The Sugar Daddy Podcast
Ready to normalize talking about money? Then welcome to The Sugar Daddy Podcast, where talking about money isn't taboo, and you can leave your past money mistakes at the door! Every episode will get you one step closer to your financial goals. Whether that is learning how to invest, budget, save, retire early or simply make better money choices, Jess & Brandon have got you covered in a way that's easy to understand. Tune in as they demystify the realm of dollars, so it all makes cents, while giving you a glimpse into their relationship with money and each other.
The Norwoods are a married, millennial couple, here to help you build wealth, so you can live the life you've always dreamed of. Brandon is an award winning licensed financial planner, and owner of Oak City Financial, with over a decade of experience and millions of dollars managed for his clients all over the United States.
New episodes published the first three Wednesdays of every month.
The Sugar Daddy Podcast
58: Revolutionizing Finance for Women with Sequin CEO, Vrinda Gupta
Imagine this: You help bring the popular Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card to market, and when you apply for it yourself, you’re rejected! Tune in and learn from Vrinda Gupta, CEO and co-founder of Sequin, as she recounts her personal journey from financial rejection to launching a revolutionary banking platform tailored to women and minorities. Hear about the systemic flaws she uncovered and the emotional toll of financial setbacks, all of which fueled her mission to promote financial education and equity. Vrinda's firsthand experiences and valuable tips will illuminate the critical role of financial literacy in overcoming these obstacles. Join Jess and Brandon and get inspired by this enlightening conversation that encourages you to take control of your financial future, without sacrificing along the way.
Watch this episode in video form on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Thesugardaddypodcast
If you’d like to leave us a question to be answered during future episodes, you can do so at:https://www.speakpipe.com/thesugardaddypodcast
You can email us at: thesugardaddypodcast@gmail.com
Be sure to connect with us on socials @thesugardaddypodcast we are most active on Instagram
Learn more about Brandon and schedule a free 30-minute introductory call with him here: https://www.oakcityfinancial.us
Buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/thesugardaddypodcast
Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review.
Notes from the show:
You can sign up for Sequin today completely fee-free at: http://www.sequincard.com/sugar-daddy-pod
Sequin on IG
Sequin on TikTok
Sequin on LinkedIn
Facebook
Sequin on YouTube
Sequin on X
When it finally launched, I was so excited to help to apply for the card that I helped create and I was denied. And you know that was a moment where, of course, you know, many of us have that experience of being rejected, unfortunately. But I think there are a few prevailing emotions that I had at the time. The first was OK, credit has felt like this very important test that no one taught me how to study for. And now, not only have I been rejected, I have no path forward, I don't understand what to do and also, had I known, I wouldn't have been in the situation in the first place. But how was I supposed to know the first? And the second was just looking around and realizing okay, this financial system there's something really intrinsically wrong with it.
Speaker 2:Hey babe, what are we talking about today?
Speaker 3:Today we are talking about women and money because we know this industry is just flooded with dudes, which is so annoying. But today we are talking to somebody who is totally changing the game, getting the dudes out of the picture because we've had enough. No offense, babe, getting the dudes out of the picture because we've had enough. No offense, babe. And we're going to be focusing on women in money today with Virenda Gupta. I'm so excited. Her story is absolutely incredible. We're going to get into her bio but high level notes. She helped create a very popular credit card and then went and applied for that credit card and was rejected, and that is what is kicking off our story today. Virenda, we are so excited to have you. Thank you for being on the Sugar Daddy podcast with us.
Speaker 1:Of course, I'm a huge fan and I'm super excited to be here as well.
Speaker 3:Yay. Well, let's make sure everybody knows exactly who we're talking to. We'll get into this bio and then, as you know, we're going to kick off with your first money memory. So Vrinda Gupta is the CEO and co-founder of Sequin, the first debit card and banking platform in US history, designed by and for women and minorities. She is a globally recognized credit expert who helped launch the popular Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card at Visa, but when she applied for that card she helped create, she was rejected. This inspired Farinda to act. She quit her job at Visa to found Sequin to recognize women's financial power and fight against the injustices that opposed it, including credit card debt and the pink tax. Money is power and this first-generation Indian immigrant is on a mission to design a world where women have more of both. Yes, just snaps. She has been featured by Forbes, ABC7 News and FinTech Magazine and has been named as one of the top 10 women to watch in fintech Girl. That is a bio. Yes, I'm so excited for this conversation. Thank you for being with us.
Speaker 3:Same here, of course. Thank you. So, verinda. We always kick off when we have a guest with the first money memory, because we really feel like your first money memory has an impact on how you perceive money, work with money, you know, process money, and so we'd love to hear your first money memory today this is great.
Speaker 1:So what I think about my first money memory, most of my life comes back to my mother, and you know, growing up as a first generation Indian immigrant, as we immigrated to the US, I was always looking to my parents for cues about life and this new place that we're living in. And my mother, I think like anyone that has an immigrant mother, or most mothers are extremely fierce and you know you do not want to get in their way and one of the memories I would have would you know, even being really young and hearing my mother on customer service calls and she has this thick Indian accent, but she was not to be messed with and I was just like you know what customer service rep please just concede to my mother, because you know that's going to be the outcome anyway. But the one time that I saw my mother feel small was when she would be talking to anyone related to finances. So she needed to call the bank for something and she would just be so timid. I was like this woman is not my mother.
