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Hi, fintech fam! 💜

Thirteen days!

That's how many days I have left to finish my manuscript for my book, "Fintech Feminists," and I have been fully focused.

However, I will take a writing break on Thursday to host a virtual event. This event will feature the Tony-nominated producer of the Broadway Musical SUFFS and a few influential women in business and fintech.

We will discuss the essential elements for building trailblazing projects on Broadway or within a fintech company. It is fascinating to observe the numerous parallels between these two domains. Save your virtual seat here to join the discussion.

Also, don’t forget to grab your ticket to our next in-person event, the Fintech Is Femme Founders Summit, which kicks off NY Tech Week hosted by a16z!

I’m currently finalizing the agenda. Get ready for another epic summit to kick off summer with all your favorite fintech friends. Secure your spot here.

But first, let's dive into the latest news and updates in fintech.

WHY UPGRADE?

There’s a big difference between how the mainstream media covers fintech and how I do it. Every week, I will provide you with the latest fintech news (minus the BS), profiles of inspiring women in fintech, and insightful analysis to help you stay ahead of the competition.

For our premium members, I send out updates 3x a week through our new column, "On Performance.” These columns will provide tactical advice to improve your entrepreneur and business leader performance.

Plus, premium members support female-led journalism and keep this work going. Because of your support, Fintech Is Femme is more than just a newsletter; it's a media empire and community for women to connect, learn, and support one another.

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IMPACT

The Fintech Ecosystem Is Beginning to Turn – Thanks To Women 

Fintech startup Ansa, spearheaded by co-founder and CEO Sophia Goldberg, made waves last Tuesday when it announced a $14 million Series A funding round. 

Founded in 2022, Ansa is a startup that helps merchants create and provide branded virtual wallets. It develops a white-labeled digital wallet infrastructure that enables businesses to efficiently process small payments and avoid high credit card fees for smaller transactions.

What sets this funding round apart is its size — and the fact that female investors contributed 95.6% of the capital.

This signals a promising shift in the fintech ecosystem, where female founders and investors increasingly support each other. Among Ansa's female investors are figures such as:

• Renegade Partners' Renata Quintini, 

• Wischoff Ventures' Nichole Wischoff, 

• Bain Capital's Christina Melas-Kyriazi, 

• BoxGroup's Nimi Katragadda, 

• and former Affirm executive Silvija Martincevic.

The fintech funding landscape has been tumultuous recently, marked by rapid macroeconomic and investor uncertainty fluctuations.

Since the unprecedented boom and subsequent decline in 2021, venture capitalists have navigated cautiously through capital deployment.

Despite the challenges, the fintech industry has shown resilience.

According to CB Insights' Q1 2024 State of Venture Report, global fintech funding totaled $7.3 billion across 904 deals, a decrease of 54.4% compared to the previous year.

However, there's a glimmer of hope as the first quarter of this year witnessed a 15% increase compared to the preceding quarter.

The United States led the charge with $3.3 billion raised across 393 deals, closely followed by Europe with $2.2 billion across 203 deals.

Despite this, the figures pale compared to the funding frenzy observed in Q1 of 2022, where a staggering $32.9 billion was raised.

Insights shared during the Fintech Is Femme Leadership Summit on April 8 shed light on encouraging trends, with notable figures like multi-exited founder, investor, and limited partner for firms like Cowboy Ventures and Ganas Ventures Asya Bradley emphasizing the increasing prominence of female founders and investors in the fintech community.

Individuals are taking proactive steps to drive change.

For Bradley, she began angel investing when she questioned why she should wait for someone else to fund female founders when she could do it herself, particularly once she had a successful exit under her belt after she built and sold Kinly, the neobank for Black Americans.

So she started writing checks because “paying women starts with women,” she said. 

Bradley's advice resonates profoundly in this landscape: women must continue supporting each other to drive meaningful change in the fintech ecosystem. 

Proof points abound, like the success of Alinea Invest, a fintech app targeting Gen Z women with AI-powered wealth management.

Their $3.4 million seed funding announcement in January, led by F7 Ventures and GFR, underscores another example of the pivotal role of female investors in empowering female founders.

This investment surge coincides with Alinea's staggering growth, boasting 225,000 app downloads and a $1.8 million revenue run rate. 

But it's not just about the numbers but the narrative.

Kelly Graziadei, F7 general partner, shared in a TechCrunch report:

"Financial literacy and investing is a crucial path to wealth and financial stability for women and Gen Z."

Investing in Alinea means investing in a future where wealth creation is inclusive and accessible.

Speaking of wealth management, Marstone, a female-founded and led digital investing platform, also announced a funding round in January, closing a $8 million Series B.

Founded in 2013 and led by industry veteran Margaret Hartigan, Marstone is a digital investment and wealth planning B2B2C solution that integrates into financial institutions to efficiently and affordably reach, acquire, and retain clients seeking straightforward information and engagement around their finances.

In another example, Sallie Krawcheck's anecdote about Ellevest's $53 million Series B funding further illustrates the power of collective action.

The ratio of venture dollars raised by women in fintech, specifically for a Series B, is 1 in 10,000, Krawcheck shared.

It was a struggle, despite the success of Ellevest, to secure investors for its 2022 round. But in a matter of weeks, a community of women investors rallied behind Ellevest through a series of special-purpose vehicles, each representing a community of women investors.

This approach brought in hundreds of new investors, mostly from underrepresented groups, demonstrating that when women come together, extraordinary things happen.

As Krawcheck asserts, our collective strength as women is our superpower, one that can reshape the landscape of fintech.

The story's moral is that, as Krawcheck eloquently stated, our collective strength as women is our superpower.

“We knew it in high school and college when we never traveled alone – always in a pack,” she said. "As we grow into our careers, we as women have been convinced to play the game of success as an individual sport, when in reality, the men in our lives have been playing it as a team sport for some time.” 

As Ansa, Alinea, Marstone, and Ellevest's success exemplifies, collaboration and solidarity among female entrepreneurs and investors are essential for fostering innovation and sustainability in fintech.

It's not just about writing checks; it's about rewriting the rules of the game.

_{WTF ELSE?}

• Fintechs — pioneering use of generative AI in banking and finance

• China’s Ant Group doubles down on global expansion with cross-border payments offering Alipay+

• Beyond banking apps: How embedded finance is reshaping finance

• CFPB rule 1033 will hasten the shift to open banking in the US

_{I WANT IT, I GOT IT}

• 📚 Today’s Read: I’m doing much more writing these days! Be sure to Pre-Order your copy of my book, Fintech Feminists, which comes out in October! Help us reach a best-sellers list!

• 👀 Today’s Watch: Rewatching Blue Eye Samurai on Netflix because it’s AAPI month and one of my favorite shows of all time.

• 🍣 Today’s Eats: I haven’t been to Ichiran in a while, but it’s on my mind. It’s the world’s leading expert in Tonkotsu Ramen and has multiple locations in NY, including Williamsburg, Midtown, and Times Square.

_FINTUNES

🎵 Doja Cat - ACKNOWLEDGE ME

This live performance of Doja performing the opening track to her new album is absolutely killer. The stage presence, energy, live vocals, glam, outfit, vibes — 10/10 performance.

That’s all for now! Stay safe, everyone. Hug your loved ones. See you Thursday!

Love,

Nicole

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