Fintech Founders: Eve Halimi and Anam Lakhani of Alinea

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We spoke with Eve and Anam (YC W '21) on the future of investing and Gen Z as a driving force for change. Some background: Alinea is a free, social investing app geared towards Gen Z that allows you to tailor your investments based on your interests and risk profile.

Read on (or tune in) to hear about Anam and Eve's founding story for Alinea started, their Y Combinator experience, raising as female founders, and their vision for the investment and financial services space. We especially loved hearing about what sets Alinea apart from other investment apps; the market may be bearish today but we're bullish on Alinea! 

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BE: I'm here with Eve and Anam of Alinea. So my first question is where did you come up with this name? Why Alinea?

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EH: It's a French and Latin word, it means to indent to a new paragraph. And so for us, it's always been about creating a new chapter with an investing that's more inclusive. So that's where it came from.

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BE: Lovely. And how did the two of you find your way into the investment and financial services space?

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AL: That's a great story. We were both studying economics, we had both worked on Wall Street, worked in different roles and sectors within finance, investment banking…

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EH: I did some sales and trading.

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AL: And so we were really familiar with the financial industry, but where we really struggled was investing, and finding where to start our journey.

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EH: And finding a community for investing

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AL: And having a community to empower you along the way. I mean, it's a long journey. There's so many decisions, there's so many ups and downs, and like anything in life, you need a community and a supportive system to get you through it. And that is what we were clearly lacking and saw that with our friends and classmates.

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BE: Yes, absolutely. And I know your company was started during COVID. So I'm sure that that's just been compounding the issues of not having that investment community or even people to discuss things with. So what has surprised you about founding a company during a global pandemic?

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EH: Actually we started it when we were in a classroom. So Anam and I became closer as classmates when we took an entrepreneurship class after coming back from interning on Wall Street our senior year. And we found ourselves really passionate about creating a community that was more inclusive and educational for people who had questions around investing, especially in crypto at the time. And this was in 2019. So the groundwork essentially for this started when we were at Barnard College.

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BE: Oh, lovely. One of my dear friends from home, went to Barnard as well, and she loved it.

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EH: Yeah, it's an amazing school. And it's so yeah, we hosted that same year after the class ended. We continued working on this because we just had a passion for it. We ended up bringing in 26 female speakers to come to Colombia to give a talk about personal finances, Blockchain, FinTech and so on. And, and we saw a ton of interest. A ton of people showed up to our conference that day, we had over 500 people come. And that’s when we knew we had something there. So eventually, we graduated, we had to make some money. So Anam went on to work in investment banking, I went on to work for a startup. But we still worked on it behind the scenes, and it was really during COVID, that things changed.

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AL: Yes. And I think you know, when you have time to really think and when you're in this remote setting, I think that was sort of our first intro to what remote work would be like, and it's actually efficient in a lot of ways. And Eve and I would brainstorm and we were thinking about next steps. And we had a lot more time to really think about: how do you get from an idea to a company? So that was a very interesting phase of getting Alinea off the ground.
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And we could not have done it and we're only here because of our community. I think every step along the way, we had our members to validate us and tell us they needed a product like that, they needed this community. And I think to this day, it’s what gets us out of bed. It’s knowing that you have a community that's only going to grow and expand and people need an inclusive investing community.

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BE: Definitely, I think inclusivity especially in the financial services space is going to be the driving force when it comes to Gen Z and the way they make their financial decisions. So you know, on that note, Gen Z is a growing economic force, and in the next couple of decades will become the dominant economic force. And they're already a driving force for change in the financial services industry. So what sets Gen Z apart in their investment strategies?

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AL: A lot. I can start. I think Gen Z's approach to investing is, first of all, completely different than previous generations. We grew up with social media, we have the most access to it. During the pandemic, that was most Gen Z's first intro and sort of introduction to investing and that was with Gamestop and with Bitcoin, with Ethereum, with crypto, so a very different entry point. The entry point is usually through social media, through crypto, like hype around cryptocurrency, so they're coming from a very different angle. Gen Z is also a lot more financially aware. They want to succeed financially, it's important to them, it's a priority. When we're constantly talking to our community members, it doesn't matter if they're 18 or 25, or 26. This is something that's a priority for them, and they want to get in line. And they want a community, they want help, and they want to start on their investing journey.

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EH: Yeah, I’ll add on that Gen Z's are also more socially conscious. So they want to invest in things that align with their values as well. But some of the things we've created on our app have been because Gen Z's have asked for it. So like fighting climate change companies, green tech, and LGBTQ+ founded companies or LED companies. And so yeah, we want to put our money where our mouth is, essentially, and invest it, not only to generate profit, but also to do better for the world.

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AL: And we're a lot more open than previous generations, we want to share our knowledge, we want to ask questions, we're open to sharing and having these conversations, which I think is particularly important for women, for minorities, for first gen college students, for anyone who was felt left out and not included, especially when it comes to financial literacy and financial empowerment.