Speaker 1:What did you do with my mother? And she would pass the phone to my dad to make you know those calls and ultimately make financial, big financial decisions for my family, and so I think early on, that's when I realized money is power and you're able to make financial decisions. And not that you know, my dad didn't respect my mom or anything like that, but she just didn't have a strong of a voice and so you know, ultimately, I think that's that really informed my attitudes about money and making sure that you were educated and understood how it all worked.
Speaker 2:So, hearing that, I have a question for you. Yeah, do you feel as though a part of it obviously part of it being your mother being a female, obviously part of it, obviously part of it being your mother being a female, obviously, but do you also think that a part of it was that she was probably working?
Speaker 2:with someone that was you know male born in america, you know, not used to speaking to people of different ethnicities, different races, and do you think the accent over the phone played a role in that? And the reason I asked that is that I would. I had a friend of mine that I've known since middle school, who I was helping her mom out because her financial advisor seemed to not really connect with her, and she's from Puerto Rico and her mom, speaks English, fine, completely understood.
Speaker 2:But maybe this guy just couldn't understand it or didn't take the time to talk to her, and she felt very same ideas, like a woman who is very strong in nature but felt very insecure in that scenario. So that's why I asked that question.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know it's hard to say. It's my first memory, so I think I was young and didn't know what was going on on the other side. I mean, you know who knows, right? I think this is all so many different factors come together and you know, maybe on the other side there's a factor, maybe that was something, that she just didn't feel as confident and so she didn't know the right questions to ask or didn't feel like it was a safe space to ask, and I think anyone who has called their banking institution I am yet to hear that being a positive and happy experience in the best part of your day. So, yeah, it's hard to say, but I can definitely, yeah, I can definitely empathize with that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it wasn't even like I wasn't putting it, that the person on the other end was having some issues, more or less like they were not giving your mother the grace and respect to try to work through maybe some of the differences that you could, you know, maybe over the phone, or especially, like I've been assuming that English wasn't your mother's first language. So therefore, sometimes the translation doesn't quite do the same. So, like, for example, like when I was working with my friend whose mother is Puerto Rican, um, certain things that, like, I wanted to make sure that she understood. Obviously I don't speak Spanish, unfortunately, but I would be there in person with her and her daughter would translate it and make sure that everything is, you know, understood to the best of her knowledge yeah, yeah, absolutely, yeah, absolutely yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean, I've heard so many of those experiences and I'll have to ask my mother if she felt that way. But, um, you know, I think it just it's hard, right, there's so much misinformation. You don't know what you don't know. You're talking to this person of authority on the other side and it's very easy to feel like they know something you don't know. You might say the wrong thing and you know these fears are valid. I think is the main piece to share here. Right, I think from my mother's perspective, there was a lot of gotchas in the financial system, and she's not wrong, right, you know you make one mistake or you start getting, you know, into a cycle of credit card debt or whatever that thing is credit card debt or whatever that thing is and and it's extremely scary to be able to be on the other side of this, you know large institution that was really not designed for you. So, yeah, I mean, I think it's great that you're able to help your friend and, yeah, you know there's there's a lot of challenges here.
Speaker 3:Have you been listening to our podcast and wondering how am I really doing with my money? Am I doing the right things with my investments? Am I on track to reach my financial goals? What could I be doing better? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then it's time for you to reach out to Brandon to schedule your free yes, I said free 30-minute introduction conversation to see how his services could help make you the more confident moneymaker we know you could be. What are you waiting for? It's literally free and at the very least, you'll walk away feeling more empowered and confident about your financial future. Link is in our show notes. Go, schedule your call today, brenda, walk us through that moment and then you ending up at Visa building one of the most popular cards available to us today. I mean, we have a Chase Sapphire card. You know we love our points, we believe in our points, in points we trust right, so walk us through that experience, how you got there, you know, and then ultimately, of course, how that founded Sequin.
Speaker 1:Absolutely yeah, yeah, this is great. And yeah it is, it's a great product, so you helped build it. So, yes, I know I'm slightly biased, but no, no, it's yeah, it's great, okay, so, yeah. So growing up, realizing money is power, realizing that my mother not having that same confidence or know-how or understanding of the financial system meant that she had less of it. And both my mother and my father said it is so important for you to be financially independent, for you to understand how the financial system works in the US, especially for you to understand how the financial system works in the US especially. And so I said, okay, well, what better way than to literally be in the center of the financial world? And so my first job out of college was at Visa and I had this great opportunity to be building and launching popular credit cards. And you know it was incredible to understand. You know what the financial incentives are, the different parties. I found payments, what the financial incentives are, the different parties. I found payments in the financial world very interesting, because most of us will engage with a payment tool multiple times a day, but there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes and I found that all so interesting. And, of course, the financial system is one of the most important systems. It keeps economies running and I found it all really interesting. So I worked on a very popular product called the Chase Sapphire Reserve. I worked on the Visa side, so it was actually the platform powering the product, and we did so much research. It was really fascinating because up until then, the products I was working on I didn't find really that interesting for me in particular, but this was the first time where we were building a product that I was very excited to use. It was geared towards a young, urban, millennial population. It had airline lounge access, which was so cool. It was something that I never thought I would have access to at that age and so, yeah, it was really interesting building these products. We spent multiple years building them, flying out, doing customer interviews, researching, deciding, okay, what is that best package to build, and even everything down to what the card looked like and how much it should weigh and the sound it should make when it hits the table. There's so much that goes into these products. Yeah and yeah. So years and years working on this.
