ABOUT YOURSELF:
I’m a strong believer in renewable energy and moving towards a more sustainable living. I want to believe I’m here to make the world a better place.
ELEVATOR PITCH:
Wise Mobility provides the most actionable citation data and insights in the industry. We support the global shift to sustainable transportation and want to stop the wasted resources spent on snail-mailed citations. We’ve created a better user experience resolving citation-related issues. When it comes to reliability, the speed of resolution and cost efficiency there is no other company that can compare to Wise Mobility.
THE BIG IDEA:
Violation tickets aren’t handed to fleet drivers, they get mailed to the company. By the time the company like UPS gets the mail, months can pass, late fees will accumulate, the trucks will get booted and towed. A citation turns into a massive problem for a company. The idea is to find these tickets for the companies as soon as they are issued, instead of relying on the mail. If I can order a pizza from my Apple watch, why are we still waiting for the snail mail?
We started integrating databases in collaboration with the Cities. We contacted the Clerk of Courts, first here in Miami, and asked for the data feed containing information on all the tickets issued in that city. We created a win-win scenario for all the parties. Wise Mobility helps cities collect thousands of dollars for the tickets they issue, while the fleets get their problem solved at the 50% cost reduction. In addition, we remove stacks of paper – thousands of pieces of mail every month.
ON GROWING UP/LIVING IN MIAMI:
I was born and raised in South Florida. I received my BBA in Finance from Florida Atlantic University and went on to a career in renewable energy, financing large-scale solar facilities across the United States. For the past 5 years I’ve been living in Coral Gables with my seven-year-old son.
ON GENDER DISPARITY:
After school I got into trading, first, algorithmic energy trading, then solar energy. Before the political climate changed companies were getting substantial tax breaks if they invested in solar sites. My job was to structure complexed nuanced deals, to make sure the financial models made sense and the solar sites made money. At only 24 years old I was one of a few experts, who knew how to do these deals and, at the same time, the only woman in many conferences and meetings. Prior to getting this job I knew nothing about the solar energy, but I took time to learn. Sitting in the meetings with all the men, some older and with more experience, I realized that many of them weren’t necessarily smarter than me. That’s when it appeared to me there was no reason, I couldn’t do something on my own.
ON BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR:
As an entrepreneur you get punched constantly by bad financials, by deals that don’t work, by employees that don’t commit. You get kicked over and over again. All you can do is to learn to get up. It might be that my strength comes from the feeling that I’m not good enough for the work I’m doing. That insecurity drives me to be at my best every day. Eventually, little wins turn into big victories and then there is a day when your business becomes profitable. That’s when you finally get to think to yourself: “I can do it.”
ON WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT:
As the leader of a company and a single mom I’m always playing a zero-sum game. I feel like I have two children: my company and my son. If I’m with my son, I’m not with my company and if I’m not with my company I’m not with my son. There is always a sacrifice I have to make and things I miss out on both sides. However, I want to believe that my seven-year-old son is learning from this, I hope that he sees a successful independent woman in me and thinks that’s cool. As a single woman I’ve encountered plenty of men, especially here in Miami, who don’t like women doing their own thing, almost getting offended by their independence.
WHAT’S NEXT?
We keep growing across the country and have integrations in over 100 cities.