EP9: Vrinda Gupta, founder/CEO of Sequin, on why she started a company to help women build credit, approach to building a new financial services product, and opportunities for more personalization

SummaryIn this conversation with Vrinda we cover a wide range of topics including how the current credit system works, why women are more likely to have negative credit experiences, and how Sequin solves that inequity gap with a new debit card for women that helps build credit. We also talk about the process of launching a new card based product at a bank vs. a startup, and both opportunities and challenges to innovate in the space.Episode HighlightsWorking on Chase Sapphire card at Visa and getting rejected for itChallenge of credit: needing credit to get creditHow credit score gets calculated and factors contributing to biasWhy women get rejected for a credit card more often than menSpeed of launching a card at a bank vs. as a startupConsiderations in designing a new cardBuilding Sequin as a debit card that builds creditHow to think about benefits as a fintech startup vs at scaleSurprising insights: huge appetite for knowledge, community and card designApproach to education and community building as a fintechVision for Sequin: full suite of credit products for women across every life stageGoing from fintech idea to prototype/MVP as a non-technical founderInsight: importance of credit utilization to build creditMoving fast without breaking anything as a fintechEarly next year: re-launching the debit card that builds launch with rewards partnersOpportunity to create hyper personalized products that grow with customersSuperpowers: capacity for empathy and how she's built it, and ability to pattern matchPeople who gave Vrinda a break, and book recommendationsLinksRead more about Sequin ($5.7m Seed) and get the card: https://www.sequincard.com/Follow Vrinda @vrinda_tweetHit subscribe to keep up with new episodes!Follow Ashish and Zane on Twitter for summariesClick here to give feedback — it only takes a minute.