Speaker 1:When it finally launched, I was so excited to help to apply for the card that I helped create and I was denied. And you know that was a moment where, of course, you know, many of us have that experience of being rejected, unfortunately. But I think there were a few prevailing emotions that I had at the time. The first was okay, credit has felt like this very important test that no one taught me how to study for. And now, not only have I been rejected, I have no path forward. I don't understand what to do and also, had I known, I wouldn't have been in the situation in the first place, but how was I supposed to know? So I think that was the first.
Speaker 1:And the second was just looking around and realizing okay, this financial system, there's something really intrinsically wrong with it.
Speaker 1:If I am building these products and I'm being left out of them, what must be happening to so many other people, especially people like me, who are women, who are minorities in any way?
Speaker 1:And I just said, you know, if, if someone doesn't do something about this, then my daughter is going to be sitting in my seat, you know whenever, and she's going to be having this experience as well. And that was just something that, for the first time in my life, I felt like if someone needs to do something about this, and I don't know how many people have had my experience, but also have my experience to be able to do something about this. So I went on this journey, understood who the financial system was and was not designed for, actually learned that this year is the 50th year anniversary of women not needing a man to sign for us to open a bank account and a checking uh, to open a bank account and a credit card. And that was, you know, 50 years ago. It was just not that long ago. My mother was an adult. It really was like yesterday, I mean yesterday only because you weren't born.
Speaker 2:but I mean, I'm 41 years old, so that's nine years before I was born, which is not crazy no, it's not. Yeah, it's wild so I'm sorry, go ahead. Go ahead, I was going to ask so. Did you find out specifically what it was that caused you to get rejected?
Speaker 3:that's the question.
Speaker 1:I was okay, we're right here babe you know that, know, that was the hard part, right, I know now, but at the time, legally, what needs to happen is after you are rejected from a credit product, you receive a notice in the mail that says why you were rejected, but it's usually they give you five reasons. This could be one of five reasons, right, and it is one of those. But it's really not personalized, it's not actionable and you're like, great, every time you get rejected, right, that's a hard pull on your credit report and so your credit score gets worse. It's this chicken and egg kind of situation. So I think that's what was the biggest challenge at the time for me was again, okay, I was never taught how to do this, and now that I've been rejected, there's really no path forward. So what does this mean for me? Am I just left out of the financial system for the rest of my life?
Speaker 3:And and that was the feeling, and I think that's so relatable- I want to know, going back to your parents, because my mom is German and I have a lot of friends with immigrant moms as well, and so what you? Said at the beginning really resonates, Cause I think when you have an immigrant parent you just have a whole different experience in life because they are built different.
Speaker 2:It just is what it is.
Speaker 3:They are built different.
Speaker 2:Your mom is. I'm going to leave it at that.
Speaker 3:That's not what this podcast is about today, babe. Um, but you know, even coming here, my mom married my dad, who was from Florida. He's an American and it was just always. I always grew up like you only spend what you have, you save. We're not putting anything on credit cards. You know our cars were bought outright.
Speaker 3:The only debt that my parents had was a mortgage, you know. So I'm curious to know was that your experience as well? Or, you know, were your parents also like you? Pay for it in cash and that's it. Those are the only options we have, or what was your experience there?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, I think living within our means was really important, I think culturally, as Indian immigrants, but also in my parents' situation. They moved to the US with very little money to their name and my parents are really well educated in India, but when they moved here, it's not like their degrees really transferred very well, and so I think, you know, especially early on growing up, it was this kind of paycheck to paycheck mentality, mentality where you don't know, you know when, when your next dollar is coming, and I think the idea of of debt was extremely scary. So, yeah, there's definitely this savers mindset and I think you know, even as my parents, you know, I, I just am so proud of what they've done with their lives and their careers and how they've set my brother and I up. It's, you know I, yes, being an immigrant is being built different for sure. But yeah, I think you know, even with that, there is so much of a lack of financial education on how do you actually set yourself up Well, how do you set your kids up Well, and so ultimately, what was happening to me was just, I wasn't building my credit history and when I went to apply for a credit card, even though I was making a decent income working at Visa.
Speaker 1:All of my credit history was attached to my parents and never was in my own name, and so that's ultimately what my situation was. But I do share that to. There's so many similar situation, right, it doesn't have to be just that specific one, it's just, you know, had I known, I wouldn't have used credit cards that way, had I known, I wouldn't have paid these banking fees. Had I known X, y, z, right, there's so much and and we see so many stats in my research kind of exposing the financial system that women and minorities are paying more in banking fees, more in credit card fees, more for credit, even though ultimately we're better to lend to. So there's just so, so much around that, and I look around and I'm like are all of these institutions built on the backs of women and minorities not knowing what to do? Yeah, that could be a logical deduction, so, yeah, I mean.
