Michelle Dear of Tandem on empowering couples’ financial lives together

Describe your business in a few words:

Hi Entreprenistas! I’m Michelle, the Co-Founder of Tandem, the easiest way for couples to share expenses. Tandem is an iOS app that eliminates the back-and-forth of Venmo without the need to get a joint account. Our mission is to empower couples’ financial lives together.

What was your background prior to starting your own business?

My career leading up to founding Tandem was spent in private equity investing.

Did you always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?

Yes! I’ve always admired people that acted on their ideas and turned them into something more.

Take us back to when you first launched your business, what was your marketing strategy to get the word out and did it go as planned?

We planted a lot of seeds to get the word out and gather our first few hundred sign-ups. I personally got on the phone with 100 or so people to ask them questions and get them to join our beta group. This led to many referrals, which was awesome to experience, but it was absolutely a grind!

What is the accomplishment you are the most proud of to date?

When our users message us that they love our product and it has made their financial life easier as a couple, I feel like we are doing our job and accomplishing the ultimate goal, which is to help couples.

Do you believe in work/life balance? What are some of your best tips?

I do and it is something I have struggled for a long time to achieve. When trying to build something big, it is so easy to let work slip into all other aspects of life. I sacrificed things like working out because I thought I was too busy. I realized that if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything. So now I force myself to take time to be healthy (physically + mentally), whether that’s a morning workout, making a good meal, or spending quality unplugged time with family and friends.

What have you achieved recently that you’d like to celebrate with our community?

Our team is expanding! We recently hired our founding engineer, and he is fantastic.

What’s next for your business? What can we expect to see over the next few years?

We’re gearing up for a big App Store launch! Expect to see a FUN brand representing the modern couple and handling everything finance.

What excites you about being an Entreprenista League member?

I am thrilled to have found a community filled with inspiring women who have the ambition to take risks, build something great and leave the world better than they found it.

Learn more about the Entreprenista League and join today!