HBCU Founders Accelerator Spring 2023 Cohort Spotlight: Meet Kiley & Ty’Lisha Summers from SpenDebt

In April, we launched the first cohort of the HBCU Founders Accelerator Program. Over the next several weeks, we’re thrilled to spotlight each of the teams, their founders, and their remarkable journeys. Up next, meet Kiley and Ty’Lisha Summers from SpenDebt!

Can you tell us a little about your background and what inspired your entrepreneurial journey?

Both Ty’Lisha and I come from very humble beginnings, single-parent homes, and challenging environments. However, we accomplished becoming first-generation college graduates in our family. As engineers, we started our professional careers with decent jobs. But with limited financial education and a lack of access to financial resources, shortly after graduation, we found ourselves in over $140,000 of consumer debt including student loans. With the traumatic experiences growing up and the thoughts of reliving our parents' generation, Ty’Lisha and I became debt free. Through our lived experiences of overcoming our financial hardship and sharing our experiences with others, we realized they needed help. GOD planted the idea in my head of helping people spend money and pay off debt at the same time.  We were our first customers of SpenDebt before we created the platform. We know if it worked for us, it could work for others. This was the beginning of SpenDebt. 

What problem is your startup solving and what inspired you to tackle this particular issue?

Consumer debt is seemingly an evergreen problem in the world today. Many people are living in and with debt for a number of reasons, mostly because of the lack of education and/or access to financial tools and resources. Additionally, 41% of companies are selling debt to debt collectors for cents on the dollar and writing off roughly 10% of the profits each year for uncollected accounts receivables. We were inspired to leverage our micropayment solution to solve this issue for a few reasons. One of the biggest reasons was the opportunities and possibilities that are afforded to people when they become financially healthy. On the other side, companies using our platform can now meet their customers where they are by providing them more flexibility and choice, breaking down larger payments into more bite-size payments. SpenDebt’s goal is to leverage consumers’ economic behavior to encourage positive outcomes and build confidence for anyone seeking to participate in controlling their financial journey.

What have been some of the biggest challenges you have faced while building your startup, and how did you overcome them?

To truly begin building our solution we needed a banking partner for payment processing. This was a major roadblock because we are not a money service business and we needed a financial institution for this execution. After pitching our business ideas, we were turned down by over 20 plus banks and processing companies before we got our first yes.

Like most companies, the pandemic slowed a lot of things down with our business but it gave us an opportunity to be strategic with our micropayment solution. With the support of Mastercard, SpenDebt was able to launch our B2B SaaS go-to-market strategy aimed at supporting companies in recovering outstanding payments from their customers every time they swipe their debit card or have a banking transaction. This go-to-market strategy allowed us to target industries such as utilities, telecommunications, healthcare/medical, and financial institutions.

Where do you see your company in 5 years? What impact do you hope to have?

In the next 5 years, SpenDebt expects to be a global financial technology company supporting consumers and businesses alike in achieving their financial goals.  The aim is to provide a friendly and affordable payment solution that people can use without having to change their spending habits. SpenDebt will be a payment option that compliments traditional payment methods and is widely accepted for bill payments in most industries.

How do you prioritize and balance your time and responsibilities as a founder?

As a founder leading an organization, there are always competing priorities and immediate challenges to address. We’re not sure there’s an exact science behind the approach we take, however, what we do for certain is put the customers first. The culture we are building is similar to a Chick Fil A model but with respect to fintech. 

What led you to become interested in Nex Cubed? What Nex Cubed resources or programs do you believe will be most helpful to you in launching your startup?

We are most excited about expanding our network and working alongside other world-class startup companies and founders. The capital investment is surely a huge benefit as well as it is extremely difficult to raise a round of funding as a black founder.

The Nex Cubed resource we believe will be most helpful is the dedicated advisors and mentors that have already blazed the trail themselves. Having someone that can help you navigate potential land mines and roadblocks with previous experience is advantageous and valuable.

What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs?

One piece of advice I would offer is to never count yourself out and never tell yourself no.  Always put your name in the hat and let others turn you down. Don’t turn yourself down by not applying for the accelerator program or pitch competition or making the sale. Always have an ask!

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned as a startup founder so far?

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned as a founder is to sell first and build second. Oftentimes we believe we must have a fully developed idea and solution before we can begin selling when in fact, we can sell the solution without it.

What advice would you give to other HBCU entrepreneurs around fundraising?

The advice I would give HBCU entrepreneurs who are seeking early-stage investment is to not put all your eggs in one basket. The data shows that black and brown founders are unfortunately highly overlooked at the early stage of investment. Instead, find alternative ways to attract capital such as accelerators, pitch competitions, grants, or early customer contracts. 

How can others find out more about your business?

We would love for you to follow us and our journey via social media (see below).  We would love to hear from you and have you as a customer, the first 30 days are free!

LinkedIn: @SpenDebt or https://www.linkedin.com/company/spendebt

Facebook:  @SpenDebt or  https://www.facebook.com/spendebt

Twitter:  @SpenDebt or  https://twitter.com/spendebt

Instagram:  @ITS_SPENDEBT or  https://www.instagram.com/its_spendebt/