As one of the only Rhode Island-based companies to attend CES last weekend in Las Vegas, Flywallet and its founders Alejandra Fernandez and Thomas Negrit are looking to attract global partners to their travel startup.
Fernandez and Negrit started Flywallet while students at Emory University in response to a pain point experienced by its founders and millions of college students — the desire to travel home but the lack of funds needed to do so. With Negrit claiming French roots and Fernandez being from the Dominican Republic, finding and booking flights to visit family every year was a necessary part of their budget.
“We started Flywallet for ourselves with the logic that we could not be the only ones facing this issue,” Fernandez said.
Flywallet positions itself as a new point of entry in the travel sales pipeline. In 2018, the startup began providing a flexible payment method called "Book Now, Pay Later." From there, the company expanded to provide travel savings accounts that are accessible around the world.
“Our proprietary tech aggregates and updates flight prices so users are always prompted to stay on budget," Fernandez said. "We suggest trips based on ‘current amount saved’ for folks needing travel inspo.”
Fernandez said users can earn points on their savings from industry partners, such as airline rewards or other travel perks. Users can also share links to those who want to contribute toward their trip as a gift, or collectively save toward group trips with friends or family. Additionally, users can have their financial bonuses and incentives from work directed into their Flywallet account.
Last year, Flywallet debuted the Keyble, a wearable module that can be inserted into accessories like watch straps, bracelets and bangles. Keyble can store tickets for public transportation, passwords and payment cards. It also features biosensing technology to read users’ vitals and cardiac arrhythmias, Fernandez said.
Flywallet closed a pre-seed round of fundraising last year and are planning for expanded growth in 2022. Currently, there are eight members of the Flywallet team, but Fernandez said they’re always hiring.
“Our goal is to expose our success and secure a global partner to scale the business,” Fernandez said.
