From Modems to Machine Learning

The internet was in its infancy when Neeraja Rasmussen joined Chase Bank in the late 1990s in New York City in the brand new role of vice president of online marketing.

Her job was to convince Chase customers – through marketing efforts like emails and online content – to transition their banking online. It was a daunting task at the time since people eyed the internet with skepticism, wondering if they could trust the technology for their financial transactions.

“We’re seeing the exact same trends right now with AI. People are asking, what is this thing and can I trust it? There’s a sense of uncertainty with opportunity—that AI is here to stay—but no one knows how it will reshape industries,” says Rasmussen, who after Chase in 2020 founded Spyglaz AI, a Silicon Valley-based fintech that uses an AI-powered platform to help insurance companies grow sales.

Rasmussen anticipates a day when terms like “LLMs” and “explainable AI” are just as mainstream as “cookies” and “ecommerce,” words that weren’t widely used in the 1990s. “The internet opened up avenues for communication and commerce, and AI will be the space that will really redefine personalization, efficiency and decision-making,” she says.

Taking the long view

When she reflects on her career journey, Rasmussen remembers her initial self-doubt when starting in online marketing at Chase. She credits her hiring manager for having confidence and recognition that she would do the job well. Over a 12-month period, Rasmussen and her team migrated 25% of Chase customers who had internet access to online banking, paving the way for the firm’s future digital transformation.

To accomplish that feat, Rasmussen says she had to have vision, to be comfortable with experimentation, and to be adaptable since the internet was still a big unknown. “It was a lot of test and learn, and go with your gut, and visualize what that future looks like.” It’s an approach she takes today with her company and AI.

At Chase, and now, she’s had to stay laser-focused on business outcomes. In the 1990s, migrating customers online meant cost savings for Chase plus an improved customer experience. For today’s consumers, AI is also a means to an end to drive better outcomes for customers, Rasmussen says.

“When you’re leveraging new technology to create value in the business world and for your customers, you’re sometimes going to be building a product customers don’t necessarily know they need yet,” she says.

It’s a challenge she’s meeting head-on as she grows her company. “Having had that experience at Chase, I’m able to take the long view,” Rasmussen says. Next year, Spyglaz AI will launch a wealth management investments version of its products.

The resilience of female founders

Rasmussen came to the U.S. from India in her twenties. As a woman and a person of color, the obstacles to success have been numerous, she says.

“If you’re a woman founder, it is incredibly difficult. Very often you’re the only woman in the room. Some people underestimate you and what you’re capable of.”

There’s also a shortage of role models, she adds, since many women bow out of the startup space given the high bar of entry and the even higher bar to survive, and thrive.

Female-only-founded startups received just 2% of all venture capital dollars in 2023, the lowest since 2016, according to Pitchbook.

But Rasmussen hasn’t let the odds deter her. To move forward, she’s dug into her own resilience. Based on her experience, she offers the following career advice, and especially for fellow women:

1. Channel your resilience and don’t be deterred. Believe that you have what it takes.
2. Expect to be underestimated. Acknowledge that and move forward.
3. Stay focused on the business outcomes in everything you do.
4. Spend time building and strengthening relationships.

Rasmussen finds inspiration in other female founders. “Women do face headwinds in leadership and entrepreneurship, but there are still a lot of women out there doing it, building it, and forging ahead regardless of those barriers. Women are incredibly good at building relationships and incredibly resilient.” And even in the AI era, human relationships continue to be the most important element, she says.

To give back, Rasmussen supports younger generations of women in financial services. She’s on the advisory board of the American College of Financial Services Women’s Center, which drives initiatives to bring more women into the wealth management industry through research, awareness and education.

“It’s something that’s near and dear to my heart,” says Rasmussen. “I’m always looking for an opportunity to mentor women that are coming into the workforce.”