Profile: Naveed Iqbal

Meet Naveed Iqbal. Co-Founder + CEO, Noether Rudin.

Name: Naveed Iqbal

Job: Co-Founder and CEO, Noether Rudin

City: Columbus

Hometown: Melbourne, FL (in the US). Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania (outside the US).

Q: What do you do at Noether Rudin?
Noether Rudin is a student loan repayment platform. We accelerate our users to $0 student debt with their money, their employer’s money, and money from the apps they use. We’re math and finance nerds building smart technologies so our users can live their best lives.

Everyone knows paying more towards loans is the fastest way to be debt free. However, we earn a fixed amount of money so finding extra cash for student loans is challenging. We help people find extra cash for their loans in the smartest ways possible - without requiring people to change their lifestyles or spending hours telling us about their finances - who has time for that, right? 

We also partner with their employers to find more cash for their student loans. The CARES Act provides tax incentives for student loan benefits and we expect these policies to persist. There’s never been a more attractive time for employers to offer modern student loan benefits. 

Finally, our technology enables other companies to bring simple student loan repayment to their users - whether it’s employers who want to build custom benefit programs or apps empowering their users to redeem rewards directly to their loans. We believe everyone should have an opportunity to easily and securely participate in the effort to reduce student loan debt.

Q: What’s a problem that you are working to solve? 
There is an asymmetry between the cost of education and how society rewards it. We are on a mission to lower financial barriers to education.

Not too long ago access to higher education was restricted only to the wealthiest. Federally guaranteed student loans opened doors and gave new opportunities to so many by lowering financial barriers to education creating access to financial freedom. It was an amazing idea but over time it has broken.The average graduate carries around $30,000 in student loans and wages aren’t keeping up with the cost of education.

Still, a college education is valuable. College graduates earn about 80% more than those without a college education. By correcting the asymmetry between the costs and rewards we can keep the doors to college open to more people without breaking the bank - and let them enjoy the fruits of their investment earlier in their careers. 

Q: What’s a lesson you’ve learned that has helped shaped your work? 
Communicating clearly and effectively is one of the core requirements of building a successful business. It does not matter how smart you are or how great your ideas are if you cannot communicate. I learned this lesson the hard way.

The ability to effectively develop, share, and execute on ideas is a hallmark of successful teams. We’ve all heard some variation of how it’s not the best ideas but the best execution and perseverance that lead to great companies. We admire the culture at successful companies and seek to develop great cultures at our own businesses.

Company culture and how we communicate are deeply linked. Language can embody culture. This may seem obvious to a lot of people but it took me a while to figure out! Developing a language so everyone on the team understands how to communicate has been at the core of how our culture has developed. Almost all of our culture exercises are focused on reflecting on how we can iterate to more effectively communicate with each other.

Q: What’s a trend in technology or innovation that you believe doesn’t get enough attention? 
I think there is so much exciting innovation happening in places some people might consider “boring.” For instance, the world of money movement. There is so much incredible innovation coming out of companies like Fast, Stripe, Dwolla (built in the Midwest!), and Finix (built in Cincinnati!). These types of companies are changing the way we buy and sell things and opening up industries that most businesses would just never have the access to. 

At Noether Rudin we’re working on doing this with student loans, one step at a time. We are excited to keep finding innovative solutions across the entire spectrum from paying, to servicing, to lending.

Q: What’s one moonshot idea that could help make Ohio a world leader in technology and innovation? 
If I could wave a magic wand and make anything happen I’d transform Ohio into a national money movement hub. The Midwest, and Ohio in particular, has all the raw materials required (and then some!) to successfully transform the payments and money movement industry.

We have the raw talent, the innovative public policy, the proud tradition of building great institutions, and the pure grit required to do so. Fun fact, second only to Virginia, Ohio has produced the most presidents of the USA. No reason we can’t produce the best financial infrastructure as well.  

Q: What’s a recent book, podcast or news story that you found interesting? 
I’m a huge fan of Kwame Christian and absolutely love his “Negotiate Anything” podcast. He’s helped me learn that negotiation is almost always about understanding and almost never about confrontation. I particularly enjoy how he splits his episodes into two separate recordings: a general discussion with an expert guest followed by a sparring session. 

Q: What's your favorite place in Ohio? 
Ok, it’s difficult to name one favorite place in ALL of Ohio so I’ll stick with a few local favorites. My wife and I love watching the Crew play at home - we’re very excited to visit the new stadium. We enjoy summer afternoons watching the Clippers and winter evenings supporting the Blue Jackets. The North Market definitely has a special place in my heart. As do all the amazing parks (and walkways, all the walkways!) we have here in Columbus. Gosh, this is a hard question to answer. 

Q: What makes Ohio special to you?  
I think the people I’ve had the good fortune to meet in the Buckeye state really make it stand out above several other states I’ve had the privilege of visiting. People are kind and friendly and will go above and beyond to help. That is very special to me.

Connect with Naveed on LinkedIn.