In this series, we sit down with our portfolio and program founders to get to know them better. What are they building? What motivates them? What do they love about New York City? This week, we're chatting with Snappable CEO Lulu Meza, a founder in our 2023 City Fellowship cohort.

1. Describe what you’re building in 10 words or fewer.

An easy-to-use digital payment system for government nutrition benefits.

2. Let’s assume your company achieves your current, fullest ambitions for it — what about your industry and the world do you hope changes as a result?

Starting with farmers markets, we strive toward food security via financial inclusion—we want to be the industry standard for government nutrition benefits. We’re shaking things up because we believe that access to fresh and nutritious food is a human right.

Once Snappable reaches its full potential, government benefits will be used fully and efficiently and vendors will be paid promptly. Most important, every person and family will have abundant access to fresh food regardless of income.    

3. What do you love about New York City, and what makes it a good place to launch a business?

I’m obsessed with New York City—I moved here at 17 years-old for college because its  energy and diversity made my heart dance. New Yorkers are some of the kindest and most resilient folks in the world, both of which are qualities that I strive to embody personally and professionally.

It’s a privilege to be able to leverage the unparalleled opportunities that the city provides as we strive to serve the 1 in 5 New Yorkers who use food stamps. And as the home of the largest farmers market network in the country, Snappable’s roots are firmly in NYC.

4. What’s your favorite ‘secret’ about New York?

“It was all a dream…” Not a day goes by that I am not grateful to be here—in fact, it still feels like a dream. Even when I feel like the city has beaten me down, it always manages to smile on me again in the form of an unexpected live music performance on the subway, a trip back in time walking through cobblestone mews, or best of all, a fellow New Yorker doing me a solid.  

5. What’s your favorite movie or TV show that takes place in New York City?

I’m currently binging the last season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, though I gotta give a shout out to The Jeffersons, who moved on up a dee-luxe apartment in the sky.

6. What motto do you live by?

My guiding principle is a quote by Muhammad Ali: “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” But lately, I’m all about hustle, moxie, and living by the words “Work hard and be unstoppable.”

Part of that is embracing a mindset of experimentation, moving quickly while building trust, and showing up to wherever our users and stakeholders are. Snappable doesn’t wait for an invitation to sit at the table—we show up uninvited if need be, embracing a mix of boldness and humility, bearing coffee and a smile to engage stakeholders and build trust every step of the way.    

7. What piece of technology do you wish you’d invented? While cliché, I can’t deny the brilliance of smartphones. Most folks carry theirs daily and the technology has engendered so many other app-based innovations. Their widespread use has also opened up endless possibilities for underrepresented and over-ambitious founders (like me!) to create tech-enabled social impact. They’ve made it possible for us to change the world!  

8. What’s one app on your homescreen that you can’t live without?

As a disciplined practitioner of transcendental meditation, I use my TM app daily. And as a founder on the go, my go-to app has to be Slack.