Blink Mexico

Mendoza College of Business, University of Notre Dame

Industry: Fintech, Payments

Founding Student Name(s): Michelle Arandia Beltran (Business Analytics), Maria Rodriguez Contreras (Economics)

Brief Description of Solution: Blink is a payment platform designed to address the cash-based economy prevalent in Mexico, particularly among students. It aims to provide a cashless campus ecosystem that facilitates secure, fast, and accessible payments. Blink targets financially active students in Mexico City, offering a convenient way to manage expenses and make on-campus purchases. The platform promotes financial inclusion and aims to empower local businesses by increasing sales and providing better data insights.

Funding Dollars: $20,000 committed, pending partnership with the university

What led you to launch this venture? In August of 2023, I was wandering the streets of Hong Kong when I stumbled upon a woman selling fruit on the street. Feeling hungry, I attempted to buy a couple of pieces, but I soon realized that the only form of payment accepted was WeChat Pay, a QR-based payment method. This experience immediately sparked a thought about the millions of merchants in Mexico City, my hometown, who depend on the cash economy daily. As I researched the financial landscape in Mexico, I was inspired by how much a tool like this could help my country. With over 90 million Mexicans struggling to keep track of their spending, and more than 50% of those aged 18-70 remaining unbanked, there was a clear need for change. My co-founder also recognized a similar solution while in Indonesia, where cash-based economies and limited access to formal banking helped many people access financial management tools.

This shared experience across different parts of the world fueled our drive to create a solution that could address these challenges. It became evident that Blink could be a tool for empowering communities in Mexico and beyond, providing accessible and secure digital payments to those who need it most. Moved by this revelation, we envisioned a solution to bridge the gap between traditional cash transactions and modern digital payments, making it easier for small vendors and consumers alike to engage in secure, seamless exchanges. Thus, the idea for Blink was born—an innovative platform aiming to become the Venmo of Latin America. However, I knew that to make this dream a reality, I needed to start somewhere practical.

We went to the Idea Center at Notre Dame, which over the past year has helped us refine this ambitious vision. We drilled it down from broad financial inclusion to focusing on peer-to-peer payments, and now, to creating a cashless ecosystem within universities. By targeting student populations, Blink aims to offer a practical, scalable solution that can expand to support local businesses and eventually reach nationwide growth.

What has been your biggest accomplishment so far with venture? Very early on, I realized that this venture was not just about creating a technology solution; it was also about addressing the deeper issue of financial literacy, especially among young people. Many individuals didn’t know how to access or manage their financial resources, a problem that was all too prevalent in Mexico.

One of my biggest accomplishments so far has been participating in the Race to Revenue Accelerator at Notre Dame, where we designed an app to conduct usability tests. These tests involved a lot of strangers as well as people I knew personally. What stood out to me was how, after the tests, people would come back to me unprompted, asking about the process, the timeline, and inquiring for more information. This ongoing interest was a sign that we were addressing a pressing pain point.

Given the legal regulations and the complexity of the project, there were times when I felt like I was going in circles, tackling an issue many had tried to crack without success. However, seeing people get excited and engaged with the concept was the first signal that we were onto something meaningful—something that could genuinely help improve financial literacy in Mexico. This realization has been my biggest accomplishment so far, proving that our focus is not just on technology but on creating a solution that resonates with and empowers our community.

How has your business-related major helped you further this startup venture? My major in Business Analytics has been key in furthering this startup venture, especially when it comes to being smart about data structure and analytics. From the beginning, I understood that the key to helping both buyers and sellers wasn’t just about providing a payment platform; it was about leveraging data analytics to enhance their business operations and personal financial management.

This insight became increasingly important when building the schema (a schema is the framework that defines how data is organized in a database). Designing an effective schema for Blink required a strategic approach to collect, store, and process data in ways that would provide valuable insights for users. My background in Business Analytics equipped me to navigate this complex task, ensuring our data structure was optimized for both functionality and future scalability.

Additionally, my major has been invaluable in sorting through data from surveys and interviews. Throughout our user testing, we gathered significant amounts of information that needed careful analysis to identify key trends and user pain points. Thanks to my training in Business Analytics, I could break down this data into actionable insights, guiding Blink’s development to better meet the real needs of our users.

