These longtime friends and entrepreneurs are launching a new merchant wallet, designed specifically to simplify how businesses get paid.
Bakari (Sencere) Smith and Austin Evans have transformed their longtime friendship into a tech venture. Inspired by Atlanta’s entrepreneurial scene, they launched Guala, a fintech platform that aims to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs and creatives in the micro-seller economy.
“Atlanta thrives off of entrepreneurship. I think how the community influenced me, it just made me always wanna help the people in Atlanta … So as it ties to Guala, that’s what our whole purpose is, to be able to help the new generation of what entrepreneurs look like,” Smith, chief marketing officer of Guala, told AFROTECH™.
Smith and Evans were entrepreneurs in their own right prior to starting the company.
In his junior year of high school, Smith launched a record label, eventually leading to a career as a music executive. He is also the owner of Platez Southern Kitchen, a restaurant that combines his passion for entrepreneurship with community and hospitality, according to his LinkedIn.
Evans was selling clothes while studying at Texas A&M University. He made $70,000 within three months, which led him to secure partnerships, including with CC Creations, a global collegiate merchandise retailer.
“I got a 30% royalty deal on the purchase price of the T-shirts … Every month they sent me a full itemized statement of my SKUs, my data points, and everything, and that was the first time I really saw what enterprise-level accounting looked like,” Evans, Guala’s CEO, explained. “So for me, it clicked immediately because I had been doing business in such an informal way. I couldn’t get a CPA to bank me. I couldn’t get access to loans, credit. When it was time to go get a mortgage, time to look at housing, I’m always having all this trouble reconciling paperwork. My solutions were fragmented.”
Entrepreneurs who have experienced a similar fate can now turn to Guala, which simplifies managing payments while creating financial records that can unlock access to capital and other wealth-building opportunities.
Guala
Users can say goodbye to toggling through various payment apps. Guala allows business owners to accept payments through one merchant wallet, organize transactions, and track revenue, according to a press release shared with AFROTECH™.
Payments will also be converted into financial records that can help founders access capital, housing, and broader economic opportunities, according to information shared with AFROTECH™.
Additionally, Guala will provide access to a credit line and loans and has partnerships in the works to support the infrastructure.
A standout feature for Desyree Nicole—Guala’s chief strategy officer who manages brand development, content, storytelling, and user experience — is the platform’s customer insights, which report on new and returning customers, as well as revenue growth.
Guala is currently available on the Apple Store.
Funding
Guala has been supported with $400,000 through pitch competitions, including Hustle Fund’s BatterUp, as well as accelerators, according to the press release.
The company’s vision has also attracted investor interest from Pinnacle Bank through the Generator program. That partnership provided more than funding, as Guala gained access to banking expertise and relationships, which have helped as they built products and formed connections with banks. Additional investment support includes funding from Halogen Ventures, led by Founding Partner Jessie Draper, which has expanded Guala’s networks and resources to help scale as a business.
Guala has opened its $3 million pre-seed round with a goal of oversubscribing, Evans told AFROTECH™.
To commemorate its launch, Guala hosted a party at Jaggers Suite Rooftop at the Moxy Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 31.