Speaker 2:I think also it needs to be said that the type of like money and how it functions from a financial standpoint in each country is different. A lot of people think that the way the U? S functions is how a lot of the other countries do, and it's actually very different. So you know, for your parents having grown up in India and then moving, to the. United States as adults, you know they.
Speaker 2:Obviously they were well-versed in how things work in India, which is completely different than how it works here so it's a whole learning curve in order for, you know, first generation kids to learn these things from their parents, because their parents are learning at the same time.
Speaker 1:For sure. There's so much privilege in that too, right? I think you know, as we talk about Sequin and I'll talk about, you know, a lack of financial education on the internet, on different platforms, right it's. You'll hear so much of, oh well, why would you even do that? I can't believe you got rejected. I can't believe this.
Speaker 1:And for me, I say I'm so grateful that you haven't had that experience, because that means that you had someone to share this to you. Right? There is this kind of generational privilege where you're able to say, okay, I know what to do, so I'll tell you what to do or I'll set you up well. And so, whether you are a minority or an immigrant or just someone whose parents didn't have access to financial education, the stuff isn't taught in schools, right? Where are you supposed to learn it? So I think that is really, really eye, eyeopening. If you know it, that's so amazing and that's such a position of privilege. And that's what I try to share is you know, keep on sharing those you know, share that with your loved ones, but realize that so many of us don't have that.
Speaker 2:I'm the way that I grew up. I'm definitely an outlier in the sense of. You know, I grew up my mother raised my brother and myself by herself. So statistically speaking, I'm the outlier because we were fortunate that we did have financial literacy. My mom did have a financial advisor. She was good with money.
Speaker 2:She did teach us a lot of stuff, but there was a lot of things that you know we weren't taught you know, and we're just building on that from like, from a knowledge standpoint, and we want to make sure that we build on top of what our parents have taught us and continue to teach us teach more to our kids.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 3:Amazing. I love that. When I first read your story I was thinking about I vividly remember my mom adding me as an authorized user to one of her American Express cards before I went off to college.
Speaker 3:Now now, looking back, right, the more you know in my head I'm like oh, she could have done that when I turned 13, instead of when I turned 18. Right, but the fact that she did that helped build my credit so that when it was time for me to, you know, graduate, move out, get my own place, that kind of thing I did have established credit history. So even something that small is impactful when you think about somebody's story that's similar to yours, where it's like hey I thought I was doing the right things.
Speaker 3:I was paying for things in cash, I wasn't living beyond my means, but somehow I still got bit in the butt for it.
Speaker 2:I mean my mom did the same thing and even though I had scholarship money for college but the amount that my mom had to pay or I was thankful that she did pay we actually took off student loans in my name and then she paid them off when I graduated and that was another credit boost.
Speaker 3:Yeah, for sure. Well, now, you are.
Speaker 3:Yeah, You're now educating women all over the country on these little things, these little nuances that most of us were not taught at home. So take us from you're fired up, you're feeling, you know, rejected from being rejected from the card that you helped build and you did years of research on and you know you really put your heart and soul into it, and then you're not seeing the benefit. Take us from that to I'm going to build my own card. I'm going to build what women and minorities need. Walk us through that process.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, after I got rejected, I had a few options right. The first one was okay. I think that was a moment where I was like there is a huge opportunity here to do something right, because, as I started looking and exposing the financial system and just seeing, you know who this is benefiting and who it's not, and, as I mentioned, women and minorities are paying more every step of the way because of misinformation. And you know, I said there's a huge opportunity here. My option is, I can you know, leave and do something on my own. I could, you know, accept the status quo and just kind of feel rejected, right, and keep going. And the third option, which is the one that I took, was I want to know everything there is about this financial system in order to build a product that is really going to solve a problem. And so I ended up sticking around Visa for a few more years, rising up the ranks and ultimately decided to get my MBA.
Speaker 1:And while I was in my MBA program, it just felt like the timing was so serendipitous, time's up was happening. Me too was happening, and that's when I realized women are. We have so much spending power. We control 85% of GDP. We're going to this in the US. We're going to this. You know, amazing places in society and you know, even today, in today's political environment, I'm really excited about. You know what's going on and it's it's so exciting.
Speaker 1:And, as I looked at, okay, where women are going and thinking the future is female, the present is female. And then I'm looking at the financial system and I looked at, okay, where women are going and thinking the future is female, the present is female. And then I'm looking at the financial system and I'm like, well, something isn't quite adding up. And yeah, you know, I just realized that if someone didn't do something about this, our years to gender equity just increase, just increase. And access to finances and access to financial know-how and access to products that can help you practice that know-how To me, that is the single best thing we can do in order to close gender financial gaps. And so I said, well, what is a better thing to do with my life than to really go after this opportunity and try to do something better and do something that hasn't been done before? And I spoke with hundreds I mean now, years later, like thousands of women, and just started with what are your problems with the financial world. Like what has happened to you? How long is that spreadsheet? Oh my gosh, you know what we have like. Yeah, it's. I've cried on those calls with our users. I've empathized, I've laughed. I mean it's been, you know, just so eye opening to see that we, as women and as minorities, are having different financial experiences.
