The other thing is that you are the first in your family to do many things and you don’t have anyone in your family to give you that advice. For example, you’re the first in your family to go to college. There’s very little that they could have helped you with, whether it was a college essay or how to navigate internships, getting a job, career advice, or asking for a raise. The system here [in the U.S.] is very different [from other countries]. So, you’re at a loss for information education.
A lot of these younger people are making more money than their parents and grandparents made in a lifetime. So, one, there’s a sense of guilt. Second, there’s a sense of worry, of “I don’t know how to manage this.” Third, there’s a sense of distrust. The parents didn’t trust the financial institutions. They don’t have a legacy financial institution that is the “Fabuloso of finance,” where everyone in the family uses Fabuloso, and everyone in the family can trust this financial institution.
If you know you’re responsible for your aging parents, and you’re eventually responsible for your kids and yourself, you have to start early. You have no choice. And hopefully, as you do that, the next gen will be set up because hopefully, your kids will not have to take care of you. That’s where there is an opportunity to advance in closing the wealth gap if we get to that point. So that’s why I’m hyperfocused on this generation that has that big burden on their shoulders, that needs that help and that support. Those are the ones that can make that change in generations to come.
The biggest opportunity with [this generation of] Latinos is to make them feel that they are “de aqui y de alla” [from here and there]. Not every brand does a great job with that. I’ve seen a lot of ones doing it now, and I’m glad that they’re catching up, but it’s not just English or Spanish. I fully believe in the power of culture. Lead with culture more than leading with language.
Leading with culture is everything
I go back to my Latinidad in everything I’ve done. So [on Suma] you’re going to see luchadores [Mexican wrestlers]. Paletas [Mexican frozen treats made from fresh natural fruits] instead of emojis. You are going to see arepas and gorditas [cornmeal cakes] to explain the difference between FICO and Vantage credit scores.
I always thought I was going to focus on English and culture because that’s my demo. But then I would get questions [from users]: Do you have this in Spanish for my mom, for my tía? And I’d be like, well, why don’t you go to these other fintechs that are only for Spanish people and Spanish-speaking people? And they would say no, it’s not fun, it’s not funny, it’s not cool, it’s not Suma. So, we’re now scrambling to make that [content] in Spanish, making all the education available as a resource for our core demo. Our core demo is not going to consume [our content] in Spanish. But again, we want to take off that weight on their shoulders that they’ve had their whole life, where they have to translate for their family members, and they want to recommend something that they like.