Social Impact Tech: Alexandra Navarro of Paystand On How Their Technology Will Make An Important Positive Impact

No matter what your technology is, for social impact, you must facilitate better collaboration between people. No one has a social impact alone or without communication and teamwork. As an example, while I was learning English in the United States I took a job working as a business account analyst for Queen’s Flowers, responsible for delivering fresh-cut flowers from overseas to stores such as Albertsons, Costco, and Safeway. I worked in close contact with quality control partners and eventually developed a system to project production and deliveries during high seasons such as Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. I could not have done it alone; the secret was empowering people all along the line to report and resolve problems.

In recent years, Big Tech has gotten a bad rep. But of course many tech companies are doing important work making monumental positive changes to society, health, and the environment. To highlight these, we started a new interview series about “Technology Making An Important Positive Social Impact”. We are interviewing leaders of tech companies who are creating or have created a tech product that is helping to make a positive change in people’s lives or the environment. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Alexandra Navarro.

Alexandra Navarro is the Chief of Staff at Silicon Valley unicorn Paystand, a blockchain-based B2B payments company. Originally from Colombia, Navarro worked in senior leadership at two Bay Area nonprofits prior to Paystand, helping Latinas and Latin-American youth advance their careers in technology. An engineer by training and a career consultant, Navarro is the author/co-author of three books on achieving a work-life balance, inner strength, diversity and inclusivity.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?

Absolutely! I am originally from Colombia. My father (a successful dental surgeon) encouraged me to change the world through innovation. I majored in engineering at the Universidad de La Sabana.

I was only 15 years old when I graduated high school and one of the very few women in my engineering courses. It was easy to feel out of place, but I was dedicated to my dreams. After graduation, I became the automotive claims director for Allianz, an international insurance company headquartered in Germany with offices in Colombia.

When difficult circumstances in Colombia threatened my career and my future, I made the decision to immigrate to the United States at only 25 years old to start again. This was not the “golden ticket” some would imagine. I didn’t know enough English to work in my field of engineering, and I was overqualified for other jobs. I persevered, becoming a Business Account Analyst for a major floral importer, and eventually started my own business.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I have many exciting stories, but for me, it was incredible working at Digital NEST, a San Francisco Bay Area non-profit that connects Latin-American youths to a technical skills-building community. During the pandemic, I truly discovered just how digital transformation affects our society by leaving underrepresented communities behind. Through Digital NEST I had the critical yet inspiring opportunity to help these communities through technology.

The pandemic forced many local businesses in our district to take their operations online, something that many small business owners did not know how to accomplish. At Digital NEST, I started a project called @831 (our local area code) where we created an online business directory for our community, enlisting the young people at DIGITAL Nest to help bring local businesses online. In six weeks, with $100K in grants, we matched small business owners with youth who trained owners on technology, Google, and small business development. Our efforts earned $230K in revenue for our organization, showcasing how technical skills make a big difference in the real world.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Doug Erickson, executive director at Santa Cruz Works, helped me to overcome my doubts about moving from the nonprofit world to the for-profit. He gave me a push and made me realize that my skills were valuable for every company and that I could help make a difference in the private sector as well. This advice was extremely important as it helped shape the direction of my career. Since joining Paystand, I am able to continue to carry out my life purpose of helping underrepresented communities through blockchain and finance.

I am so proud I made this career move, and I am grateful for his guidance which helped me move forward in my professional and personal journey.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

My life lesson quote is to “Turn any problems into opportunities and to think outside the box!” When someone misunderstands my role, for example, it’s an opportunity to help them learn what a Chief of Staff does.

For anyone who is unfamiliar with the term, a Chief of Staff is a member of the C-suite. As Chief of Staff for Paystand’s CEO, I am responsible for helping our CEO (as well as other Paystand executives) set goals and objectives for the organization and bring people together across international boundaries.

Understanding what I do is a critical learning opportunity for the other executives and myself. We must continue to break barriers so new voices and values can have a seat at the table. A title doesn’t define me, but I am working hard to achieve my dreams and help others so that they can do the same.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Certainly. A key trait for a successful chief of staff is enabling and empowering the incredible people you work with. The whole organization benefits as a result! It’s also important to encourage collaboration because we can achieve more when we work as a team. My most memorable example of empowering others was while I was working for Allianz Insurance in Colombia. When car thefts increased in the country due to political and military activity, I was promoted to car insurance claim director of the car theft division.

