Amira Yahyaoui | Mos
AMIRA YAHYAOUI
Founder and CEO of Mos, a company focused on removing financial barriers to create equal access to opportunity.
What is Mos? What Is The Mission And How Does The Business Model Work?
At Mos, our mission is to tear down all financial barriers to opportunity. We're getting started by helping students pay for college without taking on crushing amounts of debt.
Through a delicate balance of people and tech, we’ve unlocked all $135B in government financial aid that’s available each year to students and their families—billions of which typically go unused due to the complexity of the application process itself. Historically, this has left students either completely unaware of the 500+ aid programs out there or feeling like they’re not eligible for aid in the first place.
On the Mos platform, with a handful of questions and as little as 20 minutes, students gain access to every single state and federal aid program they’re eligible for—maximizing their grants so they can go to college without having to take out a loan. For the many students who would otherwise just fill out FAFSA, this can be the difference between $13,000 and $42,000 per year, depending on their state.
For me, the real magic behind Mos is that we go above and beyond for each and every student who uses our platform. If we feel that a student doesn’t get all—and I mean all—the aid that they deserve, our financial aid advisors will appeal on their behalf for additional funds. This is in stark contrast to the stereotypical financial aid office experience that students describe as being analogous to going to the DMV, where they’re just a number and not a human being with legitimate needs and concerns.
In the past year, we’ve already helped students of all backgrounds qualify for over $200M in government funding and we’re just getting started.
What Is Your Background? What Led You To Starting Your Own Company, And How Did You Choose This Space?
I grew up in Tunisia under a dictatorship that taught me the importance of advocating for my rights and the rights of others from a young age. Ultimately, it was my activism that led to my exile when I was 17. Years later, and on the heels of the Arab Spring, I returned home and started Al Bawsala which, to this day, is a well-known NGO that fights for government transparency and accountability.
Now, I’ve traveled halfway across the world to San Francisco to fight for another human right that’s near and dear to my heart—education.
I decided to focus on education not only because I was not afforded the opportunity to get a college degree, but also because obtaining a higher education is powerful beyond learning. It’s a chapter in one's life for self-discovery, experimentation, and socializing—all of which play an important role in shaping and broadening a young person’s future. However, the unfortunate reality is that, in today’s world, the financial burden associated with obtaining a higher education diminishes the promise of what that higher education promised to provide—the ticket to a better future.
In making higher education more accessible, we not only help to provide equal access to opportunity, but we also help to change lives, thereby reshaping the future of our society. Personally, another draw to this space is the ability to set the standard for technology being used in a socially responsible way.
I Think We Can All Agree That College Is Too Expensive. It Somehow Doesn’t Make Sense For Young Adults To Start Their Careers With Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars In Debt. Do You Think There Is More That Can Be Done To Make College Education More Affordable?
Yes to all of the above! Colleges have become absurdly expensive and, without significant change, a college education may not be worth it for every student.
In order to make college more affordable, it’s essential that colleges revisit how they generate revenue beyond the cost of the degree itself. Additionally, the existing financial aid system must evolve to support the needs of the modern student and ensure that the appropriate amount of aid is being awarded.
What Was The Fundraising Process Like For You? Tell Us What You Can About The Money You’ve Raised.
The hardest part of fundraising has been the endless work and long nights to get us where we are today (let’s just say that, at this point, our team members know each other very well!)
But what remains true for all of us is that it’s not all about the money raised. Our success is intimately tied to the success of our students, which I believe is what drew investors to Mos in the first place.
Throughout the entire fundraising process, it was crucial for me to surround myself with like-minded investors who were equally dedicated to the ethicacy of our mission.
For these reasons, I feel incredibly lucky to have recently raised 13M in Series A funding led by Sequoia, along with Stephen Curry, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan, Emerson Collective, Lux Capital, and others.
What Have Been Both Your Favorite And Least-Liked Parts Of Your Entrepreneurial Journey? What Have Been Your Most Challenging And Most Exciting Moments For You And The Company?
Great question! The most challenging part of building Mos is realizing how much more profound the problem space is than we initially thought. Having the opportunity to experience the financial aid system through the eyes of our students has shown us first hand how much work still needs to be done to align the incentives of the system with our students' actual needs.
More often than not, a student’s application doesn’t represent their reality because it fails to take into consideration special circumstances in their life. For example, under the current system, a student who doesn’t receive financial support from her family and works 3 jobs to support herself may be ineligible for the financial aid she deserves because of her parents’ income. At Mos, we use these special circumstances to appeal on behalf of our students so that they get the aid that they deserve.