Speaker 1:And whether it's, you know, being rejected from something, whether it's, you know, not feeling confident, not knowing that you can call the bank and say, hey, I got an overdraft fee, can you reverse that? And just not, you know, there's, there's so much around it. But even as I was looking at the credit cards that I was building at Visa, so many of them have rewards where men were more likely to spend versus where women were more likely to spend. So dining and travel right, those are like I know you both have Amexes and reserves and all those things, right, and that's so fun, and I obviously recommend those products that I help create to anyone who doesn't have credit card debt, right. But what I say is, if you have credit card debt, there are very few other financial priorities that you have outside of paying off that credit card debt. There are very few other financial priorities that you have outside of paying off that credit card debt, right, because if you invest on average, you're earning 7% to 8% in the stock market. Credit card interest rates are 24.78% as of yesterday, or something Insane, right? So we just say what I thought as I was talking to women was I said, okay, well, banks are making more off women and minorities in late fees, overdraft fees, just banking fees in general.
Speaker 1:So the gaps start, really, when you first get your, when you get your first checking account. So I said, okay, well, I want to start there with your first checking account, your first debit card, and I don't want to have fees on it, right? There are better ways to make money than to say, hey, you don't have money in your account, let me charge you again, right, how does that make any sense? So I think that was the first place was looking at what the experience was with checking accounts etc and saying, okay, it doesn't have to be like that. The second thing I looked at was just access to financial education and resources, and what I was seeing was they're great. I mean, we've partnered with so many amazing financial influencers, but the challenge is just knowing what to do and actually doing. It are two very different things and I feel like I can definitely empathize with that on, like, my personal health journey. Right, it's like I know, you know, maybe if I make this decision, this isn't the best thing, but it feels so good at the moment no-transcript.
Speaker 1:So that was the second piece, and then the third was rewards. So what we heard a lot of was, okay, I'm in credit card debt, I feel guilty anytime I invest in myself, and I said, okay, well, so many of these credit card rewards are on dining and travel. I love to dine and I also love to travel. Those are things I love to do. But there's so much more that we do as women right, we are, you know, our healthcare expenses are more we, you know, our personal grooming and maintenance expenses are more. On top of that, there's a pink tax. Right, these products are, you know, marked up just because of gender-based pricing discrimination.
Speaker 1:So I said, okay, what if we could just make rewards really simple? There don't need to be any complex point schemes. Those are fine, right? If they work for you, you don't have credit card debt, everything's great. But if you do, what are your options? Right? If they work for you, you don't have credit card debt, everything's great. But if you do what, are your options right? It's going back to your big bank debit card or, you know, adding to your credit card debt on one of these products. So I just said, let's make rewards super easy.
Speaker 1:So, on Sequin, we offer up to 6% cash back on self-care categories. So think drugstores, self-care categories. So think drugstores, think salons, think gyms, think beauty stores. And it's all in cashback, so it's super simple to redeem. So I put all that together. I talked to a bunch of women and I said would this solve your problem? And they're like, yeah, this is great. What does the card look like? So, going back to the Chase Sapphire Reserve, so, as we thought a lot about like the metal and what it looked like, I noticed that most of the cards in our wallets are black and blue and gray.
Speaker 1:Right, and I know the cards that exact and I heard that exact thing they said. The cards in my wallet are ugly.
Speaker 1:It was always that, and so we had a vote with our community. We said what color should the cards be? And they said, okay, we want a color that's going to look really good on any skin tone. So our cards are coral and definitely stand out amongst the black and blue, and you can also put a money mantra on it. Mine says give women credit. But we've had so many amazing ones like are you sure, before swiping, or lyrics from you know your favorite artist, so I love the money mantra.
Speaker 2:That's me too, yeah I think we should also explain what is the pink tax for individuals out there that are more specifically as men who aren't familiar with it. I understand what it is, but I would like to hear you know a really good explanation so they know.
Speaker 1:Yes, for sure. I'm glad. Thank you for asking, brandon, that's awesome. Um, so the pink tax is a well-documented phenomenon where women are paying more for everyday products and services 42% of the time, and that adds up, on average, yearly to over $2,000. And over a lifetime, it's like hundreds of thousands of dollars, especially if you think about, like, what you could do with that money. Right, you could invest it, you could pay off your credit card debt, you know, do something else. And the thing to call out about the pink tax is these are not just, it's not makeup, right, it's everyday personal grooming products, it's shampoo, it's body wash. And just because the same exact product is marketed to a woman, it is marked up. And so a lot of our essentials are marked up and also many times come with less product too. It just makes no sense. And that's on top of. You know there's so many other things the gender wage gap and you know so many other inequities. So this is just yet another.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So for you fellas out there, I'm bald, so I use a razor, and it would be the same razor that is marketed towards a man. Only difference is that it's pink. Same razor but it costs 42% more.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it might be a little cuter in your shower, but functionally it's the exact same. So I remember looking at yours.
Speaker 2:You were paying more than I was in the cartridges. I would get more cartridges, as you would say, and you would have less, but you're paying more for it.
Speaker 3:I'm paying more. I know it's all outrageous.
Speaker 1:You noticed that you saw the oh my gosh Well leave it to him the finance guy, right.
Speaker 3:So then it's like oh switch to the ugly black razor, because we're saving money.
Speaker 2:Well, the thing is, once I hear it, once I heard, like a couple of years ago, I'd heard the term and I was like just look, because like obviously I wasn't looking at women's razors before. So I was like why are you buying that one? Buy the men's one, it's doing the same thing.
