saad suleman
Founder, StreetSmart
About Saad
Saad Suleman is a socially conscious innovator whose work sits at the intersection of civic technology, finance, and entrepreneurship. He is the visionary founder of StreetSmart, a groundbreaking civic-tech platform designed to address homelessness and income insecurity by combining artificial intelligence with real-time financial analytics. At the core of StreetSmart is TheXDesk, a tool that helps unhoused and low-income individuals manage budgets, optimize government benefits, and forecast income—strategically designed to integrate with city, state, and federal service systems for scalable impact..
Since arriving in Ann Arbor, Saad has deeply embedded himself in the University of Michigan ecosystem, engaging directly with city leaders like Mayor Christopher Taylor and collaborating with faculty from the Ford School, Ross School of Business, and the School of Social Work. He has worked with students and professors to test and refine StreetSmart’s financial models, while also building a policy and funding roadmap through events such as the "Beyond the Bridge" panel and meetings with leaders like Professors Jerry Davis, Rusty Hills, and Ayesha Ghazi Edwin.
Saad’s work has earned commendation from Dr. Vint Cerf, co-inventor of the Internet and Google’s Chief Internet Evangelist, who is now helping submit a grant to the Richard Lounsbery Foundation to support the national rollout of StreetSmart. Saad is also actively supported by three fellowships at Carnegie Mellon University—the Project Olympus Fellowship, the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship Fellowship, and the Startup CMU Fellowship—and has applied to prestigious innovation programs such as the Watson Institute’s Flagship and Google AI fellowships.
Before launching StreetSmart, Saad founded the Suleman Investment Group, a pro bono investment advisory platform through which he advised on major projects, including a $1.2 billion IPO for IcorHealth, real estate developments in Miami and Brazil, and M&A negotiations across global markets. He worked alongside high-profile individuals such as Anthony Scaramucci (SkyBridge Capital), Leonidas Macedo (The Brick Group), and Bader Al Darwish (Darwish Holdings). His financial expertise was shaped early on through unique mentorships formed during real estate studies in Florida, including exposure to elite deal-making in the Brickell Financial District.
In addition to entrepreneurship, Saad has consistently demonstrated academic and leadership excellence. He is a two-time recipient of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund award, the first person in history to receive it consecutively. He also participated in the McKinsey Middle East Karachi Workshop, where he co-authored policy recommendations on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and attended the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) Classical Liberalism and Business Summit, where he deepened his knowledge of market-driven public policy solutions.
A Coca-Cola APIA Scholar, Saad has mentored dozens of peers by combining Wall Street experience with a grassroots approach to economic equity. In April 2025, he attended Dr. Vint Cerf’s honorary degree ceremony at the University of Michigan, where he had the opportunity to speak with leading scholars like Professor Robert Axelrod and Professor Atul Prakash—further reinforcing his commitment to ethical innovation and systems-level change.
Through StreetSmart, TheXDesk, and a track record of strategic financial leadership, Saad Suleman exemplifies a new generation of mission-driven entrepreneurs—combining technical fluency, policy insight, and moral clarity to build tools for justice and long-term impact.
Professional Experience
- Founder – StreetSmart (2021 – Present)
- Financial Restructuring / Project Management / FP&A – Intuit (2024 – 2025)
- Associate, Asset-Based Transition Finance – Citigroup (2022 – 2023)
- Client Risk and Control Management – AT&T & Cricket Wireless (2018 – 2022)
- Founder & Investment Strategist – Suleman Investment Group (2019 – 2022)
- Product Owner – Goldman Sachs Compliance Project (2021 – 2022)
Education
- Florida International University (FIU) – Bachelor of Arts (BA), GPA: 3.77
- Broward College – Associate of Arts (AA), GPA: 3.62
- Florida International University - College of Law –
Fellowships & Leadership Programs
- COOP Careers Data Analytics Fellow
- Project Olympus Fellowship – Carnegie Mellon
- Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship Fellow – CMU
- Startup CMU Fellow – CMU
- McKinsey Middle East Workshop (CPEC Policy Project)
- AIER Classical Liberalism & Business Summit
- Blackstone LaunchPad Social Impact Award
- FIU City of Miami Public Interest Tech Fellowship
