Office Hours: After spending 15 years in product leadership at Instagram, Capital One and Microsoft, I founded the fintech Ruby Money. I’m Angie Moody, AMA!Featured

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Hi Elphas!

I’m Angie Moody, Founder and CEO at Ruby Money – automated taxes & accounting for solopreneurs.

Previously, I was Director of Product at Instagram where I led the experience for small businesses. Prior to that, I spent 5 years at Capital One, leading the Innovation lab and consumer digital team. In 2019, I left the corporate world to work on my own terms. I am fired up about the future of solo entrepreneurship and my mission is to make it easier for more women to thrive working independently.

Outside of work, I enjoy being the mom of two girls, working on my tennis game and exploring the amazing natural beauty of my new (ish) home Charleston, South Carolina.

Ask me anything about taking the leap out of corporate, managing your taxes and finances as a solo entrepreneur, being a start-up founder, managing career and motherhood, living in the south, or anything else!

ElphaStaff·Mar 10

Thanks so much for joining us @AngieMoody!Elphas – please ask @AngieMoody your questions before Friday, March 15th. @AngieMoody may not have time to answer every questions, so emoji upvote your favorites 🔥👍🏾➕

ashfiarahman·Mar 14

Hi Angie! Thanks so much for hosting AMA. What do you think are the largest hurdles facing women who want to start their own business? Where do you see the most opportunities for women to take ownership of their financial independence?

AngieMoody·Mar 15

The hurdles I see most often are thinking there will be a perfect time (when you are more qualified for example) and being afraid of failure. Both of these are self-limiting and are not solvable. My recommendation is to find away to paint a picture of how your news business failing would actually be a good think. Release attachment to "how it turns out" and focus on what joy/learning/meaning you want to get out of the process. In terms of financial independence, the most valuable thing is to educate yourself and realize that the clock has already started. Career wise, I took a portfolio approach. Spending time in large corporations (like Microsoft) allowed me to build my financial reserves (and retirement accounts) which then gave me freedom to quit if the culture got toxic or I wanted to purse something more risky at a small start-up. This in turn made me more attractive to big companies.

Kalyn179·Mar 14

You are amaazing Angie! My question is about finding that "work-life integration". How do you manage the demands of being a start-up founder with the responsibilities of motherhood? Are there particular strategies or routines that you find effective?

AngieMoody·Mar 15

Managing the demands of motherhood and being a CEO is definitely a challenge that I have not mastered. That said, I have found it easier than when I worked in corporate. As the CEO, I have more control over my schedule and can dictate the pace throughout the year. For example, I don’t schedule meetings Mondays and I take most Friday’s off. This helps me avoid some the Sunday scaries and go into the weekend with my personal cup filled so I can pour into my family. Conversely, Tuesday-Thursdays I am VERY focused on work, and get a ton done. I also have good help. I have a family assistant who helps with anything kid related from school pick-ups to booking dentist appts to making healthy dinners.

Rufina108·Mar 14

Hi Angie,I have a few unrelated questions, some similar to others. 1. Any advice to women wanting to continue to excel in their careers while having children? I don’t have children yet (🤞🏻) but am hopeful and also apprehensive about the effect it could have on my career. What can I do to do both?2. From your product perspective, what is the most effective way to work with UX -design, content, and research. How can UXR help you most effectively?

AngieMoody·Mar 15

I answered the first question in a few other spots so I will focus on #2 Rufina. I absolutely adore working with UXR. I believe there are a million ways to solve a problem but if you aren't crystal clear on what problem you are solving and why it matters to solve it you will fail. This is where UXR can be strategic weapon. I depend on UXR to hold me accountable to fully understanding the problems that create the most emotional pain and developing the success criteria.

Moriah172·Mar 14

I'd love to learn more about your experience living in the south! How has moving to Charleston influenced your work and personal life? Do you find that the local culture or environment has impacted your approach to business or work-life balance?

AngieMoody·Mar 15

Love this question. I was very skeptical about moving to the south, but its been amazing. The people here truly work to live and prioritize family. What I think surprises me the most and how much more diverse, entrepreneurial and successful people's careers are here. Living in the bay area for 15 years, you start to think everyone works 50+ hours a week at a big tech company. This diversity leads to super interesting conversations but also results in less "work-talk" which I think creates a healthy balance.

Loree147·Mar 14

Hi Angie! congrats on founding Ruby Money! What common mistakes do you see solopreneurs make when managing their taxes and finances, and what are your top tips for avoiding them?

AngieMoody·Mar 15

The most common mistake I see those new to being self-employed making is not thinking about their work as a real business- which leans to undercharging, not understanding what their profit is and making costly tax mistakes. A few tips to avoid this: Track your Finances- Whether its a simple google sheet using an app like Ruby Money its super important to track money that comes in (income) and money that goes out (expenses). What’s left over is your profit. Having a pulse on this will help you make important decisions like if you need to raise your rates, or save more for taxes.Save for taxes- Taxes are your largest expense (25-40% of what you make) and getting a large surprise tax bill is NOT fun- trust me. I recommend setting up a separate savings account and moving money into it each month so you have it separated and set aside for taxes. You can use this calculator to see how much you need to save. https://www.rubymoney.us/self-employed-tax-calculatorCharge more - Most women start with their rates too low and/or are afraid to raise their rates. There are A LOT of unknown costs and risk to working solo. Creating slack/buffer is super important. My rule of thumb is if the rate you are offering feels comfortable, than its not high enough :)

colleensheehan·Mar 13

Hi @AngieMoody , really inspired by your path!I'd love to hear about the very beginnings of your Fintech - which I am officially a new account holder of :)What did steps 1 + 2 look like as far as getting it "started"?Was the branding done first to prove the concept for funding a seed round? Was the app developed first? I'd love to hear about how you determined your roadmap.Thank you so much for being here!