Speaker 3:It's so true. Well, verinda, this is, I mean, an incredible story. You set out to solve a problem. You clearly did your due diligence. You talked to women all over to figure out what is the problem Like, where are these problems starting? But it's one thing to be like I want to solve a problem and I'm going to do some research and get it on paper and start documenting, right. But you actually have banking cards like credit cards, debit cards, an education platform. You went from planning on paper to no people can now sign up and get their money mantra on their debit and credit card through Sequin. So how did that happen? Because that's, I mean, that's major.
Speaker 1:You know, it has been a journey, and I think the the biggest thing that I think a lot about is, you know, looking back. Had I known how hard it was going to be? When I have done it? I don't know, right, but I do think. Jokes aside, you know, the thing that I've always done is be really close to our Sequin members and just continually hearing their stories that, okay, with Sequin I was able to pay off $40,000 of credit card debt. Or, with Sequin, I finally feel confident in my finances, I know what to do, I'm earning rewards, I feel like I'm not missing out, I feel like I'm not behind. Those sort of stories are just so incredible, right, those sort of stories are just so incredible. And on my hard days, I go to I call my mom, that feisty immigrant mother, and I'm like Mom, I don't know, this is really hard. And and you know she says, because of you, I feel so much more empowered and confident in my finances and I have a plan and I know what to do and I don't have to rely on dad, and and that that keeps me going. So, but yeah, you know it's challenging, right, when you're working at Visa, you have the scale of a behemoth behind you, right, and you're working with these large financial institutions like the Chases of the World and the Bank of Americas of the world. But when you're a startup and you're out there, you don't have that same leverage, and it's.
Speaker 1:We've actually spent the last multiple years getting this product live, and every single room I've been in looks exactly like the room you would expect that I'm in, right, and there's varying degrees of you know this is awesome. We're so happy to support and there's definitely been that. You know what is this right? Why are we even doing this? Why does this matter? Is this even a real opportunity? Are you the right person to do it? At which point I really have to hold myself back and say I built the product in your wallet a lot of them. So I'm definitely the right person. I'm not sure who else, and I wonder if you would ask me that question if I looked like who you would expect to be behind that product. So it's definitely been a lot of ups and downs and I'm so grateful to have something live and I'm so grateful to be talking about it here today. So it's, I think, just living in gratitude, but it has been really, really, really extremely challenging to get this off the ground.
Speaker 2:Like hearing you talk about it. One of the things that really sticks out to me is that it feels as though it's very much building a community, because I would say, from like my experience, as you know, working with individuals and families, a lot of people feel as though like they're the only ones experiencing their scenarios.
Speaker 2:When I have to let them know, like no, this is the common, this is common, this is not, you know you're not behind, you're not, you know, the only person you know experiencing this and I think you know from what I'm hearing. Like having a community where people can understand that like hey, we are together, we are experiencing similar things and there is a path to get to where you want to be, is the biggest thing that I was taken from that.
Speaker 1:I love that insight and I think that's one of the pieces. When I was rejected, I didn't know who to tell. I was embarrassed that this had happened to me. I look different from most of the members of my team at Visa and I just there's always a little bit of imposter syndrome there and I felt so exposed.
Speaker 1:And you know, I think that that experience is so relatable and we have these conversations in Sequin all the time where we'll actually do a Friday check-in together and we'll say okay, what is one thing you did to care for your finances and what's one thing you did for self-care? Right, because we'll give you the rewards on self-care, you can budget for that. And last week one of the prompts that we had was what was your worst experience with the credit world and what was the worst experience with the world of finances? And the chat's just popping off, because I think people are itching to have these conversations but you just don't know Is it just me? I'm embarrassed. It's that experience where your card gets declined randomly at the checkout and you're like, wait, I promise I have money, but you feel so exposed and embarrassed. So, yes, I totally agree. I think having those conversations and normalizing everything is so important.
Speaker 2:It's very funny you say that because, like I've had experiences where you know you go to run your credit card and you know you have plenty of money there. Like your, your credit card was paid off, it's fine and it doesn't run through. And if there's a lot of people behind you, I know, personally, as a black male, I feel a little different and embarrassed because, like I, like I know my money's there and I'm afraid of what other people are maybe thinking, as a stereotypical black male like you don't have any money and so I can definitely, you know, understand that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:Oh no go ahead.
Speaker 1:Oh, I was just going to say I think that translates really, that experience translates really well to if you make a mistake in the financial world, you don't want to share that because you are so smart and ambitious in every other aspect of your life and for some reason, this financial world has made us feel like, oh, as women, we're bad with money or, as you know, minority, we're bad with money, and then you, it creates this loop of not sharing those experiences. But not sharing means that you can't better. So yeah, I just wanted to relate with that. But yeah, go ahead, jess, if you're going to share something.
Speaker 3:No, I was just going to say you know, part of the reason we started the podcast to begin with is to normalize money conversations, the ups, the downs, the in between, because it really is about building community and learning from each other. But in that sense of community, you start to realize that you're not the outlier right, you're not the exception.
