“I've got a passion for solving a problem that I think I can solve in a new way. And that maybe it helps that nobody has done it before as well.”
-- Pierre Omidyar, Founder of eBay
Einat has always been inspired by this quote from Pierre Omidyar, and his story as well as how he’s driven by the idea that change is possible given the right combination of insight, innovation, talent, and timing.
Einat Steklov is the CEO and Co-Founder of Kashable, a financial wellness company that offers socially responsible financing to employees as an employer-sponsored voluntary benefit. Kashable was created with the vision of transforming the way working Americans access credit. It works with employers to provide employees with access to low-cost credit to help bridge the financial gap caused by personal emergencies and other times of hardship. Kashable’s financial wellness program offers an intelligent alternative to 401(k) loans, credit cards, and pay advances.
"I came to the US as an immigrant from Israel and was unable to establish a credit profile with any credit bureau. Luckily, I met my business partner and co-founder Rishi Kumar, an immigrant who came from India to study at MIT. Similarly, he didn’t initially exist in the credit bureaus’ files. Through this shared experience, we realized that there must be a better way to underwrite consumers. Together, we decided to launch Kashable, a financial wellness company," says Einat.
As a fintech startup, Kashable’s work culture is very different from corporate culture. "Our team is close-knit, passionate, and collaborative and we’ve built a strong culture of respect and empathy. We’re a diverse, professional team that thrives in a fast paced environment to achieve one goal - bringing equity and inclusion to financial services." In addition to that, they recently started “Kashable Committees,” which are cross-department special teams working to accomplish our company-wide goals. "We have an events committee, a care committee, and a recruitment comms committee. From planning team-building events to celebrating employee milestones, our committees work towards furthering Kashable’s core company values."
Einat is proud to be impacting fintech because Kashable is a socially responsible financing solution for employees. "Kashable extends an important service to those left out of traditional financial services: access to affordable credit. We have developed a business model where, by partnering with employers, we underwrite employees based primarily on their employment data rather than relying on credit scores alone."
More on Einat
Where you currently live: New York, NY
Hometown: Israel
Favorite hobby: Biking in the summer and skiing in the winter or if I’m on vacation then scuba diving
Favorite part of your day: When the sun is out and I’m having my morning coffee
Favorite show to binge: The Big Bang Theory
Can you tell us about a time you take on a project you didn’t think that you would know how to do/or be good at?
As entrepreneurs, we’re always working on tasks and projects that we have not encountered before and need to quickly educate ourselves in many areas outside of our subject matter expertise. For me, the best way to overcome such tasks is to have a method of solving problems – I start with the big picture, making sure I fully understand the purpose, the goal and why we’re doing it. Next is to draw a mental path from the end goal to where we are and break it into smaller tasks. What needs to happen to achieve the goal? What is the timeline? Are we putting one block on top of the other or working in parallel? These are all questions I ask myself.
Daily Diary
Weekdays
7:30 am: Wake up and have my morning cup of coffee – enjoying the quiet start of the day
8:30 am: Check my emails and map out my priorities for the day; catch up on the daily financial news
9:30 am: Start my walk to the office (only if the weather’s good), which can be a real exercise
10:30 am: Arrive at the office for a busy morning filled with meetings and tasks that involve paying attention to a broad spectrum of matters from business development and new products to the people at Kashable
11:00 am – 12:00 pm: Management daily meetings with various teams
1:00 pm: Team lunch
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm: More meetings and phone calls
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Dedicated time to the tasks that require concentration and uninterrupted work
8:30 pm: Dinner with my family
12:00 am: In bed and ready to sleep
Weekends
Weekends are devoted to sleeping, eating, and replenishing everything that I missed during the week. From quiet time alone, cooking with the kids, and spending quality time with my husband to reading books and watching movies.
9:00 am – 10:00 am: Wake up
11:00 am – 1:00 pm: Breakfast with my family and time with my kids and friends
1:30 pm – 5:00 pm: Some sort of activity with the family: biking, walks on the beach, shopping, cooking or just watching sports together as a family
8:00 pm: Dinner with friends or with the family (sometimes a Broadway show if we find the time)
12:00 am: In bed and ready to sleep