While new challenges arise each day, we’re always inspired and motivated by our interactions with students—whether it’s celebrating their financial aid award letters or simply receiving a thank you text expressing appreciation for our financial aid advisors—we’re always reminded that even the smallest action on our part can change someone’s life.
How Has COVID-19 Affected Your Business And What Have You Done To Adapt To Any Changes?
COVID-19 has impacted our students and families which, in turn, has impacted us. The entire college and graduate experience is moving online, which is understandably making students and their families struggle to justify the sky-rocketing costs of higher education.
We also hear daily from our students about the uncertainty and struggles that COVID-19 has created for them—whether it’s a loss of housing, a lost job, or the need to financially support family members.
To help our students, we’ve launched an appeals product where our financial aid advisors are able to appeal financial aid decisions for students who have been directly impacted by the pandemic. This initiative has resulted in students getting an additional $3,000-$15,000 in aid per year.
We also published The Ultimate Guide to COVID-19 to provide students with information and clarity on the ways COVID-19 impacts their education, as well as providing them with much-needed resources. The guide contains sets of email and letter templates that students can use independently to create housing petitions, information requisitions, payment deferments, and special circumstances appeals.
Can You Walk Us Through A Work Day? What Does A Typical Day For You Look Like From When You Wake Up Till You Go To Sleep?
I wake up around 5:30/6 am. Though it might sound crazy, the first thing I do is check my phone—I’ve discovered that blue light wakes you up and, since I don't drink coffee, this is my morning caffeine fix.
After splashing some water on my face, I start my day by greeting my team on Slack and checking my calendar to get ready for what’s ahead (I typically try to cram all of my meetings into the morning so that I have a few hours of heads downtime in the afternoon, though this is becoming increasingly challenging as we grow).
For breakfast, I always have a fruit and veggie smoothie—which, even as a vegetarian, is probably the healthiest thing I eat all day. I usually break for lunch around 11 am, which is when I have my biggest meal of the day—one of my favorites is the Senor Sisig vegetarian burrito with fries. These days, however, I miss being in the office and lunching with our team.
My days are typically filled with everything from product development to 1:1s with my team, hiring, and my favorite—reading texts and emails from our students, which not only provide a source of inspiration but are also where we get our most valuable product feedback. Lately, I’ve gotten into the habit of making a Loom video to share insights and action items with our team.
I try to wrap up work around 8 pm so I have time to move my body and unwind.
What Are The Top Three Most Important Skills A Modern Day Entrepreneur Needs In Order To Be Successful?
In my opinion, the most important skills for an entrepreneur are:
Grit: Startup life is hard and there is a lot that can go wrong. You need to be relentless and never give up even when things feel impossible.
Passion: You need to live and breathe what you’re building and be able to share your passion to inspire your team and bring purpose to your mission.
Empathy: Having profound empathy for your customers allows you to connect with them, better understand their needs, and build products that solve their problems.
Equally important to the above is surrounding yourself with the right people. I wouldn’t be here today were it not for my team. One of the best things I’ve done so far as a CEO is to hire true owners—individuals who are just as passionate and in love with Mos as I am.
How Did You Come Up With Your Company Name?
Our name was inspired by the original rebel, Luke Skywalker, who came from the desert of Mos Espa, which pays tribute to my roots. In Star Wars, Mos is located in Tatooine, which is based on a real-life city in the desert of Southern Tunisia called Tataouine—the place I call home. I also like that Mos is a simple word that’s easy to pronounce, no matter where you come from or what language you speak.
What Is Your Favorite Quote And Why Does It Resonate With You?
My favorite quote is an Aboul-Qacem Echebbi quote which roughly translates to English as: “Those afraid of climbing mountains will live their whole lives in holes”. I find these words inspiring because they personify the meaning of tenacity and how, without it, you won’t get very far in life.
Honestly, if I were to get a tattoo, that would be it...
If You Can Have A One-Hour Meeting With Someone Famous Who Is Alive, Who Would It Be And Why?
Hands down, it would be Matthieu Ricard.
Matthieu is the Dali Lama's spokesperson and he also happens to be a renowned scientist, photographer, and Buddhist monk. He not only fascinates me, but he has also enriched my life because he knows so much about the state of human happiness.
In his book, “Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill” (which I highly recommend) he talks about how happiness is not something that just happens to you. Rather, it's a skill that one needs to practice, like working hard for a promotion or learning an instrument. In my opinion, happiness is one of the most vital skills a person can master.
What Does Success Mean To You?
I’ve always derived a great deal of joy from other peoples’ happiness. So, if I can help others be happy, then I feel successful. On a professional level, it’s proving that a female immigrant can build a legendary tech company that does good for the world.
