Alphaa.io CEO & Founder Manuela Seve talks Women in Fintech
Recently named one of the most influential Latinas in the world by Bloomberg, Brazilian Manuela Seve is the co-founder and CEO of the US-based startup Alphaa.io.
Hailing from Rio de Janeiro, Seve is an Economics graduate from IBMEC who spent five years working with the former president of the Central Bank of Brazil, Armínio Fraga, at Gávea Investimentos.
In 2015, she began examining the use of Blockchain for authenticating art collectibles, and in 2017, developed the Alphaa.io API - a blockchain platform that addresses three problems in the space, namely authenticity, resale, and community building in various sectors.
Today, Alphaa.io has contracts to develop custom solutions for NBA teams. This includes a loyalty web3 platform that brings in-stadium interactions. It also has contracts with luxury brands, creating resale royalties, NFTs, and experiences.
We caught up with her to find out more.
What exactly is Alphaa.io? Can you describe it in a nutshell?
Alphaa.io is an enterprise Saas solution that enables businesses and creators to use web3 tools to solve for authenticity, resale, and community engagement across industries.
We are essentially, a salesforce for web3. We offer a complete tech stack with uncanny ease of use since we also build custom front ends for white labels. All our white labels include custodial wallets that are created in one click and are connected through a magic link to your email or phone number.
How does Alphaa.io differentiate itself in the marketplace?
Ease of use is at the core of alphaa.io, which seems a little counterintuitive when it comes to web3. That is why we have removed the crypto wallet from our process and all our white labels can be accessed through a one quick magic link custodial created and associated with the user’s phone number or email address.
We built the platform on top of microservices allowing us to be fully cross-chain. Our decentralised Saas approach empowers businesses and creators to organize their inventory of physical assets, customize their own smart contracts and add utility features necessary for their projects. We are doing for smart contracts what Shopify did for e-commerce: creating a utility solution that can be easily adapted and will revolutionize asset ownership.
How did you become interested in fintech - is there a story to tell?
My background is in finance, and I have always been interested in the ways technology can solve real-world problems and ultimately bring more efficiency to markets and users, which in my opinion is the whole reason fintech exists. It was only a matter of time before my interests, the creative economy and tech, all came together as Alphaa.io.
In 2015 I started to think about blockchain as a tool to change asset ownership. I began to develop the initial protocol for what is now Alphaa.io in 2017 with an incredible team of developers. Through our art and real estate licensing business, we learned about asset ownership and transfer and built a certification protocol fitting our own needs that we have expanded across industries. The rest, as they say, is history.
What were your personal challenges in breaking into fintech and launching a startup?
Needless to say, starting a business is an uphill battle - especially as a woman-run company in a male-dominated field. Since we started, we have never stopped fundraising, building the product and developing our technology. Generating the necessary sales growth momentum and growing the team is a massive challenge on its own. There are also a number of unseen challenges that came our way when we least expected them. The key to success is being adaptable and solving these problems as they emerge.
What would your advice be to young women today, who are keen to pursue a career in fintech?
Accept that you are in a male-dominated industry and use it to your advantage. Women have very different skill sets: kindness and multitasking here being key differentiating factors. There will be lots of rejection so stay strong and understand that it's not about winning, and it's about not giving up.
If you could replay your journey, is there anything you would change at this point? And if so, why?
I wouldn’t change a thing, the path I traveled wasn’t the easiest but it made me the person I needed to be to endure through thick and thin.
What can we expect from Alphaa.io going forward?
Alphaa.io will hit millions of users this year through several white labels with companies and sports teams, this obviously has massive network effects. We are going to do for blockchain mass adoption what Netscap did for the internet, integrating under one system regardless of chain millions of users that will be quietly brought into web3 without even knowing it.
What inspires you in fintech today?
Bringing efficiency to complex markets such as the creativity economy and creating more opportunities for fundraising with a direct focus on minorities.
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