Founder Interview River Nice, Be Intentional Financial
Photo Credit: River Nice
River Nice is the founder of Be Intentional Financial, a financial planning and education service created to empower queer and trans individuals to engage with their finances confidently and intentionally. With a background in computer science and experience working in tech startups, River's journey into financial services began from a deeply personal place—helping their partner navigate debt from gender transition costs. Realizing the lack of accessible financial education for the LGBTQ+ community, River pivoted to financial advising, ultimately launching their own business to provide inclusive, shame-free financial guidance. Their work focuses on educating clients about personal finance, fostering collective thinking around money, and encouraging strategies that prioritize both individual well-being and community care.
River's business is deeply rooted in their queer identity and anti-capitalist values, recognizing the ways capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchy intersect to create systemic oppression. This understanding drives their mission to not only support queer individuals in achieving financial stability but also to inspire collective action toward more equitable economic practices. Through their signature 12-week program, "Take Control of Your Money," River fosters a supportive group learning environment where clients can openly discuss money, dismantle shame, and build financial skills together. Their approach goes beyond traditional financial advice, aiming to help the queer community imagine and take steps toward a more just and inclusive financial future.
Check out the interview below!
Can you walk us through your professional journey and how you got to where you are today?
I was raised as a white, upper-middle-class person, with an accountant parent, so I had access to both money and an education about money. My brain happens to be a numbers and spreadsheets type of brain, so I got a "practical" degree in computer science, and worked at small tech startups. When Trump was elected, I wanted to find something I could do to help queer people. My partner at the time was in a lot of credit card debt from her gender transition, and I helped her make a realistic budget and debt plan, which felt intuitive to me. She said, "River, you have to do this for us - nobody is teaching regular trans and queer people how to do money." I'm forever grateful to her for the idea!
From there, a friend of a friend got me an opportunity at a very traditional financial services firm. I lasted about a year and a half there, before I became too angry about how the traditional financial services industry works to be able to stay. Simultaneously, I realized that I was never going to be able to convince my parents to redistribute their money during their lifetime. So I decided to take the leap into entrepreneurship as a way to use my financial safety net and privilege for the good of the queer community!
What inspired you to offer the services you provide?
When I started my business, I was working with individuals and nuclear family units, as I had been taught to do. Over time I noticed that almost all of my clients needed more foundational education about personal finance, so they would feel more empowered to engage with their money strategically. I don't want my clients to feel like they are dependent on me to be able to make their own financial decisions - I want them to know how to do a lot on their own, and when it's time to ask for help.
I also noticed that almost every single person I talk to has shame around money - of not having enough, of having too much, of not knowing enough, of decisions they've made. Shame thrives in darkness, and wants to keep us isolated from one another.
We're currently stuck under capitalism, a global economic system that privileges the owner class and oppresses the working class, and that prioritizes profit over people and the world. I don't see a way to opt out of capitalism as individuals. I think we have to start thinking and living with a more collective mindset, which includes using money and property differently than how most financial professionals advise you to do (ie. focusing on maximizing personal wealth). I encourage folks to consider community needs alongside personal financial goals.
All of this led me to start facilitating a group educational space. My 12-week program, Take Control of Your Money, is designed to provide this education in a supportive environment. We meet weekly on Zoom in small groups of up to 15 people, covering core topics like credit scores with built-in time to apply what’s being learned in real life. Doing it in a group is an invitation to practice talking about money with other people, and to start thinking more collectively about how we're using these resources in our broader communities.
We have such amazing conversations in these groups - it's by far my favorite thing I do!
What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced in your journey as a service provider, and what did you do to overcome this?
It's an ongoing struggle to reconcile giving financial advice with anti-oppression politics, and the looming uncertainty of a future full of climate change. In each of my groups we talk about the concept of retirement, and the uncertainty of what kind of world we'll be living in 20-40 years from now. I wish I could create more safety and confidence for my clients, but we're in that fear and grief together.
And, honestly, self-employment is its own financial challenge! It took 2 years for my business to become profitable, and I racked up credit card debt along the way. I'm grateful that my own expertise has been helpful to me in dealing with the debt, and I'm trying to be grateful for the lived experience of credit card debt, because it adds another layer to my solidarity with folks who haven't had the financial privilege that I started with.
I'll take this opportunity to emphasize, as I do to all my clients, that debt is a tool, and using it is morally neutral (though it does suck that it costs more in the long run). Debt, like money and credit scores, is a concept enforced by the government. I’ve used credit card debt and retirement savings to start my business. It's the billionaires and credit card company CEOs that are bad, not you.
If you could give one piece of advice to future LGBTQ+ service providers within your field, what would it be?
If you're working in finance, really think through how your values and politics can show up in your work. A lot of financial professionals want to treat money as if it's just objective numbers in a spreadsheet, but you don't have to buy into that.
And to leftist business owners everywhere - commerce is not the same thing as capitalism. It's not capitalist of you to want to earn enough money to enjoy your life! It's capitalist to pay an employee less than they deserve for the sake of a boss's profit.
How does being openly queer inspire or impact your business?
My queerness is in everything I do. On one level, because I'm queer, I'm an expert in financial topics specific to queer and trans people - family planning, gender transition, even navigating life insurance applications where you have to apply as male or female. But it's bigger than that! My queerness was my door into learning about the very real oppression caused by capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchy, and how they work together to cause colonization, ableism, heterosexism, cissexism, etc. My queerness and my love for the global queer community make it imperative for me to resist capitalism and all of these axes of oppression. My business is about helping queer people take care of themselves and their loved ones financially, but it's also about helping people imagine how the world could be better for all of us, and small steps we can take in that direction.
If you’d like to learn more about oppression caused by capitalism, I’d recommend Wealth Supremacy by Marjorie Kelly.
What brands or services by LGBTQ+ founders are your go-to's and why?
One of my best friends is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, and they've really helped me take care of my health in a more holistic and proactive way. Their name is Dr. Elizabeth So, and they're based in Brooklyn - check out Awaken Acupuncture NYC!
Who is your favorite LGBTQ+ celebrity or figure, and why?
The poet and comedian Alok Vaid-Menon really helps me center and ground myself in what's important. I learned a love politic from bell hooks, but I re-ground in it via Alok's art on a regular basis, and I'll forever be grateful to them for that.
Can you share one fun fact about yourself?
I've become a little bit of a D&D nerd in the past couple of years! My partner introduced me to Dimension 20, and seeing Ally Beardsley, a trans comedian, play characters of various gender identities and expressions showed me how freeing it can be to carve out time to play pretend with your friends every month. In my home D&D game I play a Harengon bard who's loosely inspired by Bugs Bunny and Miguel from The Road to El Dorado.