AngieMoody·Mar 15

So lovely to hear!! The first thing I did was talk to ALOT of freelancers and solo business owners. These were long meandering 1+ hour conversations with lots of open ended questions. Once we got a sense for where the biggest pain points were I build a manual solution (think spreadsheets). I think our first 20 users actually emailed us their csv bank records!After that, we self-funded the MVP app and brand development using freelancers. I have a background in Product development and design so was able to pm the entire project. I think we spent less than $75K all together on this. Our MVP was very bare-bones and our roadmap naturally developed as we onboarded new users and saw where the opportunities/struggles where.

colleensheehan·Mar 15

Thanks so much for the thoughtful response, Angie! Super insightful.I work in brand development and design myself, but am most passionate about helping bring female-founded businesses to life, either in their customer-forward expression or investor viability, so I'm always curious in how founders are finding their support system and devs, either initially or in subsequent iterations of the brand expression.But, this is all while often dreaming up getting my own MVP out into the world. I appreciate your transparency on your journey!

DianaMarkova·Mar 12

Hi Angie! Your background is impressive and inspiring! Here are a few questions I have:1. How do you manage the demands of being a CEO and mother simultaneously? Are there specific strategies or routines that have helped you maintain balance?2. What role have support systems played in your journey, and what advice do you have for building a strong network?3. Based on your vast experience, what general advice would you give someone looking to either move into an executive position or start their own business?4. Where do you see the future of solo entrepreneurship heading, and how can aspiring female entrepreneurs prepare themselves for these trends?

AngieMoody·Mar 15

Hi Diana, What thoughtful questions. Managing the demands of motherhood and being a CEO is definitely a challenge. That said, I have found it easier than when I worked in corporate. As the CEO, I have more control over my schedule and can dictate the pace throughout the year. For example, I don’t schedule meetings Mondays and I take most Friday’s off. This helps me avoid some the Sunday scaries and go into the weekend with my personal cup filled so I can pour into my family. Conversely, Tuesday-Thursdays I am VERY focused on work, and get a ton done. I also have good help. I have a family assistant who helps with anything kid related from school pick-ups to booking dentist appts to making healthy dinners. I have have another CEO friend who manages a team in France. Instead of taking short (jet-lagged) trips there throughout the year, she spends 6 weeks there over the summer. She get to have concentrated time to work with her team there, while her family gets an awesome summer adventure. Win/Win.In terms of developing a strong network/support system, I’ve gotten the most bang for my buck keeping strong relationships with the women I went to business school with and staying in touch with previous bosses or skip levels that I’ve worked for. There’s a level of trust built from mutual respect (shared time in the trenches) that allows me to be vulnerable and for them to be honest. The women I went to business school with live all across the country and work across different industries and that diversity of perspective (and network) is incredibly valuable. My best advice for those looking to lead or start a company- is to spend time pre-deciding what your personal north star success is and what your boundaries/non negotiables are. The adrenaline/high of being in charge will wear off and understanding what enduring meaning you are getting from the work it critical to not burning out. Lastly, my piece of advice is to JUST DO IT. I waited till I was pretty late in my career (thinking that I needed more experience in this or that first) but the most important skill you need as a business owner is "figure it out ness" and "tenacity".

kchasarik·Mar 12

I love reading about your journey! I'm always curious to talk to current or former directors of product on what you look for in a product designer. As someone who's currently looking for work in the product industry I really want to know your opinion! I'm also really excited to hear about a accounting software for solopreneurs since I was just looking for a new one, can't wait to check Ruby Money out!

aatikaseedat·Mar 11

Hiya Angie!What's one piece of advice you'd give female solo entrepreneurs looking to get better at managing their finances?And, is there anything you miss from the corporate world now that you've moved over?

AngieMoody·Mar 15

I think the thing I miss most from the corporate world is the sense of community (and all the free snacks). When you work for yourself, it's more work to create a community.

suemoore·Mar 11

Congrats on founding your startup Angie. Tax year-end is approaching in the UK, so this struck a chord! I'd love to know about how you lean in to working with women solopreneurs at Ruby Money, and how your mission to help women thrive has shaped marketing your startup. PS also working on my tennis game here ... 😀

AngieMoody·Mar 15

Great question! It was important for me when we built Ruby Money that it felt like it was built for women. That means removing any gate-keeping jargon, making the app as simple as possible and focusing on financial education (vs. gamification). We also learned women are eager to learn but need "a safe space" to get curious and ask questions. This has led us to focus on education and community webinars/events which have been our biggest growth drivers to date. Any tips for mastering a backhand volley? :)

suemoore·Mar 15

Thank you Angie, so interesting. I love that you removed the jargon - that's a battle copywriters fight all the time! It makes sense to focus on education. I don't know what it's like in the states, but in the UK at school we learnt Latin and Physics, but not how to manage our finances or work out our taxes. I would've have thought that might have changed over time, but my sons don't learn much of that at school either. It's such a missed life skill. Makes me smile to think of women seeking out educational webinars on these topics in adulthood. I guess Ruby Money is providing the classes we all missed at school.No backhand volley tips sorry - it's an emergency shot for me and not one I've perfected!!