CEO Alfred Milan

ALFRED MILAN, founder and CEO of startup Express Wages LLC, recently completed the Project Fintech curriculum at Nashville Entrepreneur Center and is back home in Memphis preparing to pitch his beta-stage company to judges assembled for the "Next Big Thing" startup pitch event.

Milan conceived the company in January 2023 and registered it in Tennessee and Delaware the following summer.

In addition to his personal investment, he has thus far raised $700K via his current friends-and-family SAFE offering, which is likely to be followed by a $3MM raise via a SAFE or convertible note, in 2025.

Milan's Co-Founder and COO is his wife, Audrey Guess-Milan MBA BSN RN.

The core of the Express Wages business -- which requires no payments from employers -- is its proprietary wages-on-demand solution for employers confronting workforce recruitment and retention challenges.

While employees tapping their wages pay a variable fee to access their earnings immediately or next-day, there is no charge for the financial wellness features and related services that are being wrapped stepwise around the payments core.

Milan, 59, confirmed that Express Wages has while in development had several dozen individual users and recently activated his first paid-beta corporate user, with commercial launch planned not later than February 2025. The company's partner-recruitment push is also underway, as described here.

Asked about competitors, Milan offered Nashville-based RAIN (v. 2019, with nearly 40 Angel and VC investors); New York City-based Daily Pay (v. 2015); and, Palo Alto-based Earnin (v. 2012).

Earlier this year, FintechNexus reported on the rise of earned-wage access and on-demand pay, citing FT Partners data showing a minimum 35 standalone incumbents in the U.S., alone.

CEO Milan acknowledged that numerous fintech incumbents are advancing payroll-advance offerings nationally and globally, but said his research and experience to-date indicate Express Wages's "out of the box" solution and strong emphasis on helping, without additional charge, workers achieve financial literacy and empowerment, security and stability is a profoundly important differentiator. Related.

Milan's own research suggests he is the first Black founder of a wages-on-demand offering.

Asked whether he has found difficulty in raising capital in the current environment, Milan replied that the challenge is consistent with the fact that "African Americans account for less than 1% of VC dollars in Fintech. We do not make excuses, we make adjustments," he added.

Rodney Herenton

He noted that Chicago-based Rodney Herenton, was one of his first individual investors. Herenton is founder and co-CEO of Channing Capital Management, of Chicago.

Asked for Express Wages's team details, the CEO said that for API development and related CTO tasks, his company relies on Memphis-based consultant Zack Perry. Milan's sales efforts are augmented by sales, hospitality and education veteran Stacey Loper.

Milan's outside advisors include Memphis attorney Jimmie Strong (Strong on VNC) and Big River Advisors LLC's Kevin Adams.

Express Wages's iOS and GooglePlay mobile apps have been developed by Dallas-based Candeo Interactive dba 12AM Agency.

His accounting is with Hendersonville's Forsyth & Hilario CPAs, and the startup banks with Chase. Its marketing communications is supported by Memphis-based Christopher Lee's Think Inspired.

Minnesota-based Amy Spale CRCM CBAP provides financial-sector regulatory compliance guidance. The young company receives employee benefits guidance from Alabama-based Karen Quigley, an insurance agency owner.

The Nashville EC's 12-week Project Fintech was valuable in many ways, Milan said, adding that he is considering applying to further such programs.

Asked his current thinking about an eventual exit, Milan said he believes the robust and still-unfolding wage-access segment warrants keeping the fullest spectrum of exit options on the table.

Prior to launching Express Wages, Milan's 22-year-career included key roles in growth and operations in the senior care market, as well as sales of point-of-care education solutions and medical devices.

He holds a Morehouse College bachelor's degree in business administration and management. His LinkedIn. An ordained minister, Milan is also associate pastor with New Life Change's The Way Church, in Memphis.

The Milans reside in the Greater Memphis area and have four children, two of whom are in college.

THIS WEEK: NEXT BIG THING

Express Wages and five other startups will compete for a single $10,000 prize during the two-hour Next Big Thing event, which begins 4 p.m., Nov. 21, at the FedEx Institute of Technology at the University of Memphis. Registration.

The event is sponsored by The Society of Entrepreneurs and Epicenter Memphis.

The other competing startups are 2U Fuel (on-demand fuel delivery); Metamorphix (child population health solution); Oasis CDR (stealth, IOT-enabled monitoring buoys supporting ocean carbon removal); Ship It Pro (SaaS logistics solutions); Limber Robotics (stealth, successor to Dextrous Robotics).

Sixteen members of the nonprofit Society of Entrepreneurs (SOE) will serve as judges for the competition, SOE Executive Director Pearson Crutcher told Venture Nashville.

Crutcher noted that each Next Big Thing presenter will receive detailed confidential feedback from judges regarding their individual presentations. VNC

.last edited 0708 19 November 2024