time spent. “We went from spending a week on invoice processing to 10 minutes. It’s significantly streamlined our payment structure to our partners,” said Byron.
• Operational efficiency: Rho’s platform enabled Spark to maintain a leaner team. Byron estimated that using Rho allowed them to keep their finance team 30% smaller than it would have been otherwise. “Rho has allowed us to save one to two full-time equivalents on our finance team.”
• Improved financial oversight: With 178 active credit cards in use across the organization, Rho’s user-friendly controls facilitated precise budget tracking for various campaigns and expenses.

In the end, Rho has become an essential partner for Spark Advisors as they continue to scale their operations.

By simplifying financial processes and providing an integrated solution tailored to their needs, Rho has empowered Spark Advisors to focus on their core mission: simplifying healthcare for older adults.

“Being able to do treasury, corporate credit cards, expense management, along with all the integrations we need for accounting purposes, out of a single platform has had a big impact.” 

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