Social Impact as Startup Fuel: A Tech Startup Story with Serene

Savannah Price, CEO and founder of Serene, shares her journey from professional show jumper to fintech founder, building an AI platform that helps banks and financial institutions identify and support vulnerable customers. In this episode of Tech Startup Stories, Savannah discusses how a family mental health crisis led her to discover patterns in bank statement data that became the foundation for Serene, why pairing social impact with regulatory compliance opened doors that doing good alone couldn't, and the reality of navigating co-founder breakups, fundraising as a female founder, and the extreme emotional highs and lows of startup life. Learn how vulnerability affects 40-60% of customers, making it a mass market opportunity rather than a niche concern, and why purpose-driven founders need to find the commercial hook to turn social missions into sustainable businesses.