Women Leading The Finance Industry: Melissa Pancoast of The Beans On The 5 Things You Should Do To Increase Your Financial Literacy

Money has always been thought of as a taboo subject — something that we keep to ourselves and don’t speak out about publicly, or even to friends or family. We need to detach this stigma and help people become comfortable learning about finances, how to use them to their advantage, and stop associating shame with factors like debt.

As a part of our series about “Women Leading The Finance Industry”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Melissa Pancoast.

Melissa Pancoast is the founder and CEO of The Beans, a financial care company that combines advances in machine intelligence and psychology to transform the way hard working Americans relate to their finances. Her previous work at the University of Oxford on a series of “Economic Strengthening” workshops is today being scaled by the UN, WHO, and CDC to more than 77 million families worldwide as a pillar in the global emergency response to COVID19 financial stress. Melissa has a Masters degree in Evidence-Based Social Intervention from the University of Oxford and a BS in Political Science from Stetson University.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the finance field?

As far back as middle school, I had my first eye-opening experience about the dangers of our country’s education system during a scholars program. Learning that the majority of students in my program came from affluent backgrounds and were mainly white, while the general ed classes were very different, inspired me to begin a career dedicated to education. I worked on staff at Teach for America, then as a fifth and first grade teacher, as an academic program manager for Row New York, and then moved to become a political director for StudentsFirst where I focused on laws that govern education quality.

I went back to school to study financial stress, which is the thread that runs through every issue in education, from students’ parents to teachers, to students like myself — I graduated from Oxford with my own crushing student loan debt. It was then that I felt the true brokenness of our system and saw the potential of making financial products that effectively support people making progress.

We know that people make seemingly irrational decisions about money all the time. I thought, what if we build with that in mind, and use it to help defend consumers’ own best interest. I moved to Silicon Valley to tackle financial stress for America’s teachers and build technology capable of helping people live their best lives. I founded The Beans which embodies the passion of the team, most of whom are former K-12 teachers, and our dedication to building financial products, experiences, and community for America’s Caring Class.

Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that occurred to you in your career so far? Can you share the lesson or take away you took out of that story?

When I was working at Oxford I spent some time in South Africa with our research team. The first trip to South Africa came with very little planning, I was in NYC visiting friends one day on a call with the team, and boarding a plane to Johannesburg the next day. There’s a lot of amusing things that conspired to make that possible, like having my passport fedexed from California to Atlanta where I picked it up on the way, and to the moment I picked up our team vehicle in Cape Town. When asked by my British counterpart if I knew how to drive on the left side of the road, I said yes, of course. I didn’t realize that I did not, and would learn how to do so, and how to drive stick shift, driving across the country at the helm of a huge Mahindra Bolero.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

The Beans recently raised $2 million in funding to continue developing our automated financial wellness and behavioral offering for America’s Caring Class who are those with steady income streams in professions, including teachers, nurses and social workers. We have also partnered with nonprofit organizations across the U.S. to offer free workshops and community-led initiatives to help people everywhere create personalized financial plans and ultimately alleviate the stress related to their income.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

I was fortunate enough to conduct research in South Africa, where we looked at ways to reduce financial stress for families who have been affected by HIV. My team and I developed a system of visual financial planning using household things like dried beans and corn. We picked beans because research shows that people score better on math problems when the “visual aids” don’t look like everyday currency. Thus, the name The Beans was born, which has helped me always remember our roots in science and in South Africa.

Ok. Thank you for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. Wall Street and Finance used to be an “all white boys club”. This has changed a lot recently. In your opinion, what caused this change?

Women continue to push the world forward through relentless leadership and fortitude. We are seeing more women in finance every day as the social fabric evolves, as more women have access to excellent educations, more exposure to finance from a young age, and as more men and women support and champion the careers of women. Through my own personal experiences, I’ve learned that growing and nurturing your network is critically important.

Of course, despite the progress, we still have a lot more work to do to achieve parity. According to this report in CNBC, less than 17 percent of senior positions in investment banks are held by women. In your opinion or experience, what 3 things can be done by a)individuals b)companies and/or c) society to support this movement going forward?

1. As individuals, I see women continuing to change the world through their never-ending, powerful accomplishments and that’s why it’s crucial for us to cheer on one another through our successes.

2. Companies can be more vocal about the desire to see progress. They can exercise power and influence to prioritize gender equality, whether it be by taking initiative on a public movement or partnering with other organizations to combine initiatives for a widespread impact.

3. Society as a whole needs to foster an inclusive society by continuing the fight for equal compensation practices and paid family leave.

Let’s now turn to a slightly new topic. According to this report in Fortune, nearly two-thirds of Americans can’t pass a basic test of financial literacy. In your opinion or experience what is the cause of these unfortunate numbers? If you had the power to make a change, what 3 things would you recommend to improve these numbers?

1. Money has always been thought of as a taboo subject — something that we keep to ourselves and don’t speak out about publicly, or even to friends or family. We need to detach this stigma and help people become comfortable learning about finances, how to use them to their advantage, and stop associating shame with factors like debt.
2. We are currently at a point in time that is a really important inflection point to start thinking about a financial plan. A financial plan empowers people to do what they love and it shouldn’t conjure feelings of restriction. Making our finances more visual seems intuitive, but few people use this method — which is actually better aligned to how our brains process information.
3. Financial apps, which are supposed to help learn and expand their money education, are actually full of triggers causing financial stress and embarrassment. Which begs the question — why would people pay for products that make them feel bad and that they don’t trust? With The Beans, we encourage users and give them ongoing support from nudges and other members in the money-life balance community.

You are a “finance insider”. If you had to advise your adult child about 5 non intuitive things one should do to become more financially literate, what would you say? Can you please give a story or example for each.

1. Have a plan. Having a plan for your money is the best way to make progress financially.
2. Have some savings. Establishing a solid savings balance helps your mind relax and focus on longer term goals. We often hear it has to be 3–6 months, but if you’re young, educated and single, the rule of thumb might just be one month’s worth of costs.
3. Spend in alignment with your personality and values. This one is obviously the most fun. Research shows that people get more joy from dollars spent on the things that align with their ‘psychological fit’ aka identity.
4. Be patient. Take time to rest, reflect, and clear your mind, it will make it easier to make strong financial decisions.
5. Start early and use the power of compound interest. Time in the market will let your money double, and double again. It’s valuable to illustrate this tangibly: if it were possible to fold a single piece of printer paper in half to double it, and then do it again and again 42 times, your paper would reach to the moon. How Folding Paper Can Get You to the Moon.

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?

During my time at Oxford, I had the great privilege of working with Dr. Lucie Cluver. She empowered me to build a team and develop the “Economic Strengthening” program to address the financial weight that families deal with. The Economic Strengthening program has been proven effective in reducing financial stress and abuse in families and has been shared with more than 77 million families around the world. Our work and the workshops we hold across the country are the inspiration behind The Beans.

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

I often tell myself: “I have everything I need”. It sounds a little strange to say, but it has gotten me through some really hard moments when I remind myself that I have everything I need to figure it out.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

My starting point is always education, fortunately there are exceptional leaders and organizations championing education access and equity around the world today.

The next step is connecting our spending with our values, and it will transform the world. When people feel the agency and security to choose, and can make informed decisions, we’ll see better labor practices, better environmental practices, and more access and inclusion at every level of the global economy.

At The Beans, we believe that everyone deserves a financial plan that connects their earning and spending with their values and ambitions.

Thank you for the time you spent on this interview. We wish you only continued success.