[Open innovation challenge] From Idea to prototype in 4 weeks

[S.Y.]

Hello,

I have the opportunity to participate in an open finance innovation challenge in finance. The theme is: HOW DO YOU GET PEOPLE INTERESTED ENOUGH TO BUY INTO THEIR FINANCIAL HEALTH?

I am hoping to get some feedback on how I intend to tackle it.

I did some research and there are two things to address:
(1) Learning: acquiring an understanding of personal and broader financial matters
(2) Doing: actually applying that financial knowledge

The solution I want to explore is to turn learning into a game.

I think people are put off by personal finances because it is taught in a boring way. On top of that, it is a vast and complex system. And so, for many, it is not easy to know where one should start or where to get the information relevant to our needs.

So my idea is to build a platform that meets people where they are and uses game mechanics to help them learn. What the platform will do is to:
- break down financial concepts into small & engaging capsules to learn them
- at the end of each capsules, provide a challenge to apply what was learned in real life (effectively taking care of point (2) )
- providing paths - from beginner to more advanced - using those capsules. So someone who wants to learn something specifics can do it. Someone completely clueless can pick the beginner path and progress.
- allow people to learn, wherever they are (cross-systems)

You can think of duolingo, but for finances.

On the doing side, the platform can ask - and this is optionial - people to provide some details about their situations + connect their financial accounts; and with that:
- recommend tips/ based on the spending pattern
- provide suggestions on resources to check to get more money (for example, people will children will be presented resources on government initiatives such as education saving. Single parents will have similar resources that will benefit them, etc...)

What are your thoughts on that?

PS: If they are people that would be interested in something like this / or that struggles with managing their finances, I would LOVE to hear from you!!

Cheers,

 

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[AceVentures]

What do you really mean though? Tell me what my problem would be, and how this would help me. There are too many apps and games and software and crap. I avoid almost all of it. Because first I hate to keep giving my financial information to everybody and their momma. But also, what do I gain? I can make a simple spreadsheet that tracks and manages finances. But again, maybe it's because my needs are simple? Who would this really be for?

Outside the leveling up thing, there's Mint and a bunch of other stuff like mint that does that, giving you tips and stuff.

 

[rhyeal]

I had an idea for a gamification of the income-driven investing approach. It'd be like Acorns, but focused on what you can now afford given your passive investment-based income.

So there might be something there instead of just "learning".

The problem that I ran into, however, is that even "unlocking" a free cup of coffee each *week* takes $5 * 52 = $260 dollars per year, which, at 5% return, is $5,200 in the total account balance.

For a populace that usually can't afford a $400 unexpected expense...that's just a non-starter. It's almost as if personal finances is a really tough topic to teach people about who are on the sidewalk or the slowlane...

 

[S.Y.]

What do you really mean though? Tell me what my problem would be, and how this would help me. There are too many apps and games and software and crap. I avoid almost all of it. Because first I hate to keep giving my financial information to everybody and their momma. But also, what do I gain? I can make a simple spreadsheet that tracks and manages finances. But again, maybe it's because my needs are simple? Who would this really be for?

Outside the leveling up thing, there's Mint and a bunch of other stuff like mint that does that, giving you tips and stuff.

The core is the interactive and engaging learning aspect.
- if you want to learn something specific - say mortgage and loans - you can select that topic and get through the guided & interactive learning
- if you don't know where to start at all and want to acquire what is considered the basics, then you can pick the basic path
- if you want to learn how to make a budget, same thing. Pick the topic and get through the mission.

I love Mint and have been using that for ages. Great way to have a consolidated view of my accounts.

And I agree, Mint provides some good tips and has a great blog. So I will kind build on that, but change the way the information is given. Instead of going through reading articles, the information is provided in small chunks and you have a case presented along to make sure you understood what you read.

A great example of that is Dataquest. You have other good resources to learn data science, but there is something great about how DataQuest delivers it.

On the providing information side, it's true that asking to give financial information might be pushing the limit a bit. And I am rethinking the connecting the accounts side.

The main goal though is to provide tailored content.
For example. There are some really good programs offered by the government to help people with low income / or people with kids. Surprisingly not many people know about it. And so, if the platform collects those details; it can provide resources that the person might not know that can bring them more revenues.

