Female Fintech Founder Challenging Male-Dominated Industry to Change the Narrative Around Money

Photo Credit: Maia Monell

After spending twelve years running multi-million dollar development programs in sub-Saharan Africa for marginalized populations, Erin Papworth, MPH, returned to the states to become a two-time entrepreneur and founder of a fintech start-up called Nav.it that helps young earners improve their money management through AI, behavioral psychology, and behavioral economics. Erin’s mission is to change the narrative around money and increase financial health through personalized technology, community, and financial road mapping.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

I spent twelve years working in international development, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. During that time I worked in economic and financial systems that dramatically reduced people’s ability to create intergenerational wealth. When you have a limited rule of law, financial systems don’t loan money, provide credit, or support populations in their quest to build businesses or grow wealth. Equally, I lived in many countries where women (half the labor market), weren’t allowed to own personal property or access financial markets because of their sex. 

What inspired you to start your business?

When I moved back to the U.S. after a decade-plus abroad, I became passionate about dispelling the negativity around this country’s financial system. I wanted to create opportunities to take advantage of it as adults and change the narrative we have around money.  

Where is your business based?

We are a remote team but I am based in Seattle, WA  

How did you start your business?

I was lucky to be able to self-fund initially and raise a friend’s and family round. I already ran a consulting firm for the work I did in international development, so it didn’t feel like a major leap to start another company. In hindsight, it was a completely new industry but I am so glad I made the leap. 

What were the first steps you took?

I made some pretty big decisions. First, I decided on company ownership, the type of company I wanted to found (LLC, S-corp, C-corp), got an accountant and registered the company in the state I was living in. Then I started researching the industry and my target consumer base while launching a hiring process. 

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

I can’t say there is one thing. Overcoming my fear of the camera and promoting Nav.it through writing, social media, podcasts, and speaking engagements has been key to building brand awareness. Obviously, networking and engaging in partnership with like-minded creators and businesses has helped us build a network of amazing partners that refer people to us or help us promote our brand. 

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

Fundraising and having enough capital to achieve our goals have been our biggest challenges. Only 2.3% of VC funding went to female founders in 2020, which means we have been competing with a very large playing field for only a small sliver of the pie. We have been able to successfully raise the capital we need, however, I realized early on that our path to fundraising would largely be through non-traditional institutions like social impact funds, Angel investors, strategics, and mission-aligned funds. 

How do you stay focused?

In truth, as a founder, it’s sometimes hard to focus, as every aspect of the business requires your attention. I periodically check in on my schedule and where I am placing my energy. There have been some seasons that require me to be in the details of a particular departmental activity and other times where it’s been appropriate for me to delegate to our amazing teams and let them run with projects. The role of a founder is to set direction, hire, support, ensure the lights stay on, and represent the brand. Hiring amazing team members who you trust significantly helps you orient your focus and manage your time. 

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

Our focus on financial wellness and paying attention to your mindset as part of a healthy lifestyle is really the differentiator of Nav.it. Our journey has been an evolution, but one always centered on changing the narrative around money for the Gen Z -Millennial generation.

Our generation truly has a unique financial experience and outlook. Women now make up a substantial part of the workforce and can access higher education and careers like never before. LGBTQ individuals can marry. Those factors mean the family structure has shifted and dual-income households, childcare, and cost of living are nuanced and different for us. At the same time, student loans have ballooned and credit cards targeted at young people have created a heavy burden of debt for our generation. Many of us came into the labor market during the 2008 crisis and now we are experiencing a global economic crisis in the middle of our key earning years.

Finances were not taught in school and our confidence is low because our literacy rates are pathetic. The financial system greatly benefits when there is fear or a lack of understanding. We believe it’s time for this generation to take ownership of their relationship to money, become confident in their capacity to navigate the financial world and start building wealth.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

We love highlighting user-generated content from the app and across social spaces. It’s great to meet the consumer where they spend their time and reminds everyone outside of our platform that it’s ok to talk about money.  

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Make sure you’re passionate about your product or company. It’s the passion that will sustain you when it feels like there is no end to your suffering or the weight of the world is on your shoulders. Also, you have two superpowers that you must pull on daily as an entrepreneur. The first is your intuition. Never underestimate the power of your gut feeling. It is your intuition that sets you on an entrepreneurial path in the first place. The second is your intellect. That is your reasoning ability - the way you plan and manage teams, your vision, your strategy, your ability to learn, and your saleswomanship. Intuition sets your course, intellect calibrates and propels you forward. You need them both to succeed.  

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

I listen to dozens of podcasts weekly as I go about my day. Some favs are The Vox Pivot podcast for tech news, Freakonomics for in-depth reporting, the NYT Daily and NPR for news, and the Slate Amicus Brief for the legal debates of our time.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

For our internal company, we use Slack religiously. I think it’s a great working tool for remote teams. We’ve also implemented company-wide monthly Happy Hours, Opposite Days, and Wellness Days to help maintain company culture while working remotely.

Who is your business role model? Why?

I definitely would not be where I am today without my parents. I was raised by my father, my mother, and my stepmother who came into my life at the age of nine. Each one brought extraordinary lessons and support to me in childhood and at various times in my adult life.

My father was an entrepreneur who exemplified the hard work and determination it takes to run your own business and create innovative products in the market. He also gave me a sense of humor, which is invaluable as you move through all areas of life. My mother was a supporter of mine in the best way possible, only marginally balking at my desire to work in war zones in my early 20s and visiting me in the most remote places of the world.

She also taught me empathy and the value of service to others. My stepmother rounded out my incredible education by providing my very feisty and high-minded adolescent self the blueprint of a woman who had fought for what she believed in and achieved professional success against all odds. She taught me the history of women’s rights and how it was only her generation that gained access to Ivy League education, birth control, labor markets, and financial credit on their own merit. She taught me how systems and laws dramatically impede or cultivate the economic success of women, children, and thus society as a whole. She also shared her love of travel with me, which has equally become a passion of mine as an adult. This opened up continents, cultures, and world history to me in a way that has shaped who I am today. I will be forever grateful for having this diverse parental structure that has allowed me to achieve the things I have today. 

How do you balance work and life?

That is a consistent challenge for any working American, and I think for entrepreneurs, it’s always an ongoing battle. I have definitely taken steps to prioritize things that I need in my life. I need travel, I need exercise, I need time to just play and relax with my son. All these things bring me joy. I’m pretty strict about setting time aside in the evening specifically for my family. I try my best not to answer emails or calls between when my son comes home from school and his bedtime. If there is something urgent I will pick it up after he’s in bed.  

I’ve also focused on meditation during this Covid crisis, which has helped me shift my energy, sleep, and mindset on a daily basis so I feel renewed for the next day. I think there is this assumption in America that to be an entrepreneur you always have to be stressed. I’ve learned that actually, I am a better entrepreneur when I find a work-life balance because I have more energy and headspace to bring to my company daily.

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

The past two years of Covid have really made me diversify all the ways I decompress. My number one way is exercise, preferably in nature, but a close second is my Peloton. The second way is to be silly and play with my son. The third way is to be creative or curious in a non-work environment. Sometimes that means cooking, art, or just listening to a podcast that has nothing to do with technology :-).

What do you have planned for the next six months?

We successfully closed a funding round and are now focused on growth. We have some exciting new features launching in Q1 and plan on growth! 2022 is going to be an exciting year! 

How can our readers connect with you?

I’d love to see you on our socials @erinpapworth and @letsnavit !