I worked with my team, some of whom were not happy and who were worried about layoffs. I focused on instilling values and unleashing their maximum potential. Once the team was solid, we went even further, accomplishing company goals and being named the №1 team. I even received an award from the company’s management in Germany. Most importantly, my leadership had a huge impact on my team’s work ethic and personal lives that I hope follows them into their futures.

Another important trait of being a successful business leader is follow-through. You have to be able to (1) define a vision, (2) turn it into a plan, and 3) execute it! For example, with the cultural transformation that we are undertaking at Paystand, we started by redefining our approach as a team (transforming our values to focus on our impact) and then leading the company fearlessly in that direction.

The last important trait for any successful business leader is accountability. This means showing up and setting out to accomplish the things you’d said you’d do. It’s about taking personal responsibility for your work. It’s also trusting in your teammates and knowing you can count on each other to get things done. During the pandemic, the Pajaro Valley Union School District asked me to create a graduation ceremony for 1,200 students that could be held as a virtual event that people could attend online. I successfully achieved this task in five weeks, and this event gathered more than seven thousand people from all over the world. Being faithful to your commitments often leads to more success and new (and bigger) responsibilities.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about the tech tools that you are helping to create that can make a positive social impact on our society. To begin, what problems are you aiming to solve?

First, I would like to mention here the disadvantage felt by many millions of people who don’t have access to bank accounts or credit cards. These people can’t make international transactions or receive money from their families electronically.

Another of the most crippling effects of our legacy financial system today is the fees. Small businesses can send an electronic email message at no charge; in contrast, an electronic financial transaction (accepting a credit card) can easily cost them 3% of their profits and take days to complete. (Remittances are even worse, costing between 6–7% on average.) In particular, businesses that complete large transactions must choose between losing profits and accepting payments using non-digital means (such as paper checks), which require additional overhead to process, and a longer wait for cash.

A final problem is that our legacy financial system is vulnerable. As the great recession of 2008 and the recent Silicon Valley Bank collapse have shown, we can’t trust that money that we’ve invested is going to be there when we need it. We need a more resilient option.

How do you think your technology can address this?

Paystand.org will support financial inclusion for underrepresented communities. Enterprising people who want to start a business should be able to do it, even if they are “unbanked.” That is where Paystand can help. We call this “democratizing finance.” What Paystand is creating is a fee-less, Payment-as-a-Service network, based on the transparent architecture of blockchain. We compare our business model to a Netflix subscription: instead of paying per movie, customers at Netflix pay a monthly subscription for an entire library of entertainment options! Businesses save both money and time.

There are more advantages to digitizing money. For example, Paystand’s clients today can also automate much of their accounts receivables. We integrate with leading ERPs such as NetSuite and Sage Intacct. Different technologies we have include dynamic discounts (incentivizing customers to pay early), a smart lockbox (to move paper checks to digital), and treasury management (helps route incoming money intelligently to withstand bank collapses, etc.)

Our CEO, Jeremy Almond has said that “blockchain is the new cloud.” When we think back to where the Internet was 15 years ago and where it is today, as well as how far cloud technology has come, it is easy to envision how blockchain will transform the finance industry, allowing everybody to change their current economic situation with fewer fees and a less complex digital process.

As an example of how quickly this kind of technology can spread when the opportunity is provided, in early September 2021, El Salvador made Bitcoin a legal currency. By October 2021, Forbes reported with great surprise the president’s assertion that 46% of the country’s population had already downloaded the government’s sanctioned Bitcoin wallet. By comparison, Statistica reported that in 2021 only 36% of El Salvadorians had bank accounts.

Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?

Yes! An enormous inspiration for me is seeing the Bitcoin project in El Salvador, where cities are rolling out digital currencies and experiencing incredible revitalization as a result. The key is how money (specifically Bitcoin) circulates in a transparent way. Everyone has a digital wallet, and whether the price of Bitcoin goes up and down on any given day, the important thing is that people are able to transact with each other, and they don’t have to “pay the middleman.” This digital economy is creating more jobs and educational opportunities in El Salvador. Not only that, El Salvador is becoming the model case study for other economies that want to go digital in places like Guatemala, South Africa, and hopefully soon Colombia.