Which business class has been most valuable in building your startup and what was the biggest lesson you gained from it? The most valuable business class for building my startup has been Data Analysis with Python with Professor Sriram Somanchi. This class was crucial because it was my first exposure to working with extensive data sets. It taught me how to condense large amounts of information using pivot charts and illustrations to effectively convey my results.

A significant lesson I gained was getting comfortable with choosing the right format for data analysis in various scenarios. This skill has been essential in building Blink, as I frequently need to analyze survey responses, user behavior, and financial data to make informed business decisions. The class gave me the confidence to handle and structure data efficiently, which has been a game-changer for our venture.

What business professor made a significant contribution to your plans and why? Professor Mike Montalbano, who taught Foundations of Strategy, played an incredibly significant role in shaping my plans for Blink. He was my very first professor in college. From the start, he was tough on me—pushing me to be more professional, refined in my presentations, and hard-working. His guidance wasn’t always easy, but it was exactly what I needed. He taught me to be witty, bold, and most importantly, how to “fail forward.” I remember his words about not letting a bad grade or a mistake define me.

In his class, I had a semester-long project that analyzed the strategy of Crocs, introducing me to various strategic frameworks. This experience was eye-opening and showed me how to identify and understand competitive advantage—an essential concept that I’ve applied to Blink. Understanding competitive advantage has been crucial for Blink’s growth, helping us carve out a unique space in the market and ensuring that we build a product that truly resonates with our users. Professor Montalbano’s lessons have shaped how I approach challenges and opportunities in my venture, and his impact continues to guide me.

What founder or entrepreneur inspired you to start your own entrepreneurial journey? How did he or she prove motivational to you? The entrepreneurs who inspired me the most are my parents. They run a business exporting products from China to Latin America, and growing up, our home was filled with prototypes of all kinds. My siblings and I would test these products, turning our living room into a hub of creativity and experimentation.

What has always inspired me about my parents is their approach to taking calculated risks. They never hesitated to explore new markets or try out different ideas, but they did so with careful planning and a deep understanding of the challenges involved. Watching them navigate the ups-and-downs of entrepreneurship taught me that building something meaningful requires courage, adaptability, and a strategic mindset.

Most importantly, they taught me that in the low moments, it’s not just about how you get back up but also about who is helping you and who surrounds you. This lesson has been a guiding force for me as I work on Blink, reminding me to embrace risks while leaning on a supportive network to drive my vision forward.

What is your long-term goal with your startup? My long-term goal with Blink is to make a meaningful impact on underrepresented communities. While we are starting with college campuses, my vision is for Blink to go far beyond the university environment. I want Blink to become a tool that not only supports students, but also empowers the entrepreneurs and small merchants surrounding these campuses.

Eventually, I would hope for Blink to reach into broader communities, providing accessible, secure digital payments to small business owners and vendors who operate primarily in cash-based economies. By creating an inclusive platform that helps these individuals manage their finances more effectively, I hope to contribute to financial literacy and economic growth in areas that have long been overlooked. In the end, Blink is about building a bridge between modern financial solutions and the everyday lives of people who need it the most.

How has your local startup ecosystem contributed to your venture’s development and success? Being part of the Idea Center at Notre Dame has surrounded me with like-minded entrepreneurs, which is incredibly motivating, especially when things get tough. The energy here, with so many people working toward their own ambitious goals, keeps me going and pushes me to keep refining our vision.

Testing our concept both in Mexico and the USA has been vital in shaping our strategy. By gathering feedback from users in different environments, we’ve been able to refine our approach to better fit the needs of our target markets. This hands-on testing has revealed what works, what doesn’t, and how we can adjust Blink to have the most impact in each setting.

Also, given Blink’s focus on Latin America, we’re fortunate to have eight passionate students who have volunteered their time to contribute to the project since the summer. Seeing Blink resonate with them and their own countries gives me immense hope. It shows that the problem we’re tackling is real and that our solution has the potential to create lasting change. The support and insights from this community have been invaluable, reminding me that we’re not just building a product; we’re building a movement toward financial inclusion.

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