I’ve always been interested in#nbsp;finance and technology as#nbsp;far back as#nbsp;I#nbsp;can remember. I#nbsp;studied Economics and Psychology at#nbsp;the University of#nbsp;Toronto during undergrad, and that’s where my#nbsp;love for fintech began. I#nbsp;joined Capital One initially in#nbsp;Online Banking, launching customer-facing features. Later, I#nbsp;was tapped on#nbsp;the shoulder by#nbsp;one of#nbsp;the directors to#nbsp;lead the back-end migration of#nbsp;Capital One’s bread and butter product#nbsp;— the secured credit card. Through this initiative, we#nbsp;became the first bank in#nbsp;Canada to#nbsp;move a#nbsp;financial platform to#nbsp;public cloud. It#nbsp;was at#nbsp;CapOne that I#nbsp;realized that I#nbsp;had found my#nbsp;calling. With this, I#nbsp;joined Columbia Business School to#nbsp;continue to#nbsp;learn more about finance, technology and entrepreneurship.
Moving from Canada to#nbsp;the#nbsp;US obviously entailed some challenges, but having lived north of#nbsp;the border, I#nbsp;did not expect the type of#nbsp;challenges I#nbsp;faced when it#nbsp;came to#nbsp;US banking. I#nbsp;was unable to#nbsp;get a#nbsp;checking account before moving, or#nbsp;even upon arriving in#nbsp;the#nbsp;US. And I#nbsp;was unable to#nbsp;get a#nbsp;credit card that met my#nbsp;needs for the first three years, all because I#nbsp;didn’t have a#nbsp;US credit history.
I#nbsp;met my#nbsp;co-founders at#nbsp;CBS and we#nbsp;spent the last six months before graduating diving deep in#nbsp;the problems internationals face when moving to#nbsp;the#nbsp;US (or#nbsp;any other country for that matter), the market size in#nbsp;the US, laws and regulations. It#nbsp;is#nbsp;at this point that we#nbsp;decided to#nbsp;apply to#nbsp;Y#nbsp;Combinator to#nbsp;pursue Sable full-time to#nbsp;use our expertise to#nbsp;help millions of#nbsp;internationals that move to#nbsp;the#nbsp;US every year.
What do#nbsp;you think are some of#nbsp;the most exciting FinTech trends likely to#nbsp;influence the Financial Services industry?
Of#nbsp;course some of#nbsp;the major trends that most people are talking about are using blockchain for remittance and other use cases and using#nbsp;ML to#nbsp;help customers make better financial decisions and other use cases. I#nbsp;won’t go#nbsp;into more detail here as#nbsp;they are spoken about quite a#nbsp;lot, but will share some more industry insights.
I#nbsp;believe there will be#nbsp;a#nbsp;trend in#nbsp;the next couple of#nbsp;years of#nbsp;fintech’s moving towards becoming their own processors. This is#nbsp;an#nbsp;exciting prospect as#nbsp;it#nbsp;gives more control to#nbsp;fintechs, enabling them to#nbsp;deliver customized features that are relevant for their customers.
Additionally, we#nbsp;will see more vertical driven solutions#nbsp;— so, for example, Sable does not exist just to#nbsp;provide banking solutions to#nbsp;internationals who move to#nbsp;the#nbsp;US. Sable exists to#nbsp;help anyone moving from any country to#nbsp;any other country in#nbsp;any area that they need help#nbsp;— whether it#nbsp;be#nbsp;banking products like checking, credit, loans, or#nbsp;other services such as#nbsp;remittances, setting up#nbsp;phone plans, finding rent guarantor, and many other areas where internationals need assistance. We#nbsp;have started with providing core banking products.
Can you tell us#nbsp;a#nbsp;little bit about your job function? What are some of#nbsp;the solutions that your company offers?
Sable is#nbsp;a#nbsp;mobile bank that helps credit worthy new-to-America internationals easily access financial products and build their credit history from day one. Today, Sable offers a#nbsp;checking account (with a#nbsp;debit card) and a#nbsp;credit card. Customers can download Sable from the app store, apply for these products and start using them all within five minutes. As#nbsp;an#nbsp;international, it#nbsp;is#nbsp;impossible to#nbsp;get checking accounts and credit cards when you first move to#nbsp;the US#nbsp;— one does not have a#nbsp;credit history or#nbsp;a#nbsp;social security number. We#nbsp;enable internationals to#nbsp;get credit cards with higher credit limits and checking accounts even before they move to#nbsp;the US, all online, within five minutes.