Who will it be for? This is something am working on clarifying. So far I am aiming more for:
- people that don't know a lot, are interested to learn more but don't know where to start
- people that are not aware at all of the benefits of being financial litterate

I had an idea for a gamification of the income-driven investing approach. It'd be like Acorns, but focused on what you can now afford given your passive investment-based income.

So there might be something there instead of just "learning".

The problem that I ran into, however, is that even "unlocking" a free cup of coffee each *week* takes $5 * 52 = $260 dollars per year, which, at 5% return, is $5,200 in the total account balance.

For a populace that usually can't afford a $400 unexpected expense...that's just a non-starter. It's almost as if personal finances is a really tough topic to teach people about who are on the sidewalk or the slowlane...

Providing incentives to "learning" is another headache for sure.

Maybe:
- in-game money to exchange against discounts with partners?
- or in-game money to enter in lotteries to win stuff like gift cards?

 

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[rhyeal]

Who will it be for? This is something am working on clarifying. So far I am aiming more for:
- people that don't know a lot, are interested to learn more but don't know where to start
- people that are not aware at all of the benefits of being financial litterate

Providing incentives to "learning" is another headache for sure.

Maybe:
- in-game money to exchange against discounts with partners?
- or in-game money to enter in lotteries to win stuff like gift cards?

$0.02 here on the giftcards. Sending giftcards means using something like Tango. Great service. Lovely API. Super expensive. $5 or more minimum on each giftcard plus they need you to fund the account up-front. I don't remember the minimum funding, but I think it was like $250 or something. Something to think about for Cost of Customer Acquisition / Retention.

Go to Who Makes A Million Dollars A Year? Exploring The Top 0.1% Income Earners and ctrl+f for "Here’s a sample income report from a personal finance blogger."

That's a way to monetize learning successfully. If you do get your RIA, you can get some sweet commission trails from selling financial products. But just be aware that every other financial advisor is selling "literacy and education" as their primary tool to get people to buy. Been that way since I was in and out of the industry back in 2013-2015.

 

[S.Y.]

Thanks @rhyeal . I will definitely look into it.

I have identified the people I am looking to serve with the platform as:
- The middle class and under. People with a highest worth have access to more resources that this group of people. I don't see them needing it. People on the low income side will benefit a lot more from the education, but more often that not doesn't have access to it
- Young people (the youth: 15 - 24) : They are making more and more decisions. And they will benefit from having an education on the subject.
- Other "vulnerable" groups such as single parents & new immigrants

Those groups face the same challenges for the most part:

1. Awareness (or lack of) and lack of exposure to learning opportunities
2. Relevance: It is all good to learn about stocks and mortgages, but if you barely survive... it is not important. How do you get things relevant to your situation?
3. Complexity. The finances area is really vast. From a position of someone that doesn't know shit, where to start? What is the lowest hanging fruit? How to get that information?
4. Behavior. Knowledge is great to have. Applied knowledge is the key.

I have discussed with few people in those groups and conducted a quick form of problem interview. They confirmed the relevance and complexity aspect. I take it as a good sign.

One of the people I spoke with took a class on her own to learn taxes. The teacher was so bad and so focused on getting the class to pass that she didn't end up learning anything. She ended up not looking for anything else. I described the app idea I have and asked her if she would use it. Her response: "she will not look for it but if someone she knows told her about she would look into it. "

Tomorrow I am meeting with an entrepreneur that had a very similar idea to discuss it. I will aim to get what he did, what he found, what worked and what didn't..

 

[S.Y.]

About a month ago, I was looking for upcoming business event in meetup when I saw one organized by a financial institution.

It was a pitch up meeting for what they referred to as an innovation challenge. Their challenge: create a prototype within 5 weeks solving specific needs.

And It picked my curiosity. On a whim, I decided to go to the meeting.

I saw entrepreneurs stood up in front of group of 30. Pitching their idea within the allocated time of 3 mins.

While watching them, I decided to participate. And boy I struggled with that idea. Going back and forth between committing and quitting.

But I sticked to it.

The registration to submit the prototype passed and I didn't submit mine. There are many why.

I was half committed, didn't reach out to enough people to understand their need...

And one cause sticks out: it is sales. I sucked at convincing people to my idea. I read multiple times that being able to sell - yourself, your idea, your product - is essential. And now i have really experienced it.

A really valuable experience.

But not all is lost. I gained some interesting insights. I have assessed. Now it is on me to adapt.

Am turning this to you. What is that opportunity that you chose to ignore? What if you act on it?

 

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