Sure, the latest initiatives from the Teslas, Apples and Googles of the industry tend to dominate the tech news space — and with good reason. Still, the big guns aren’t the only ones bringing innovation to the sector.
In an effort to highlight up-and-coming startups, Built In is launching The Future 5 across eight major U.S. tech hubs. Each quarter, we will feature five tech startups, nonprofits or entrepreneurs in each of these hubs who just might be working on the next big thing. Read our round-up of rising startups from last quarter here.
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Cryptocurrencies are becoming mainstream. Exchanges — like Coinbase and FTX — are used by millions of people, banks are developing blockchain-focused products and even teens are getting in on the action with specialty platforms just for them. However, gender diversity remains a prominent issue with digital currencies.
Disporpriatly, men are more likely to own crypto than women, according to a recent study by Morning Consult. The report found that 72 percent of all crypto owners are men and only 28 percent are women.
There are a host of reasons for this disparity, but Kendra Cole says it’s in large part caused by applications that were created and designed by men, for men. With her startup, The CryptoMom App, Cole hopes to create a platform for women to grow their wealth through crypto.
Cole came up with the idea for the app during the pandemic when she was working from home alongside her husband, a CTO at a fintech company. She kept hearing him use crypto terminology and later started to research the subject. Eventually, she made an account for a crypto exchange.
“I hyphenate my married name, but that didn’t necessarily match one of my bank accounts, which you need to be able to verify your identity. So I had challenges even just getting onto the exchanges and then once I did get on, I just felt the [user interface] was not intuitive,” Cole told Built In.
With the CryptoMom App, Cole aims to solve the challenges she experienced and reduce the barrier to entry for women. To do so, she worked with women UX and UI designers to create an investing app geared toward millennial women. Cole said this included creating the app, condensing its UI into a smaller footprint to accommodate smaller hands and utilizing larger text and softer color tones to reduce screen fatigue.
Women need an opportunity where they feel secure in their investment decisions and can connect with other women who are on their crypto wealth-building journeys.”
The CryptoMom App also has a different investment strategy than other crypto platforms. Cole said the app is not an exchange platform that promotes fast trading. Instead, women use the app to purchase Bitcoin and allocate it into investment funds and accounts like a 529 education plan. Bitcoin purchased on the CryptoMom App can also be gifted to friends and family through the platform. Later in the app’s lifecycle, more coins will be available to purchase, according to Cole.
“Women invest in things that they understand and know. They buy and they hold for a longer period of time and that makes women much better investors than men actually,” Cole said.
Since founding the CryptoMom App, Cole has closed a friends and family funding round. The startup was also part of the inaugural AWS Impact Accelerator and received mentorship from industry leaders.
The app is currently on a waitlist but is expected to launch by the end of the year. For its initial rollout, Cole plans to target millennial women through web publications whose readership consists mainly of women and partnering with crypto education groups. The startup also plans to launch advertising campaigns with influencers.
“Women need an opportunity where they feel secure in their investment decisions and can connect with other women who are on their crypto wealth-building journeys,” Cole said. “We’re on a mission to close the crypto gender gap.”
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