Exploring Life & Business with Manuela Seve of alphaa.io

Today we’d like to introduce you to Manuela Seve.

Hi Manuela, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself. 
My name is Manuela Seve, and I am the founder and CEO of alphaa.io. I was born in Brazil and am now based in Los Angeles, where I have helped build a thriving, diverse community of female founders and funders. Growing up in Brazil, I was surrounded by strong and inspiring women, but society taught me that the expectation for girls was to aspire to be wives rather than bosses. I tried to conform and lived a seemingly “perfect” life at 21: I was married and had a job at one of the most prominent funds in South America, yet I knew I had a calling to do something more. My dharma was to bring opportunities to women and minorities so that they could aspire to grow up to be bosses, not just wives. So, one day, I quit my job, left my marriage, and started a company with the objective of leaving a positive mark on the world. Eventually, I found myself in Los Angeles, where I live today, and found my tribe. 

From the start, I have been inspired to democratize access to technology in the real world. Community building is key to my success, as well as the success of the projects and partnerships I take on. In 2017, my first trip to Burning Man completely changed my outlook on humanity and the power of connection, especially how technology can be used to accelerate this. This experiment in the desert brought out the best in people: they became collaborative, and the collective group was more important than the individual. From then on, I knew that my life would be about building community and providing tools for communities to really shine. 

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When I started my first company, I set off to raise an initial round of funding. I soon found an angel who immediately understood what I wished to achieve. We had raising nearly $500,000 at the time, but he thought we needed more capital and agreed to fund us for $1 million. Needless to say, we were very excited. Part of the deal was that the company would have to relocate to New York City, the most expensive city in the world. We came in the summer to meet him and finalize the deal. However, he delayed his trip several times, which left us stuck between hotels, friends’ apartments, etc., waiting for him. We moved six times until we received the first wire transfer, which, to our surprise, was only $20,000. We had planned and budgeted for $1 million, but we only received a total of $200,000 over the course of a year. Despite all of this, we persevered. We kept going, found more funding, and were able to move on without him. Looking back, it was a valuable learning experience. It would have been impossible to continue without a team who didn’t believe in the vision. 

Since then, I have gone on to found alphaa.io, was named one of Bloomberg’s 100 Influential Latinos of 2022, and have spoken at numerous panels, including at TechCrunch Disrupt, L’Attitude, and NFT NYC. Last year, I partnered with NFT Miami to develop an interactive game to highlight Web3’s lack of diversity at this month’s conference. This year, alphaa.io produced a wellness scavenger hunt during SXSW that brought together various health and wellness brands in an immersive and holistic day of talks, activities, and connection. While there’s still much work to be done in leveling the playing field for diverse founders, I find solace in the idea that my story can serve as a catalyst and a message to the next generation of women: it is possible to forge your path, start a business, and be your own boss. 

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Alphaa.io is a women-led tech company powered by blockchain. We have developed a tried-and-true formula to boost the brand’s community engagement powered by immersive experiences and cutting-edge technology. Our ESG-centric strategy prioritizes clients that are using tech to build a better world. As we build our client portfolio, we see the Alphaa.io community as influential in creating a better future, more focused on efficiency, social and environmental responsibility, and traceability. This year, we launched a worldwide Passport that uses our global network to connect major events with local brands, partners, and communities to boost foot traffic and awareness. We have also watched our fan engagement strategy take off via our partnerships across industries, and we have seen a huge potential in the sports industry. So far, we have created fan engagement experiences for NBA and soccer teams. Our platform allows teams to gamify the fan experience every step of the way. 

Our name comes from the financial term to generate Alpha, which means to generate a superior return in the same risk vs. return regression, aka the outlier. The “io” terminology pairs it with cutting-edge technology and represents a trendsetter that is changing the game by acting different with no fear of failing. 

What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions when you are starting out. Use the people around you for more testing and build an advisory board that won’t only build credibility but will also share past experiences they’ve gone through in their professional careers. Reaching out. to someone you admire with a personal message and a pointed question could save you years of trial and error. In my early years, I would seek the advice of those I admired, even if I didn’t always get a reply. Now, when people reach out to me with questions, I always try to get back to them with a thoughtful answer. I used to think we were selling a product, but I understand we are selling community and connectivity. Listen for pain points; is your product solving them? We adapted and built in a geolocation feature after multiple requests to include local attractions in projects, and that’s standard practice at Alphaa.io — start with the analog version, then automate and build the platform tool. This design thinking concept is a great way to not waste resources with things no one wants but the founders. Every crisis brings with it a huge opportunity; instead of talking about the ways in which you could fail, motivate your team to be creative and pitch crazy ideas that could be applicable to the ever-changing world. 

Contact Info:

• Website: alphaa.io
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alphaaio/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlphaaInc/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/alphaa-io
• Twitter: https://x.com/alphaa_io?mx=2
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/manuseve/

Image Credits
alphaa.io