The best startup ideas don’t always start with a business plan. Sometimes, they start with a question that someone can’t stop thinking about. For Chantale Hedgeman, that question was simple: how do you help people make life a little easier?

Long before GenGift became a fintech startup, Chantale was a kid filling notebooks with sketches and ideas, dreaming up inventions and imagining ways to solve everyday problems. Her path eventually took her to Ohio State, where she studied mechanical engineering, but it wasn’t until she discovered human-centered design that everything clicked. The technology mattered, but the people mattered more.

Chantale became fascinated by the idea of putting people at the center of innovation: understanding what they need, what challenges they face, and how thoughtful design can create solutions that actually fit into their lives. That passion led her to Northwestern University, where she earned her master’s degree in human-centered design and began working in design thinking consulting.

The same question kept showing up in her work: how can we use innovation to make someone’s experience just a little better?

GenGift started with a very personal version of that question. As friends began getting married and starting families, Chantale found herself thinking about the gifts she wanted to give. Having moved from the Midwest to Georgia, she was often celebrating important moments from a distance. She wanted to give gifts that felt thoughtful and meaningful, not something that would eventually be forgotten.

At the same time, education had always been important to her. She began thinking about how gifts could become investments in someone’s future, creating opportunities instead of just moments. That idea became GenGift: a platform designed to make gifting more personal by combining financial gifts with the memories behind them. Because sometimes the story behind a gift is what makes it meaningful. A video message, a memory, a reminder of who believed in you, all attached to something that can continue to impact your future.

The idea came to Chantale in 2021, but like many startup ideas, it spent some time waiting for the right moment.

That moment came from an unexpected place: a conversation at Chase.

Chantale had stopped by her bank to learn more about services and features she wasn’t using. Instead, she ended up talking about entrepreneurship. The banker encouraged her to explore Greenville’s entrepreneurial support organizations, and that conversation eventually led her to Village Launch.

Sometimes the next step in building a company comes from the place you least expect.

At the time, Chantale had experience building products and thinking through user experiences, but she knew there was another piece she needed to figure out: the business itself. Village Launch helped her build the foundation. Through weekly, in-person learning and exposure to other entrepreneurs, she gained the business fundamentals she needed to turn an idea into something tangible. Later, Launchpad provided a more tech-focused environment where she could continue refining GenGift and think through what it would take to bring the platform to life.

Around the same time, Chantale was introduced to vibe coding through her work in an innovation lab, giving her another tool to start building and testing her vision.

The idea was there. The people liked the idea. The opportunity was there. Now came the hard part: making it real.

Building in fintech comes with a unique set of challenges. Behind every simple financial transaction is a world of regulations, compliance requirements, and systems that have to work seamlessly. For Chantale, one of the biggest learning curves has been figuring out how to build the operational side of the business while continuing to develop the product itself.

“I know I have the idea. I know people like the idea. There’s a business behind it. But how do I make this real?”

That process has also created one of her biggest wins. For Chantale, the milestone she’s most proud of isn’t just creating GenGift. It’s proving to herself that she could take something that existed in her head and bring it into the world. Pitching the idea, putting herself out there, and seeing people connect with the vision has been a reminder that vulnerability is often part of the founder journey.

The idea only becomes a company when someone is willing to share it.

Outside of GenGift, Chantale is balancing the many roles that come with this season of life. She jokes that she’s currently in her “toddler years,” spending much of her time chasing after her little one. When she’s not building a startup, she enjoys watching anime with her husband and working as a financial coach to help people move from simply surviving to building more comfortable financial futures.

Looking ahead, Chantale is focused on bringing GenGift to life. She’s currently working with a developer to build out the MVP and begin beta testing, with plans to launch publicly, start raising capital, and bring the platform to market.

Because at its core, GenGift is about something bigger than sending a gift. It’s about creating moments people remember, investing in futures, and making it easier to show up for the people who matter most, even when you can’t be there in person.

Follow along with GenGift’s journey as Chantale continues building the next chapter of meaningful gifting.