Latinos are one of the fastest-growing demographic groups in the United States, representing approximately 20% of the US population. However, 50% of Latinos are underbanked. SUMA Wealth is the fintech platform designed specifically for the Latino community to engage, educate, and empower young millennial/ Gen Z Latinos to manage their finances and take control of their financial futures. SUMA Wealth’ Dinero Toolkit that’s customized specifically for cultural considerations includes a rent vs. purchase calculator, a savings goal planning tool, and a debt calculator. The newly-launched startup is community-focused as it scales as a trusted voice for the financial needs of the Latinx community.
LA TechWatch caught up with CEO and Cofounder Beatríz Acevedo to learn more about the importance of financial inclusion for Latinos, the company’s goal to help create generational wealth, and future plans.
Tell us about the product or service SUMA Wealth
SUMA Wealth is an “in culture” Fintech platform that’s dedicated to empowering young Latinos to achieve financial prosperity through engagement, education, and entertainment. Millennial Latinos are the single largest growth cohort in the U.S., but there isn’t a dominant trusted financial brand to super-serve all of their financial needs.
First, we are building the community, then we are engaging them in a culturally relevant way, with content that is easy to understand and entertaining. Then we empower them with the financial tools they need to build wealth. We’re going to close the Latino wealth gap, seize control of our financial futures, and help young Latinos start building generational wealth.
Tell us a little about your background and what inspired the business?
I’m a proud immigrant Latina entrepreneur and a longtime advocate for Latinos. Before starting SUMA Wealth I co-founded mitú, the largest Latino digital media company aimed at the bilingual, English-dominant youth market. I am very passionate about mentoring the next generation of Latinx leaders and I’m very active in my community as a philanthropist with my family’s foundation. I am aware of my privilege being part of that very small statistic of Latinas that get funding in the VC world (.5%), so I do everything I can every day to pay this forward and open as many doors as I possibly can for the rest of my community including helping other Latino/a/x entrepreneurs secure capital.
How is SUMA Wealth different?
Nobody else is hyperfocused on this demographic and doing this at scale – and that’s really a big part of the problem. Fintechs and banks build a product, then drive traffic to it. That’s it. That’s the goal. Our goal is bigger. Our business grows when our community grows. For others in the space, social media is a marketing tool. For us, the conversation and the community are fundamental parts of the experience. And we are excited to see that our approach is working. We already have twenty times the engagement coming out of beta than anybody else in online finance.
What market are you attacking and how big is it?
We’re going after U.S.-born, English-dominant Millennial Latinos. And it’s a big market. Latinos in general are the fastest-growing demographic with the most purchasing power.
According to the Latino Donor Collective, “If Latinos living in the United States were an independent country, the U.S. Latino GDP would be the eighth largest GDP in the world. The Latino GDP is larger even than the GDPs of Italy, Brazil or South Korea….Among the world’s 10 largest GDPs in 2018, the Latino GDP was the single fastest-growing. Latino real GDP grew 21 percent faster than India’s and 30 percent faster than China’s. Over the entire period from 2010 to 2018, the Latino GDP is the third fastest-growing…” And the median age for a U.S.-born Latino is 20, so a third of the entire market is in our target demographic as millennials or GenZ’s 18-22-year-olds.
What is the business model?
It’s a hybrid model but primarily subscriptions, referrals, data, and sponsorships. As we become the trusted go-to brand for all things finance for this demographic the possibilities are endless, particularly when 50% of them are unbanked. We also have plans to take our brand to Latin America where the market is so ripe for this offering
How has COVID-19 impacted the business?
We’re just launching now, so in a narrow, concrete sense it hasn’t affected us. In a larger sense, though, the COVID catastrophe has really brought home the magnitude of the threat to Latinos, and therefore the opportunity for them to address it. COVID disproportionately affected the Latino community. Fully 30% of Latinas, for instance, have lost their jobs since March. Latinas are very entrepreneurial and are already bouncing back (and will power the recovery – ask me about it when we talk), but the need for financial education is obvious.
Tell us what building your company in LA has been like?
I wouldn’t do it anywhere else. Los Angeles is not only my home, it’s the capital of the U.S. Latino nation. We’re the cultural center, the economic hub and we are uniquely positioned at the intersection of Entertainment and Technology. When you want to hear the beating heart of Latino culture in this country, you put the stethoscope right on South LA, Venice, Boyle Heights, The Arts District, to name a few…LA has the diversity that the rest of the country will catch up to in the years to come and I love being able to experience it now.
Also, the LA tech scene is still open and vibrant and much more inclusive than Silicon Valley. I’m proud of the work I do as co-chair of PledgeLA a non-profit initiative with the Annenberg Foundation and the Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti, along with over 220 of the top Tech and VC companies in town to build a more inclusive tech community.
What are the milestones that you plan to achieve within six months?
We will be focused on building our brand and community with our culturally relevant content that no other Fintech or Traditional Finance is doing. We plan on rolling out by EOY our “Dinero Toolkit” (money tool kit) with easy-to-use financial calculators to take control of our community’s basic financial needs like lowering credit card debt, building a budget, tracking expenses, etc. We will also start securing partnerships with companies that match our brand values and can be good at helping our community build wealth. And we will beta test a few ideas we have of products of our own.
If you could be put in touch with one person in the LA Tech tech community who would it be and why?
I pride myself on being pretty plugged into this community already with the philanthropic work I do as a Latina tech leader, can’t think of one person I want to meet that I don’t know, but I’m open to suggestions!
What does being “Made in LA” mean to you and your company?
The company is made in LA the way I’ve made myself in LA and the way our community is made in LA. LA has the largest Latino community outside of Mexico. We Latinos shape LA and are shaped by it. Since SUMA is part of that nation, we are too.
LA has a spirit that you can’t really find anywhere else. It’s simultaneously the most American of places and the most unique of places thanks to its diversity. It has taken all these disparate elements, including the ones from our culture, and transformed them into something new. That’s what we’re going to do with our SUMA community.
Also, it’s the only place you can get a decent taco north of my hometown of Tijuana, Mexico!
What else can be done to promote early-stage entrepreneurship in Los Angeles?
More support and grants from the city and state and the private sector. Literally what we do with PledgeLA is a model that we hope others can follow. We have a fund we just launched for Latinx and Black founders in South LA for non-dilutive capital and 3-month mentorship that we feel can be transformational for early-stage companies in our community.
More support and grants from the city and state and the private sector. Literally what we do with PledgeLA is a model that we hope others can follow. We have a fund we just launched for Latinx and Black founders in South LA for non-dilutive capital and 3-month mentorship that we feel can be transformational for early-stage companies in our community.
What is your favorite restaurant in LA?
La Casita Mexicana in Bell California from Chefs Jaime Martin del Campo and Ramiro Arvizu, best Mexican food hands down and worth the drive every time! Mole and Chiles en Nogada are a dream!
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