About First Dollar

Learn why we're here, what we're building, and a little bit about who we are.

Why we're here

The original flexible spending arrangement (FSA) was introduced in the Revenue Act of 1978. Decades later, the health spending benefit category* has expanded to include DC-FSAs, FSAs, LP-FSAs, LSAs, HRAs, HSAs, rewards, supplementals, and more. Some offer tax savings and some direct member spending for government health plans, but all share one common goal: provide access to needed funds for healthcare expenses. Today, over 112 million Americans have access to one or more health spending benefits.
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As healthcare costs continue to rise, the individuals and organizations that use and offer health spending benefits will depend on them even more. But when you look behind the curtain of most programs today, you'll find a hodgepodge of legacy tech solutions that create barriers to benefit design and access.

How we work

Using and offering benefits should feel effortless. It's why we (virtually) clock in every weekday as we build flexible infrastructure for every health spending benefit. In our work, we leverage modern engineering advances and human-centered design principles to provide the most advanced solution on one card, app, and API.

What we're building

We provide a suite of software tools and APIs that enable organizations to offer and manage pre-tax accounts, lifestyle benefits, rewards programs, and supplemental benefits.

for individuals

Give your members immediate access to all of their benefits. From FSAs to LSAs, there’s one place for everything.

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for admin teams

Reduce costs and optimize operational workflows with a powerful benefits platform designed for your team.

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‍for developers

Build your dream benefit program to your unique vision with the Health Wallet Platform's APIs and branding tools.

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Who we are

We’re a team of educators, entrepreneurs, industry experts, musicians, and technologists. Several of us are new parents, many of us have built exciting things on previous tech teams, and we’ve all joined together to help make health spending benefits easier to use, understand, and offer. We’re based in sunny Austin, Texas, but we have teammates throughout the United States.

Office

We call Austin home, and we're always ready to share our favorite breakfast taco spots.

States

We're based in Austin, but our remote team is located throughout the United States.

Pets

Our team loves cats, dogs, and opossums.

Our values

Ownership

We all behave as owners of First Dollar, making the best decisions for the company now and in the future. We are self-starters empowered to own work from start to finish and take responsibility for our outcomes.

Relentlessness

We have a bias for action and will ensure our clients regard us as worthy of attention. Whatever the problem, we'll solve it. In resolving issues, we focus on done over perfect because we know that we will continuously iterate, improve & innovate.

Inclusivity

A one-note team creates a one-note product. We seek to create meaningful connections, understand diverse perspectives, and foster a supportive, diverse, and inclusive work environment. Embodying empathy and inclusivity is critical to delivering products that work for everyone.

Simplicity

We create value by making complex & confusing concepts accessible to everyone. We do this by proactively understanding new domains, minding the details, minimizing complex layers and terminology, and proactively sharing knowledge across our company and client base.

Authenticity

We appreciate it when teams ask difficult questions and ask for help. We are respectfully direct in what we say, and our actions match our words. Sharing the truth, good or bad, is the best way to demonstrate compassion and trust.

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Our leadership

Our co-founders, Jason Bornhorst, and Colin Anawaty, have founded multiple ventures together, including Patient IO, a care coordination and patient engagement platform ultimately acquired by athenahealth in 2016. Together, they've helped form First Dollar's leadership team, which features integral team members from many impressive teams, including BenefitWallet, HCSC, Discover, Goldman, Health Equity, Jellyvision, and Fidelity.

Our board of directors

Jason Bornhorst

CEO & Co-founder, First Dollar

Colin Anawaty

CPO & Co-founder, First Dollar

Mike Smerklo

Next Coast Ventures

Tom Hawes

Blue Venture Fund

Matt Levin

Independent Board Member

Scott Law

Meridian Street Ventures (Observer)

Our investors

First Dollaritos is our first ERG at First Dollar. The focus of First Dollaritos is to support Latines (and others who want to be a part) at First Dollar by creating a safe space where members can bring their authentic selves to work.