Speaker 3:You are the rule, because we've all been through our money problems, right, like I've openly shared that my graduation gift was my parents paying off my credit card that had $10,000 on it, because I was living way beyond my means in college and just swiping with the rest of everybody else. And you know, yeah, we're going to do bottle service and, yes, I definitely needed this a hundred dollar fine dining experience and it's like, girl, sit yourself down. No, you did not, but those are things that we all do in our own ways and you live and you learn and you don't know what you don't know, and you get better and you do better, and so talking about those things really is important. And especially, I think your story is so special because most of us have not built credit cards right.
Speaker 3:So the fact that you are building this product and when you said, like, oh, the color and the weight, and what does it feel like when you put it down on the table, I would have never even thought about that. Like, oh, the color and the weight, and what does it feel like when you put it down on the table, I would have never even thought about that. Like, yes, I like my Amex Platinum being metal, and I think it feels cool and it's not flimsy. But like I never processed that somebody actually thought about this. This, you know color and product and weight and texture and I mean it's wild.
Speaker 2:It's funny you say that because, like I felt the same way.
Speaker 2:Like I'm not an aesthetic guy when it comes to especially like a credit card, I could really almost couldn't care less. But I do remember in my younger years I worked retail and I do remember the first time having somebody come in and hold and they had a black card and I do remember when they handed it to me I wasn't paying attention to what it was. When they handed it to me I was like I had to look at it because I was like this doesn't feel like a normal card, and then I realized what it was. So it is interesting that, like a lot of thought does go into that.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:These products are status symbols and it's it's kind of interesting to think about it that way. But as we think about our sequin cards, I'm really excited for, you know, they're out there in the world and just those conversations where you know, as you, receiving a black card, right, a centurion card I thought a lot about what I want it to feel like when someone uses their sequin card and I just want that to feel comforting and empowering and that you're supported and you're not going to be able to get into trouble with this product. And it's, you know, so exciting that there is kind of a counterbalance to that, because up until now that was really the only thing right, these premium cards. It's the only way you can have a certain type of status. But for me, I think, feeling financially confident, feeling financially powerful, like how do you beat that is something that is really interesting that we think about a lot.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's a flex in itself, right, feeling good about your money. So, tell our audience what they can get from Sequence. Is it a debit card? Is it a credit card? What?
Speaker 1:are the offerings.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love this question. So, first of all, sequin is entirely no fee. We don't make money by surprising you into hidden fees. That's one thing that's really, really important to us. So, yeah, so, totally fee free, so yeah.
Speaker 1:So when you sign up for Sequin, this is what's going to happen you are going to be opening a new checking account with Sequin, so you'll connect your existing checking account into Sequin. We'll make that first transfer really easy, and what's really neat is that, with Sequin, we'll offer you high interest on checking on a checking account, and so, especially if you are paying off credit card debt, you might not be investing, or you might not be growing your money in a certain way, or you might not want to have your money multiple places, because that makes money management harder. And so we said, okay, why do you need to move your money elsewhere? Just have your money grow in a high interest checking account. There's very few of those on the market. Yeah, it's not common. Yeah, schwab has one, but you have to have a brokerage in order to access it, and so you know chicken and egg, right? So, yeah, so you'll be opening up a high interest checking account with Sequin. We definitely recommend connecting your direct deposit to it and once you've funded your account, you'll be able to set your money mantra onto your Sequin debit card.
Speaker 1:So Sequin is a debit card. You're using your own money, so there's no credit check, there's no interest and there's also no overspending, because it's literally your own money on this product. So it's a debit card attached to a checking account. As soon as the fund's clear, you'll have a virtual card to use. We always recommend using the virtual card online just for security, in case the physical card gets lost, and we'll send you your physical card in the mail a few weeks later. Whenever you use this card to swipe or use the virtual card, you will get access to cash back on a debit card. So, again, most debit cards do not earn you any sort of rewards.
Speaker 1:This one earns you up to 6% cash back on self-care, and the way that we've identified the self-care categories is we basically say anytime you spend at a merchant, is it a drugstore, is it a gym, is it a salon? And we're always working on adding new categories. So there's a bunch of stores in there that if you swipe there, you will automatically get cash back. You get the 6% if you spend $500 anywhere on the cart, so not just on self-care. If you put your groceries, whatever else, on it, $500 a month will unlock 6% on those categories, and if you spend less than that, then we'll still give you some cash back. It just won't be at the 6% level. So to unlock it that's how we make money is every time you swipe this card, we get a little percentage of the fees that the merchant accrues, and so it's a win-win right. Every time you use the card, we get paid. So we definitely recommend that you use the card.
Speaker 1:And then the third piece that you'll get is access to a bunch of incredible tools within Sequin.
Speaker 1:The one that I love the most is our credit tool, so you'll plug all of your credit cards into Sequin.
Speaker 1:We make that super easy and then we'll show you your time to debt free, how much interest you're paying, your APR all of your details in one place, and you can set a bunch of different alerts within Sequin as well to let you know really critical information on your credit card debt payoff journey. We'll also help you budget for the self-care for any sort of self-care payments, and also also will help you budget for the credit card payments as well, and everything is all in one place. That's super easy. And the very, very last thing is a community. I know we talked about that, so we do a bunch of webinars, educational resources, and there's a community that you can stay accountable with and just share any information, which I think is very relevant to this conversation. We do have a membership tier, so if you're interested in earning even more interest on your checking account, you can pay for a monthly membership and you'll also get ATM reimbursement at that point. So if you're a cash person, you can get your cash out and not have to pay for that.
