setting the scene
- millions of American immigrants work to support themselves and their families living in their native countries 💸
- to send money across borders, these individuals have two options:
- wait in long lines at the bank or post office and pay a large fee 💰
- use online money transfer platforms that are difficult to navigate and prone to scams 🙄
- this week’s company disrupts how people send money abroad by eliminating the wait time, large fees, and inefficient technology 💡
in a sentence
Félix is a tool that enables users to send money to LatAm countries
- tool: a WhatsApp chatbot that asks users the amount and recipient of the remittance
- LatAm: currently available in Mexico and expanding to other Latin American countries
bulleted version: similar to how a banker or post office clerk helps you send money abroad, Félix provides an automated chatbot that puts the experience right in your pocket 📱
the basics
- industry: fintech, ai, blockchain, remittances
- headquarters: San Francisco, CA 🌁
- year founded: 2021
- company size: <25 employees 💼
- investors: Global Founders Capital, Wollef, Switch, H20 Capital Innovation, Contour, Dorm Room Fund, The MBA Fund, Mike Levinthal, Jeff Flake, Luis Garza
- amount raised: $3.8m post pre-seed funding
- business model: $2.99 flat transaction fee + FX spread
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due diligence
what we like
- 📈 market: out of the $605b in remittances sent in 2021, ~$125b were sent to Latin America and the Caribbean, up 26% from the previous year
- 💪🏾 flexing on the competitors: Félix provides an inexpensive and easy alternative to banks and the postal service while maintaining the personalized experience missing from tech-enabled solutions
- 💬 WhatsApp: by reaching the target audience where they already are, Félix will be able to efficiently acquire customers and expand quickly to fit their needs
potential risks
- 📊 market players: for the past decade, money transfer startups have come and gone, but legacy companies have held onto a majority of market share
- 🔁 no recurring revenue: Félix earns a fee for every transaction, and the company’s revenue is reliant on consumer demand to send money
- 🥷🏻fraud risk: while Félix has developed a comprehensive security program to protect users from fraud, scammers have historically targeted online money transfer applications
weekly cartoon
founder profiles
- Bernardo Garcia (prev. @ Uber, McKinsey)
- Manuel Godoy (prev. @ MicroSilicon, BCG)
comps
why Félix: with 50% monthly growth, 60% retention, and positive customer feedback, Félix’s personalized and affordable solution for sending remittances hits its customers’ pain points on the money 💵
what do you think about this startup?we want to hear from you! |
