Founder’s Diary - Entry 1
Originally published on Substack
As I sit in bed, terribly sick with the flu, I decided I was still going to write something this week.
I committed to writing weekly. And I know myself. If I skip one week, it can easily turn into two… then three. There are only 52 weeks in a year. Best not to skip one.
(Welcome to the inner workings of my brain 😅.)
In my first blog post, The Origin of Endowe, I wrote about how Endowe started and how I planned to use this space to talk about “the numbers, the psychology of gifting, the environmental impact, and the generational opportunity in front of us.”
Every now and then, though, I’ll take a detour and write about my journey as a founder.
So here’s a mini update.
My team and I are a couple of months into building what you’d call a fintech company in the securities space. And it’s been… a ride.
We’ve hit some strange blocks along the way.
One ‘strange block’ was essentially:
“You need to have raised $1.5M–$3M before we even consider working with you.”
The problem was: we didn’t want to raise yet. Classic chicken-and-egg. No product, no traction. No traction, no raise.
Another was:
“Do you have expertise in this field?”
For context, I’m an electrical and software engineer. The rest of the team are software engineers too, some with fintech experience. But at the time, none of us had a Series 65, 7, or 24 license.
PS: For those unfamiliar, those licenses signal regulatory competence in the securities industry. It is essentially proof that you’re qualified to advise, operate, or supervise within highly regulated financial environments. In fintech, especially in the securities space, that matters. A lot.
That has changed. I now have my Series 65 license.
I’ve always believed this: where there is a will, there is a way.
So when I tell my team “it’s not rocket science,” what I really mean is this: Given time and the right information, you can figure almost anything out.
So if one path is blocked, there are a million others to explore. And that’s the spirit we try to foster as a team.
There is no “we can’t.” There is only “we’ll figure it out.”
Just to be clear: that doesn’t mean we don’t hit hard walls and occasionally get metaphorical concussions. We do. But it’s part of the process:
Trying together.
Failing together.
Getting back up together.
And the best: succeeding together.
And slowly, we’ve been figuring it out.
I passed my Series 65 exam.
We completed a friends & family round.
Those key steps have enabled us to move forward with the partnerships needed to bring Endowe to life.
So where are we now?
We’re planning a beta launch in April.
It’s really happening!
If you’re tired of receiving gifts you don’t want, need, or end up donating…
Or if you’d rather receive long-term gifts like stocks, ETFs, bonds, even crypto for yourself or your kids…
Endowe is almost ready 🤗.
With lots of love,
Your godmother Ada