Speaker 1:You've really thought about everything and all of it's free.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, you had me at a free 99, which is fantastic.
Speaker 3:But I mean everything you know being in one place. I know, for me, I hate going to all these different dashboards to access the tools that you are putting in one place. I mean having fee free. Anything is amazing. I mean, brandon and I, we spend over $1,100 a year on the credit cards that we carry, and so to have an option of a fantastic product that is not going to cost you and I know neither one of us have a high-yield checking account- Well, technically I do because I have a business checking.
Speaker 3:Well, okay, that's not for our family, so that's incredible. So definitely encourage everybody to check that out. I do have two questions before we wrap up. Verinda, yeah, why sequin? What does what does the word mean? Because when I think of sequin, I think of like fancy, flashy, sparkly, glittery. But what is it?
Speaker 1:I actually love this question Because on the forums online, people are like I can't believe it's a woman focused thing named sequin and I actually I can't believe it's a women-focused thing named Sequin and I actually love that because I think it's kind of spicy and then I get to share this anecdote.
Speaker 1:So the reason why we named this company Sequin was the history of sequins. So sequins it actually is from the Arabic term Sika, which means coin, and around the time of the Roman Empire they used these Venetian gold coins as currency. But after the fall of the Roman Empire, then obviously those currencies became devalued and people started wearing them as talismans or as decor around their bodies, and over time then that evolved into sequins, which are known, as you know, traditionally feminine clothing will have sequins on it, and so I love that duality of the history, the culture around just, you know, finances and currency, and then also now to today, what that represents, represents and just, femininity and being yourself and being bold and being, you know, bright and sparkly, I think is so, so exciting and it's very different from the black and blue, you know, patriarchal products we all have in our wallets.
Speaker 3:I absolutely love that.
Speaker 2:So obviously the platform is tailored towards women, but I'm assuming that men could obviously use it as well.
Speaker 1:Yes, absolutely. It's all genders welcome, and what we've seen is, when you build products designed for women, they work better for everyone. So we're not trying to exclude anyone here. This is basically the way that the traditional financial system has worked was. It was designed for men and everyone else kind of slated themselves into it. So we're flipping that over. We're designing this for women and we hope everyone else fits themselves into it but also has a better experience here.
Speaker 2:The reason I asked that question is because, with the way that traditional finance looks like they think about when they hear you know, build for women, or build for minorities, build for black people, they think that is exclusive and that's not the purpose of it being built.
Speaker 1:It is to help.
Speaker 2:Yes, exactly, and that's why I wanted to bring that up.
Speaker 1:I appreciate you asking that question.
Speaker 3:Brenda, obviously you've learned so much in this journey, right from being rejected to the card that you built, to building a platform for women and minorities by a woman minority. What do you want to leave our audience with today and it can be a few things, because I know you have a lot to say but just if they leave with anything today, what would it be?
Speaker 1:Main message I want to share is if you have had a bad experience with the financial world, it is not you, it is the system designed to not center you, and I think so many times, especially as women and as minorities, we might look within and say, oh, you know, maybe there's something I should have known. And I want to be here to demystify this and say this is confusing, and it can feel designed to be confusing as well, and so there are options, and just because you've made a mistake in the financial system or something has happened to you does not mean that that has to be your reality. There are so many options. Do your research, make sure you are informed. You know Google around. Talk to friends, but find that option that is best for you, and don't be afraid of the fine print either. Make sure you read that too.
Speaker 3:Absolutely love that. Where can our audience find you and get their first Sequin card?
Speaker 1:Yay, yeah, so you can head over to sequincardcom, and we actually have a specific link for our friends here. So it's sequincardcom slash sugar dash, daddy dash pod. So I'm sure we'll have that in the show notes. Yes, but yeah, sign up, try it out. It's free and it's awesome. So we'd love to see you all there.
Speaker 3:Yes, and what about social media? Where can people find you on socials?
Speaker 1:Yes, so Instagram, we're at sequin underscore card and TikTok, same thing at sequin underscore card. So feel free to follow any platform. It's going to be at sequin underscore card.
Speaker 3:Perfect. Thank you so much, Farinda, for this incredible conversation, for the work that you're doing to center women, center minorities, make it less intimidating, make it more fun and empowering. This is incredible work that you're doing and we're so glad to have had this conversation with you today.
Speaker 1:Thank you for having me. It was so much fun.
Speaker 3:Don't forget. Benjamin Franklin said an investment in knowledge pays the best interest. You just got paid. Until next time, learn how to make them pockets grow.
Speaker 2:Financial freedom's where we go.
Speaker 3:Smart investments money flow. Thanks for listening to today's episode. We are so glad to have you as part of our Sugar Daddy community. If you learned something today, please remember to subscribe, rate, review and share this episode with your friends, family and extended network. Don't forget to connect with us on social media at the sugar daddy podcast. You can also email us your questions you want us to answer for our past the sugar segments at the sugar daddy podcast at gmailcom or leave us a voicemail through our Instagram.
Speaker 2:Our content is intended to be used, and must be used, for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment, based upon your own personal circumstances. No-transcript.