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BE: And I think that, like you mentioned previously, the role of community there has become so much more empowering, because you no longer need to be in a physical place to have that community, you can go on Discord, or you can hop on Twitter and start meeting people with similar interests as you. And what's really cool about the work that you guys are doing is that you're making investing a more community-driven place, which is, you know, I think going to be a game changer for Gen Z, particularly in the generations to follow. So now that we've covered what they're changing, what do you expect to see stay the same in the next decade or so in the world of investments?

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AL: We don't get that question often.

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EH: That's a great question.

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AL: So great question, because we are always asked questions around what's going to change or what's going to happen, but I think what's going to stay the same is well Warren Buffett said this. He's like, “don't invest in a company, you do not understand.” And I think this is going to be a broader statement across like, don't invest in an asset or a company, you do not understand. And I think that's going to apply more and more to especially new and incoming ambassadors, and something we're really doing on Alinea’s platform is educating. How can you teach people? How can you familiarize our community members with what's a good investment? What's a riskier investment? How do you assess, how do you analyze? And I think, you know, having that knowledge and being able to invest with knowledge is something that's here to stay, and it's going to be consistent.

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EH: Yeah but I also think that a lot of financial literacy that we lack today is going to continue, unfortunately. I think it's a very big challenge. But I think schools and colleges and universities are not going to make much of an effort to bring in financial literacy as part of the way you're going to learn, and so that's something that I still continue seeing and I think will continue over the next decade.

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BE: Definitely, I think, like you said, as long as people don't have that education and continue living paycheck to paycheck, it's so difficult to break that cycle without, you know, education or outside forces intervening. So you know, all of the work that you're doing is very value driven. And this seems like a very value driven company that you two are building. So even down to the “invest in what you believe in” motto that's featured very prominently on your homepage. How do you infuse your personal values into the work that you're doing?

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AL: Steve Jobs said, you know, empathy and focus are two of the most important things you can have. And so every time we're making a product decision, we think about okay, “how would a new community member feel if they saw this feature, or if they had to learn about a company that did perform this action?” So having empathy and thinking about the people who have been left behind, especially when it comes to designing and building investing products.

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EH: Yeah, we start our days constantly thinking about how we can do better and how we can bring more value. Because it's a problem we personally faced and we know millions of people are still facing it. So it's kind of ingrained in us and it's part of our day-to-day.

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BE: Absolutely. And you know, there are a lot of barriers to entry for women, for women of color, for basically all marginalized communities trying to enter the investing or the financial services space. What do you think the biggest issue is preventing women from this? I'm sure that you learned and saw some of this firsthand with your experiences at Barnard. But what do you think are the biggest issues that prevent women, specifically younger Gen Z women from entering the investment space?

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EH: Yeah, it's a few things. First, it's a lack of community. Guy friends are always talking to each other about like, “Hey, I'm in Tesla, invest as well, this is how you do it.” We don't have the conversation as much. And that's what we saw when we were in college. So it's that lack of space for teaching one another and for coming together to learn about things. And second is the lack of confidence. And a lot of minorities and younger women lack the confidence for even investing their coffee money into the stock market. So there's this big barrier, and when they do make it essentially there, they always say, “wow, that was so easy.” And so it's very interesting, what's always the same thing. And then, the third one is also that I think a lot of these apps that have been created, and these platforms that exist from eToro to Robin Hood, are very male founded and the products themselves feel like they have been designed and made for a specific audience.

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BE: Absolutely. And I think a big thing of what you discussed here is confidence. And trying to build that confidence, which is nearly impossible to do without community. How else can people build confidence in themselves to go ahead and make that initial investment?

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EH: It's learning. It's learning, asking questions, whether it's on Google or within the people around you, like family members, or friends, or teachers. But it's trying to learn and gather as much information as possible. And it's also allowing yourself to place a $1 investment. Today there's fractional investing so it's so easy for you to just literally input $1 into the stock market. And just making that step of putting $1 into Apple or into the S&P 500. And seeing how it grows or how it changes. So making that initial step is crucial for someone to learn. So starting with a low amount.

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BE: Starting small definitely makes it a lot easier to just put in $1 and lose 50 cents, than to put in all your savings, you know. So now what would the two of you say to other founders looking to break into the financial services or the investment spaces? Do you have any words of advice?

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AL: Just get started!

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EH: Yeah, honestly, Anam and I, ever since we graduated, we always kept a document with our milestones, our goals and our dreams. And we had quarterly goals as well as monthly goals. And we always try to keep up with it. Even till the day, we were going to quit our jobs till the day we were going to get into Y Combinator. And it's about having these small milestones, and getting to them, not just thinking that things happen overnight. So it's all about, as Anam always says, small steps.