At present, I am working on a whitepaper for our latest project, the Paystand Foundation. The Paystand Foundation project aims to turn finance into a more decentralized industry, positively impacting underrepresented communities. On the one hand, we aim to partner with nonprofits that promote economic opportunities for underrepresented groups, starting in the Bay Area where we have our headquarters. We also want to expand financial education and inclusion across Paystand’s network to Latin communities in countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia, and Panama, to help them achieve some of the success that has been realized in communities in El Salvador.

How do you think this might change the world?

Can you imagine buying coffee from the grocery store in two years, using bitcoins? This is already a reality in places like El Salvador. I believe that blockchain has the potential to transform whole industries such as entertainment (making sure that artists get traceable royalties for their creations, for example).

Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

Blockchain technology enables decentralized finance or DeFi. As a “distributed ledger,” it offers a very high degree of security and traceability. The downside is that it can be hard to regulate since it can offer anonymity.

Think of it this way. When I transact money through a bank or credit card (centralized finance) I have to provide my real identity and prove that I am who I say I am. (This is why identity theft is so serious!) But I can participate on the blockchain without revealing who I really am. While this provides legitimate financial opportunities to unbanked people, scammers and criminals can also get on board.

The blockchain has the advantage over centralized finance because the technology has many different servers making copies and keeping track of every transaction — servers that must agree by 51% — so it’s more difficult to commit fraud. At the same time, you don’t always have a way to know if the person you’re transacting with is dependable in real life.

Here is the main question for our discussion. Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five things you need to know to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact”? (Please share a story or an example, for each.)

Here are the five things that I believe you need to know to create technology that can have a positive social impact:

1. First, having a positive social impact through technology doesn’t always mean you have to invent something new. Sometimes it means helping more people get access to technology that already exists. During the first two months of the pandemic, for example, the youths at my nonprofit Digital NEST were able to help to bring more than 200 small businesses onto an e-commerce platform to help them survive the lockdowns. E-commerce is not a new technology, but getting online was revolutionary for these small businesses.
2. Second, technology is only as good as the people who manage it. Good technology can be used for bad purposes. That is why if you’re creating technology that can have a positive social impact, your own company culture has to maintain high ethics and integrity. A simple example of this is social media. A technology that is used for the free exchange of ideas and social connection can also be used to spread disinformation and even incite violence. No matter what your technology is, pay attention to how it is ultimately being used!
3. Having a social impact through technology means seriously asking the question, “Who does not have access to this innovation, and how can we get them access?” One of the reasons that Paystand is built on the blockchain is that we want to provide financial access to disadvantaged communities here in the United States and in LATAM who don’t currently have banks and credit cards. Building on the existing financial infrastructure would not resolve their barriers to access. On the other hand, participating in decentralized finance requires nothing more than a personal smartphone, something that many unbanked people can get.
4. No matter what your technology is, for social impact, you must facilitate better collaboration between people. No one has a social impact alone or without communication and teamwork. As an example, while I was learning English in the United States I took a job working as a business account analyst for Queen’s Flowers, responsible for delivering fresh-cut flowers from overseas to stores such as Albertsons, Costco, and Safeway. I worked in close contact with quality control partners and eventually developed a system to project production and deliveries during high seasons such as Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day. I could not have done it alone; the secret was empowering people all along the line to report and resolve problems.
5. In order to be successful long term, every social impact technology also needs a plan to train leaders to take the vision forward. My work in the nonprofit Digital NEST helped young Latin Americans develop technological skills that they can now use to lift up their communities. That’s very different from sending in experts who could have provided crisis-driven technological assistance and then left. When it comes to lifting people up through technology, they must be taught/enabled to use it themselves for lasting effects.

If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?

Every opportunity you have is a chance to lift someone else up. Technology is a powerful tool to help people live better lives. It’s not just what we build that’s important, it’s (1) why we build it and (2) how we make it accessible to others that counts.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Michelle Obama is my hero. Someone who creates social impact and makes changes.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandranavarro1/

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.