Monday, November 8, 2021
Interview with Beatriz Acevedo, SUMA Wealth
For today's interview, we spoke with Beatriz Acevedo, the founder and CEO of SUMA Wealth (www.sumawealth.com), a fintech startup based in Los Angeles. Beatriz told us all about SUMA Wealth. The company's backers include Samara Hernández, founding partner at Chingona Ventures, plus Marcos Gonzalez at Vamos Ventures, the Kwanza Jones & José E. Feliciano SUPERCHARGED Initiative, Miriam Rivera from Ulu Ventures, Ilse Calderon at OVO Fund, Gale Wilkinson at Vitalize VC, Anna Barber at The Fund, Lorenzo Thione at Gaingels, along with others.
For those who haven't heard of your startup, what is SUMA Wealth all about?
Beatriz Acevedo: The short version is that we're a financial technology company with the goal of building wealth for young US-based Latinos and eradicating the overall Latino Wealth Gap. We want to increase prosperity, opportunity and financial inclusion for this community.
The longer version is that Latinos have been excluded from the mainstream U.S. financial system for a long, long time, and we're going to change that. We want to reach and teach Millennial and Gen-Z Latinos in ways that they're going to respond to, that feel natural to them. We're culturally relevant, not just financially relevant.
So we're building tools that aren't just useful, they're actually interesting and engaging. Our content is entertaining and user-centric so that it inspires and empowers, not just informs.
And we're all about community. You may have noticed that Latinos are very big on community and family. : ) So everything we do contributes to the SUMA community, and the SUMA community members can share it with their own families and communities.
Why is something like this needed in the market?
Beatriz Acevedo: Maybe a better way to put that is, “how can something like this not already be in the market?” How is it possible that it's 2021 and we're the only ones who recognize the financial potential of young Latinos and want to unleash it?
There are certainly financial companies that target Latinos, but to them we're just another demographic. We see the people and the potential. And that potential is enormous. If U.S. Latinos were our own country, it would have the 8th-largest GDP in the world. We're the engine of the US economy.
So we're needed because increasing Latino wealth and opportunity grows wealth and opportunity for all Americans. It's needed because Latinos haven't had a seat at the table, and this is how we're finally going to get to sit down at that table. It's needed because young Latinos -- all young people, really -- need to be financially literate, and this is the best way to do it.
And I should add that it's working. The community is growing much faster than even we expected -- we blew through our member goal for the year in just the first couple of months. There's a hunger for this.
How did you end up starting the company, and what were you doing before?
Beatriz Acevedo: Prior to this, I founded and was running mitú, a Latino entertainment company aimed at the bilingual, English-dominant youth market with +2B views per month and by far the highest engagement in the field. It's the leading digital media company representing Latino Millennials. We reach them with authentic, in-culture stories told in video, editorial, social media... wherever they are, we go to meet them there.
And in connecting with them, my SUMA cofounder Xavier A. Gutierrez made me aware that there was this whole financial component missing from their experience. This gigantic, talented pool of young people just isn't getting the access or the education and technology they need to participate in the financial system.
So Xavier and I realized that we could use a lot of the successful strategies from mitú to reach young Latinos and empower them to achieve the financial success they should have had the whole time.
What are you planning to do with this new funding?
Beatriz Acevedo: More AI-enabled financial apps, more tools, more capabilities, more headcount to drive this expansion. Community demand has been enormous, and we're never going to stop pushing to meet their needs.How was the fundraising experience for you, and what was the key to attracting investors?
Beatriz Acevedo: This was a very different experience for me in a lot of ways.
The most obvious difference is that I had to raise the capital virtually. Zoom is great for a lot of things, but reading the room isn't one of them. I like to build off people's energy. I really thrive at in-person meetings, and I had to learn how to do it virtually while I was learning how to fundraise in a different industry for a company at a different stage of development.
In a lot of ways, I felt like SUMA members feel when they first join the community. A lot of excitement, a lot of optimism, and a lot to learn. For one thing, Fintech is a completely new industry for me, and for another, I'm used to raising capital starting at a Series A. SUMA is at the pre-seed stage, so it has a very different focus and priorities. This time many investors are betting on the founders -- the vision, the big dream, versus the hard numbers and performance metrics of a Series A and above.
What was the key to attracting investors?
Beatriz Acevedo: From the first day Xavier and I started talking about SUMA, we wanted it to be about the community top to bottom. So we raised capital from the community. Our investors are diverse (77% are women, and 72% are Latinas or Latinos), so I didn't have to convince them that Latinos matter, that helping them build wealth grows not just the members and their immediate communities, but the American economy as a whole. For once, I didn't have to start by explaining that this community exists and presents an incredible opportunity.
As you can probably tell, I'm very passionate about advancing my community. It's something I'm known for as a Latina leader, so it made sense to my investors that I was the one leading this effort at SUMA on the day-to-day as CEO.
And finally, being a second-time founder with a track record never hurts...
Finally--and I know this is still early for you with this startup--what's the biggest lesson you have learned so far on your entrepreneurial journey?
Beatriz Acevedo: To start with the vision, so the day-to-day decisions flow naturally.
To trust myself more.
To follow the data but also follow my gut.
To ask for help when I need it. And to know when that is.
To surround myself with a passionate team that's smarter than me, and cares deeply about the problem we're trying to solve.
Thanks, and good luck!