Zumma

Brokerage accounts in Mexico have grown 17x since the pandemic hit. Despite the access to financial instruments in Mexico, only 2 out of 10 women invest.

Zooming out, only 1% of women in Latin America engage in investment activities.

Let's dive in.

Imagine this

• At dinner, your daughter starts asking questions about personal finance and where she should invest her savings.

• You suggest some popular apps and give her some recommendations about how she should start managing and investing her money.

• After some days, the topic arises in the table again. Overwhelmed by the wide range of products in the market, she is back to square one.

• She starts talking to her co-workers about her current financial goals, and they ultimately recommend her to try Zumma.

• With Zumma, she discovers new ways to manage her money and achieve her financial goals.

Explain it like I'm five

Zumma is an AI-powered financial app for Latin Americans that educates and rewards users for saving and investing.

• Track: Users can track their income and expenses automatically, all by taking a picture of their receipts and soon by scrapping their bank notifications.

• Plan: Users can create goals to understand how much they need to save and reach their target.

• Invest: They allow users to invest in ETFs, stocks, and local bonds.

• AI: They leverage AI technology to analyze users’ behaviors and give them personalized financial advice to reach their goals.

Zumma’s mission is to empower Latin Americans (starting with women) to gain financial knowledge, save, and invest their money to reach financial stability.

ABCs

• Industries: Fin-Tech, Personal Finance, Investing

• Headquarters: Mexico City, Mexico

• Year Operations Started: 2022

• Team Size: 6

• Raised: $500,000 (Pre-seed)

• Accelerator/Investors: Latitud, Tech Stars, Endeavor, Outside VC, DeltaV

• Business Model: Fremium & Subscription-based

Other players:

• GBM+

• Fintual

• Weltio

Background check

What we like:

• Community-driven: Community-led startups have leaped in the last couple of years. The Zumma team grew their community to more than 8,000 people before the launch.

• Traction: In 4 weeks, Zumma has achieved 1,800 active users and is onboarding more users from their waiting list.

• Subscription-based: Zumma implemented a subscription-based model to offer users a more personalized service. This approach leverages business economics to provide improved estimates for future cashflows.

• Women-led: Zumma targets a niche market that the founders understand well due to their background and experience in the sector. More than 130M women in Latam alone are not investing.

• Gamification: The more their users utilize the app, the more points they get, which they can later redeem for rewards, incentivizing them to interact more with it; many companies have succeeded with this strategy.

Road Blocks:

• Regulation: Compliance with financial laws is crucial for finance apps in Mexico. Zumma is in the process of obtaining authorization from CNBV (Comision Nacional Bancaria y de Valores).

• AI Accuracy: Zumma’s AI algorithm must be highly reliable and accurate if used for stock analysis and investment recommendations. This could be challenging because Zumma must continuously adapt and improve its AI models to provide real insights and current economic information.

• Trust: Building and maintaining trust is essential. Any scandal, controversy, or user data breach can erase conviction in the platform, causing users to abandon the app. Zumma must establish secure systems to protect user data from unauthorized access, violations, or cyber threats.

The Architects

• Marinella Piñate, Co-Founder & CEO. MIT MBA’22. Previously, Goldman Sachs.

• Daniela Lascurain, Co-Founder & COO. LBS MBA’22. Previously, Dadoo & Asociados.

• Fernanda De La Colina, Co-Founder & CMO. Previously, JPMorgan.

• Carlos Chinchilla, Co-Founder & CTO. Previously, Adra (YC S21).

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Headlines Corner

• Huli, a health-tech startup in Costa Rica, secured pre-series A funding of $5.5M from Intoku Health and Carao Ventures. They plan to expand their operations to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

• Trebol, a Colombian identity and underwriting verification platform, secured a $3M seed funding round. It was co-led by Better Tomorrow Ventures and Canaan Partners.

• Onfly, a Brazilian travel and expense management platform, secured a Series A funding round of $16.5M. Cloud9 Capital lead the investment.

• 500 Global announced the 12 companies of its Batch 18.

Founders Bookmarks

The best tools and resources we came across this week.

• Upgrade your decision-making with Monthly, a virtual CFO startup. Small and mid-sized businesses tackle financial visibility challenges caused by gaps between performance and accounting records. Check it out here. (Sponsored)

• Interested in joining YC? Watch this video to learn how to apply and succeed at Y Combinator.

• Learn about the VC and startup ecosystem in Latam through Twitter.

Runway’s Job Board

We are introducing Runway’s Job Board, a space in our newsletter allowing you to apply and explore new startup opportunities.

• Besta: A high-growth startup that acts as a one-stop shop for all Uber/Didi driver’s needs is looking to hire a Sr. Financial Analyst. Learn more and apply here.

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