Sheena Allen needs no introduction. She is one of the most promising young serial entrepreneurs. Sheena made it to the 2018 Business Insider Under 30 list and the 2019 Inc. Female Founders 100 list. She was a member of the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 list.
Sheena has a dual degree in Psychology. Over the years, she has delivered several lectures at conferences and reputable universities, including Yale and Texas A & M.
Accolades and Accomplishments
Sheena was featured in She Started It, a 2016 documentary that explores the startup journey of five women entrepreneurs. In 2017, she released her first book, the Starting Guide. The three-part book breaks down her entrepreneurial journey. Sheena offers advice to budding entrepreneurs on overcoming challenges they might face in the initial phases of their journey.
Sheena’s Entrepreneurial Journey
Her early business ventures
Sheena was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug at a very young age. She had her first brush with entrepreneurship in middle school when she started selling lollipops. In high school, she used to customize shoes with artwork.
Growing up in her hometown in Terry, Mississippi, Sheena saw her family and friends fall prey to predatory banking services. A single bank served the town. Many people in her community, including her grandmother, who used payday loans and check cashing services with exorbitant fees, preferred private lenders over the bank.
Sheela Allen Apps
Determined to make financial services and products accessible and affordable, Sheena launched her first venture-Sheena Allen Apps, a media-tech company in 2011. The app was designed to help users organize their finances.
This was a bold move as Sheena did not have a technology background. She designed the app in Microsoft Word herself and later partnered with a developer for her maiden project. The venture was a roaring success. The app achieved more than three million apps and counting).
CapWay
In 2016, Sheena became the youngest female in America to own and operate a digital bank when she launched her second venture, CapWay. CapWay is a neo bank (a digital bank with no branches). It offers a wide range of money-saving and financial learning products and services (including a debit card).
The objective of the app is to improve access to financial services. The app connects underserved millennials to America’s cashless economy.
Over the years, CapWay has raised millions. It is backed by venture capital industry heavyweights such as Y Combinator, Initialized Capital, Softbank, and Khosla Ventures.
How CapWay is Facilitating Financial Inclusion
There are several barriers that prevent individuals from creating wealth. The traditional financial system is riddled with problems. Banks charge high overdraft fees and have arbitrary requirements for opening a savings account. Many people who need cash quickly do not get any help from their bank. They fall prey to predatory lending services that charge high interest rates and often use unscrupulous practices to recover money.
CapWay aims to spearhead the financial inclusion movement. Over the years, CapWay has partnered with several schools, community organizations and employers to foster financial literacy. CapWay, through its app, ensures any new unbanked user opens a bank account. CapWay uses content to break down complex financial concepts and terms in a way a person without a finance background can understand.
The company has partnered with several influencers and money experts who regularly deliver lectures and talks on financial topics.
CapWay is ushering in a silent revolution
CapWay aims to break down barriers to financial inclusion. It provides the tools and opportunities that underserved individuals need in order to access financial services. The CapWay team has been working tirelessly to plug the gaps in the financial system.
Today, CapWay has hundreds of thousands of users. Over the years, the company has taken several steps to instill public confidence. The FDIC insures bank deposits for at least $250,000, which means if in the worst-case scenario, a bank collapses, depositors could rest assured that their deposits are safe.
CapWay debit cards boast state-of-the-art chip technology that allows users to turn them on or off for enhanced security. CapWay has an in-house support team that is available 24/7 to answer customer queries and resolve problems.
CapWay is committed to promoting transparency. The company collects user transactional data, but unlike many other players in the banking industry, it does not sell data. Instead, it uses user transactional data to highlight the problems that people in rural areas or areas with poor financial infrastructure face.
Banks have hidden fees. No wonder people are losing trust in them. CapWay has no hidden fees. When banking with CapWay, users have peace of mind knowing that they will pay only for the services they use.
Setting up a CapWay account is easy as 1,2,3. All you have to do is download the mobile app and you are good to go. There are no overdraft fees. Unlike many other banks, CapWay does not force its users to maintain a minimum balance. The app allows users to send and receive money and get paid early.
Users can use their debit cards to make online transactions. Every time a user uses their debit card to make a transaction, the round-up feature rounds up the transaction amount to the nearest dollar. The change is deposited into the user’s saving or investment account.
Users can set money goals and share their progress report with friends and family and even request them to make contributions to help them meet their goals.
Phunds-CapWay’s financial education program aims to teach people how to manage their personal finances. Schools, employees, and community organizations can partner with CapWay to teach the Phunds curriculum.
CapWay has done a commendable job of making financial products and services accessible to people untouched by financial services. The CapWay team is always looking for new ways to reach underserved populations.
Online platforms face several security challenges. Understandably, many people are hesitant to use them. To encourage more people to download the CapWay app and use its financial services and products, CapWay needs to invest in IT security to beef up its defense.