Founded in 2019, SUMA Wealth, a fintech company that combines culturally relevant content and experiences with financial tools to help Latinos build wealth, raised $2.2 million in new funding.
This round was led by Radicle Impact, which was joined by Vamos Ventures, OVO fund, and the American Heart Association Impact fund. They joined previous backers Ulu Ventures, Female Founders Fund, and Chingona Ventures. The new round brings Suma’s total funding to $5.5 million.
In a nutshell, SUMA is a financial inclusion platform that inspires, informs and empowers the Latino community. SUMA uses the holistic approach of digital media, fin-tech and virtual experiences to spice up dry and complex topics of investment, debt management, and creating and sustaining wealth.
“Latinos have been excluded from the mainstream U.S. financial system for a long, long time, and we’re going to change that. We want to reach and teach Millennial and Gen-Z Latinos in ways that they’re going to respond to, that feel natural to them. We’re culturally relevant, not just financially relevant.” said Beatriz Acevedo, CEO and co-founder of Suma.
According to Acevedo, it wasn’t that she wanted to found a company that could solve that problem, but after talking to financial institutions that consistently told her that they were challenged in their ability to connect with young Latinos, she decided to start SUMA Wealth with Mary Hernandez and Xavier Gutierrez.
“No matter how much money Latinos spend, they are always an afterthought,” Beatriz said. “Fintechs could tell me that they already translated their website, and that was the biggest red flag for me, because they didn’t need to do that, because their audience already speaks English.”
SUMA’s platform is catching on with Latino and non-Latino users. The company has seen 62% annual user growth. Suma also works with big banks like JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo to reach Latino customers and offers education programs for individuals and small-business owners. Additionally, the company completed the acquisition of savings and personal finance platform Reel, in February 2023.
“we’re building tools that aren’t just useful, they’re actually interesting and engaging. Our content is entertaining and user-centric so that it inspires and empowers, not just informs.” said Beatriz.
The app continues to be free for users, however, the company is monetizing its partnerships with different brands, including dating app Match.com, or for features such as more personalized coaching. The enterprise app is also subscription-based for companies to buy for employees or their own customers.
According to a company statement, the latest funding will go toward the Intellect acquisition as well as new hires across engineering, product and sales. The company is also working on expanding its technology offerings for more AI personalization, data and analytics.
Check out SUMA’s 14-slide pitch deck below:
What were the slides in the SUMA Wealth pitch deck?
Browse the exact example slides from the pitch deck that SUMA used to raise a $2.2M round led by Radicle Impact.
1. Problem Slide
Addressing a specific financial challenge forms the foundation of every successful fintech startup, and the problem slide explaining that financial challenge serves as the cornerstone of any compelling pitch deck. A well-crafted problem slide(s) should a) convince investors that there is a genuine need for your startup, b) persuade investors that the identified problem is significant enough to be worth solving, and c) clearly explain how existing incumbents fall short in addressing the identified problem.
Covering all three aspects can be a tough ask, but SUMA Wealth’s problem slide adeptly addresses these critical questions using relevant statistics and concise explanations. The slide avoids overwhelming the audience with information overload, recognizing that a problem slide should be focused and avoid diluting its message by covering too many issues or addressing a problem that is too broad and nonspecific.
The design of the slide is simple and intuitive, featuring prominent headlines and succinct text that clearly portrays the whitespace in the financial education market for Latinos. This is a perfect example of a slide that could function well in both a presenter and a reader deck.
2. Team Slide
“Your most important asset is not your idea, it’s the people you have on your team,” says former Investment Partner at Khosla Ventures, Tim Westergren. This underscores the critical role of the founding team leading any startup. Investors place great emphasis on the people behind a company, and seek assurance that these individuals possess the necessary expertise, network, and experience to execute successfully.
The team slide serves as a platform to showcase the skills, experience, and qualifications of your team members (even if your a “team of one”). This slide should instill confidence in investors regarding your team’s capabilities, which will make or break the funding decision by the investors.
SUMA pitch deck’s team slide is meticulously crafted, incorporating essential elements to highlight the team’s capabilities including their titles and logos of past companies. To further highlight their team’s experience, SUMA includes logos of nonprofits and B Corp organizations where their founders serve as board members or advisors.
3. Competitive Landscape Slide
A well-crafted competitive landscape slide is crucial for demonstrating to investors that you are well-prepared to compete and succeed in the market. The slide communicates that you comprehend the market needs, understand how competitors operate, and can articulate your differentiation and value proposition. It assures investors that you not only understand your competition but are equipped to surpass them.
The SUMA Wealth pitch deck’s competitive landscape slide highlights the main competitors and identifies their shortfalls with the most tried & true visualization for competition comparison: a simple features table. SUMA’s strengths are prominently highlighted, and the use of a one-sentence subtitle helps reinforce the key takeaway: SUMA is strategically positioned to meet the needs of the Latino community.
How-to create your own pitch deck like SUMA Wealth
We hope you learned something from the SUMA pitch deck, and that you are able to use these insights for your own business. If you’d like to, you can bookmark it at bestpitchdeck.com/suma-wealth
Although it probably goes without saying that having a successful business (outside just their pitch deck) was integral to their success, it is critical for any startup to ensure your vision is portrayed properly. That’s where crafting the perfect pitch deck comes essential:
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