Andres Santos is the Co-Founder and CEO of Común, a New York-based fintech building digital banking and financial services specifically for Latino immigrants in the United States.
Since co-founding Común with CTO Abiel Gutierrez, Santos has focused on a problem he experienced personally as an immigrant: navigating the U.S. financial system without the same documentation, language accessibility, or financial infrastructure available to traditional banking customers.
Under his leadership, Común has grown from an early-stage fintech into one of the more notable immigrant-focused neobanks in the United States. By the end of 2025, the company had 276,000 open accounts, up from 160,000 a year earlier, while generating approximately $12.5 million in revenue during 2025. Forbes reported Común's latest valuation at approximately $200 million as of October 2025.
Who Is Andres Santos?
Andres Santos is a Mexican entrepreneur and fintech executive whose career combines strategy, operations, investing, and startup building.
Before founding Común, Santos worked in strategic leadership roles at Sigma Alimentos, a major Mexican food company, and later became an investor at FJ Labs, a New York-based venture capital firm.
He eventually combined his operating and investing experience with his own experience as an immigrant to build Común.
Santos earned an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and a bachelor's degree from Northeastern University.
Early Career and Entrepreneurship
Santos began his professional career as a financial analyst intern at Grupo Alfa before moving into entrepreneurship.
In 2012, he founded Neomesa S.A. de C.V., a startup operating in the food and retail sector. He served as its founder and CEO until 2015.
He subsequently joined Sigma Alimentos, where he held two significant positions:
- Head of Strategic Planning
- Category Head
At Sigma, Santos worked on strategic and growth initiatives and gained experience operating inside a large Mexican corporation.
In 2020, he moved into venture capital as an Investor at FJ Labs, giving him exposure to a broad range of technology startups and business models.
That experience would later influence how he approached building Común.
From Immigrant Experience to Común
Santos moved to the United States and completed his MBA at MIT Sloan between 2019 and 2021.
During this period, he experienced many of the practical challenges associated with establishing a financial life in the United States as an immigrant.
That experience became one of the foundations of Común.
Santos and Abiel Gutierrez founded Común in 2021, with the company subsequently building its digital banking product around the needs of Latino immigrants.
The founders believed that traditional banking products were not adequately designed for a population that could face difficulties obtaining a Social Security number, U.S. credit history, proof of address, or other conventional banking requirements.
What Is Común?
Común is a fintech and digital banking platform designed for Latino immigrants living in the United States.
Its product allows eligible customers to open a checking account online using identification from their home country. The platform also offers a Visa debit card, direct deposit, money transfers, and access to a large ATM network.
One of Común's major differentiators is its ability to support customers using identification documents from Latin American countries rather than relying exclusively on traditional U.S. documentation.
The company also emphasizes bilingual customer support and financial services designed around the needs of immigrant families.
The "Local Bank" Philosophy
A central part of Santos's leadership philosophy is the idea of bringing the local banking experience into the digital age.
Rather than attempting to build another generic neobank, Común focuses on a specific community with distinct financial behaviors and needs.
Santos has argued that immigrants often have a different financial priority than the conventional U.S. consumer.
For many Latino immigrant workers, financial success is closely connected to supporting parents, children, and relatives—both in the United States and abroad.
This insight has shaped Común's product strategy, particularly its combination of banking and international money transfers.
Común's Growth
Común's growth accelerated significantly between 2023 and 2025.
In 2023, the company had processed more than $75 million through its platform and reported a Net Promoter Score of 86. At the time, Santos said the company was experiencing approximately 60% month-over-month revenue growth.
The company subsequently raised significant venture funding.
In August 2024, Común announced a $21.5 million Series A, following a $4.5 million financing round announced less than nine months earlier. The Series A was led by Redpoint Ventures, with participation from existing and new investors.
By the end of 2025, Común had:
- 276,000 open accounts
- $12.5 million in annual revenue
- Approximately $200 million valuation
- $49.5 million in total reported funding
Forbes reported that the company grew its account base from 160,000 to 276,000 during 2025.
A Fintech Built Around Financial Inclusion
Santos's approach is different from the typical fintech strategy of simply making existing financial products cheaper or faster.
Común is designed around customers who may have historically been underserved by mainstream financial institutions.
The platform addresses several barriers simultaneously:
Identification: Customers can use identification from their home countries.
Language: Común provides bilingual support.
Banking: Users receive access to checking and debit-card products.
Remittances: Customers can send money internationally.
Cash access: The company has built access to a large network of physical ATM and cash locations.
This combination allows Común to position itself as more than a banking app—it aims to become a financial infrastructure layer for immigrant communities.
Andres Santos's Leadership Philosophy
Santos's leadership approach centers on deep customer understanding rather than building products around abstract market segments.
His experience as both an immigrant and an entrepreneur appears to have influenced Común's unusually focused customer strategy.
Instead of asking how to make a generic banking product more attractive, Común starts with a more specific question:
What does a Latino immigrant actually need from a financial institution in the United States?
That philosophy has helped the company develop products around banking, payments, remittances, customer support, and financial access.
In a 2026 interview, Santos emphasized that many immigrant workers are primarily motivated by the desire to support their families rather than conventional consumer aspirations.
Funding and Investors
Común has attracted backing from several prominent venture investors, including:
- Redpoint Ventures
- Costanoa Ventures
- South Park Commons
- FJ Labs
- ANIMO Ventures
The company's reported funding reached approximately $49.5 million, according to Forbes' 2026 company profile.
The 2024 Series A represented an important milestone because it demonstrated continued investor confidence in Común's specialized approach to immigrant banking.
Andres Santos and the Future of Común
Santos's long-term challenge is to transform Común from a successful immigrant-focused neobank into a broader financial platform.
The company's early strategy centered on banking access and payments. Its future opportunity is potentially much larger: credit, insurance, underwriting, international payments, savings, and other financial products could all become part of the platform.
In earlier discussions about Común's roadmap, Santos and Gutierrez described plans to expand into additional financial products, including insurance and eventually credit and underwriting.
The opportunity is significant because the U.S. Latino population represents a large and growing consumer market, while immigrants continue to encounter structural barriers in traditional financial services.
If Común can maintain its rapid growth while building trust, compliance infrastructure, and a broader financial product ecosystem, Santos could position the company as one of the defining fintech platforms serving America's immigrant population.
Key Facts About Andres Santos
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Andres Santos |
| Current Role | Co-Founder & CEO |
| Company | Común |
| Industry | Fintech / Digital Banking |
| Founded Común | 2021 |
| Headquarters | New York, United States |
| Nationality/Background | Mexican |
| Education | MBA, MIT Sloan School of Management |
| Previous Company | Sigma Alimentos |
| Previous VC Firm | FJ Labs |
| Previous Startup | Neomesa |
| Co-Founder | Abiel Gutierrez |
| Común Accounts | 276,000 at end of 2025 |
| 2025 Revenue | Approximately $12.5M |
| Latest Reported Valuation | Approximately $200M |
| Reported Funding | Approximately $49.5M |
Company and career details are supported by Común, Forbes, TechCrunch, and executive-profile sources.
Why Andres Santos Matters
Andres Santos represents a new generation of fintech founders who are building financial products around specific underserved communities rather than mass-market banking alone.
His experience across entrepreneurship, corporate strategy, venture capital, and immigrant life has shaped Común's approach to financial inclusion.
The company's rapid growth demonstrates that financial products designed around cultural, linguistic, and documentation-specific needs can compete in a crowded fintech market.
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