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BE: Love that and so cool that you can both work together to keep each other accountable. So, expanding on that point a little bit, I'd love to hear about some of your experiences as founders in the space. But as younger Gen Z female founders and what fundraising has been like, because I know fundraising has been at record lows for female founders in this space. I'd love to hear about your experiences on that.

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EH: So many stories there. Yeah, I think the problem of confidence again, like a lot of the time, I felt like I was getting on calls and I lacked confidence that the male founder would have. And so it kind of disadvantaged me.

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AL: Yeah, I feel like as young women in our society in Western culture, always being told in some way or another that it's not good enough yet, like whatever you're doing, or whatever you're working on. I think we constantly have this narrative like it's not good enough. We're a lot more harsh. There’s studies on it. And I think for fundraising, especially when you're trying to sell your vision and your dream, you have to really believe in yourself and have so much confidence.

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EH: And be aggressive. You have to be aggressive.

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AL: Assertive almost, and convince someone that you're capable of running a billion dollar company. And that's really hard to do. And it's not because you don't believe in yourself, but you're afraid that you're going to be too aggressive or too assertive or too delusional. And so it's almost unlearning that I'm sure.

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EH: It was also a lot of not having that many role models to look up to, right, we don't have that woman to look up to that have done something like this or that have successfully shared their story about how they went from zero to one. And so you kind of feel like you're alone, we don't have any. We don't have any male

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AL: There’s some great female founders but there's no one we can call up and say, “how did you do this?”

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EH: There was no one we could go to for advice as well. None of our friends were going through it and no one was really helpful. And even during Y Combinator, the amount of female founders that were participating in the program was extremely low.

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BE: Definitely, yeah, I think you know, a lack of women in the space, a lack of diversity in the space only holds everyone back, right? Because you're losing out on a whole segment of the population that has a voice and has stories to tell. So the more that people can do to mentor women like yourselves, I think the better. Do you do you have role models? Or do you have mentors that you can go to now? And who might they be?

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AL: We have amazing mentors, Ashley Aidan, she’s super poppin’ in the VC world. She's great. She's been one of our earliest supporters from day one.

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EH: Yeah, I would say Ashley Aiden has been like the number one role model and mentor, the person we can go to and pull up that's going to help us with pitch practices, that's going to give us that boost of confidence when we need to. But it's extremely rare, unfortunately, and even within our own circle, like there just hasn't been that many female investors and female mentors that we have been able to turn to.

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BE: Yeah, absolutely. And what does your investment path moving forward look like? When are you hoping to raise your next round? And how is that going?

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EH: Yeah, so we have raised enough in the bank essentially, for the next two years, but we are going to be raising soon. So stay tuned.

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BE: Excellent. That's great to hear. Two years of runway must feel very good to have. How many employees are you at currently?

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EH: 10 full time employees.

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BE: Okay, and so everyone's in the office coming into work locally?

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EH: Yes!

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BE: And do you have any support from Y Combinator or any mentorship that comes from them? How is that community?

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AL: So supportive. Honestly, one of the most active communities I think I'm part of, everyone's super helpful. We always have office hours with our partners, we always email them so it's been a great relation, great connection.

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EH: They also always are helpful with your next fundraise round, they have all these incredible resources for, for pitching, for investor databases, all that stuff. So they're, they're incredibly helpful through the whole process

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BE: That's great to hear, it must be really helpful to have such a community like that. Do you have any advice for future founders looking to go into Y Combinator?

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EH:  And just reach out to a ton of people who have done Y Combinator, don't be afraid to ask like Anam reached out to like over 50 Y Combinator founders, to review our application and got people to help us with the interview. And that's how we got in in the first round. We just were prepared. And we knew exactly what the process looked like. So yeah, Anam was never afraid to go out and ask, and that pays off.

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AL: Everyone should do the same. Don't be afraid to ask.

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BE: Definitely, your network is your most powerful tool. So we're coming a little close here on time, but just to wrap things up. So you're both in executive roles as co-founders of your company, and what is the hardest part about building your team and motivating your team, especially now that you're in the office and you're having to do that every day?

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EH: I think it's actually easier to motivate a team when you're in person seeing each other talking about different things.

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AL: I think the hardest part of any of this isn’t motivation. We have an incredible team. They're all super passionate, they really believe in the mission and what we're doing. That's not the hardest part of our day-to-day, I would say. I think the hardest part is always prioritizing when you’re an entrepreneur and getting your priorities in order because there's so much you can be doing and you have to say no to so many things and I would also say, there's just not enough hours in the day.

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EH: That's the problem. That's the number one problem.

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BE: Not enough hours in the day! So final question here, 5 to 10 years from now, what are your visions for the company?

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AL: Yeah. We really want Alinea to be the financial company for Gen Z and beyond. I think there's so many ways our generation isn't being served or is being underserved. And there's so much we can do even beyond investing to make sure we're empowering, you know, the most diverse generation financially.

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BE: Definitely and thank you so much for your time today.

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Loved this interview? Read more interviews from our Fintech founders & leaders series here.

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