I#nbsp;head up#nbsp;product at#nbsp;Sable, so#nbsp;my#nbsp;focus is#nbsp;mostly on#nbsp;collecting customer feedback and launching features with the technology and design team. As#nbsp;a#nbsp;startup, this role is#nbsp;pretty hands on, so#nbsp;I#nbsp;personally chat with customers weekly and work with the technology and design team during agile ceremonies daily. Additionally, I#nbsp;keep myself abreast of#nbsp;trends and customer pain points so, forward-looking, we#nbsp;can invest in#nbsp;the right solutions for our customer base.
What career advice would you give to#nbsp;recent college graduates?
Spend the first few years out of#nbsp;college learning and mastering different skills. Spending the first years in#nbsp;demanding job functions and learning how to#nbsp;execute on#nbsp;them will set you up#nbsp;for success in#nbsp;the future. Additionally, spend some time to#nbsp;reflect on#nbsp;what you want and create goals to#nbsp;achieve them. Don’t wait for opportunities, go#nbsp;out and find opportunities!
What is#nbsp;essential to#nbsp;ensuring FinTech companies attain gender equality?
Equality and diversity must extend beyond gender to#nbsp;include people of#nbsp;color and people who identify as#nbsp;LGBTQ+. Diversity is#nbsp;something that is#nbsp;brought from the top, and it#nbsp;has to#nbsp;be#nbsp;lived, not just spoken about. We#nbsp;need diversity in#nbsp;leadership in#nbsp;order to#nbsp;attain equality across the company. I’m always wary of#nbsp;companies that speak about diversity when its leadership is#nbsp;not representative. In#nbsp;addition to#nbsp;a#nbsp;diverse leadership, companies should invest in#nbsp;having a#nbsp;diverse hiring panel to#nbsp;mitigate implicit biases. And lastly, companies need to#nbsp;implement parental leave that is#nbsp;equally available to#nbsp;all people. This is#nbsp;to#nbsp;mitigate the 'motherhood gap' that many women feel in#nbsp;todays work climate.
How was your Y#nbsp;Combinator experience?
Y#nbsp;Combinator allowed us#nbsp;to#nbsp;accelerate our progress beyond what we#nbsp;would have achieved on#nbsp;our own. YC#nbsp;enabled us#nbsp;to#nbsp;hire our technology team quickly and launch an#nbsp;MVP product before YC’s demo day#nbsp;— making us#nbsp;the fastest mobile bank launch in#nbsp;history. We#nbsp;quickly got 300 customers on#nbsp;the MVP products (and capped the number of#nbsp;customers there) so#nbsp;that we#nbsp;could learn from them and make updates before a#nbsp;public launch. Additionally, YC#nbsp;accelerated the timelines for fundraising by#nbsp;bringing all investors into a#nbsp;single room all at#nbsp;the same time. This allowed us#nbsp;to#nbsp;quickly go#nbsp;back to#nbsp;focusing on#nbsp;the product post fundraising.
Beyond accelerating our success, YC#nbsp;provided us#nbsp;invaluable advice. We#nbsp;met with our partners once a#nbsp;week, either in#nbsp;one-on-one office hours or#nbsp;during group office hours, and learned from their experience (of#nbsp;seeing what worked for thousands of#nbsp;companies) and from our cohort. YC#nbsp;also brought on#nbsp;startup founders for talks. This included folks like Brex, Airbnb that provided their own invaluable advice.
If#nbsp;you did not need to#nbsp;sleep, how would you spend the extra eight hours a#nbsp;day?
Oh#nbsp;my! Being in#nbsp;an#nbsp;early stage startup means that all my#nbsp;waking hours go#nbsp;into the company. I#nbsp;would take the extra 8 hours to#nbsp;invest in#nbsp;personal hobbies, spend more time with family and friends, and doing community work.