Posts Tagged ‘AlphaLab’
February 9th, 2010 | Tags: Acquisition, AlphaLab, BancVue, CentsCity, Echoing Green, Entrepreneurship, Felix Lloyd, Financial Education, Financial Literacy, Finovate, Investment, Press, Social Impact, Social Innovation, Tech Collaborative
BancVue Takes Aim at Financial Literacy With Acquisition of Skill-Life, Inc.
Online Financial Education Provider to Enhance Solution-Based Lineup of Services for Community Banks and Credit Unions
AUSTIN, TX–(Marketwire – February 9, 2010) – BancVue (www.BancVue.com), a consumer research-driven product development and marketing company for community banks and credit unions around the country, today announced it has acquired Skill-Life, Inc., a provider of interactive, game-based resources focused on developing financial literacy.
Skill-Life’s youth-oriented platform adds to BancVue’s innovative lineup of solutions designed to help community financial institutions win the war against megabanks.
“An important mission of any community financial institution is providing financial education for its customers,” said Gabe Krajicek, Chief Executive Officer of BancVue, “and Skill-Life has developed just the sort of Web-based applications that can teach children the fundamentals of managing their money. The combination is a compelling value proposition for our community bank and credit union partners and their account holders.”
MoneyIsland™ formerly called CentsCity, Skill-Life’s flagship product, is essentially an online world where ‘tweens’ — children in the so-called middle years between 8 and 12 — learn financial skills and earn rewards from their financial institution. Parents are able to follow their children’s progress through a dynamic administrative interface. The firm expects to develop additional products applying Skill-Life’s platform, which incorporates casual games, interactive videos and quizzes, administrative tools for adults, and a customizable rewards system.
“With 81% of ‘tweens’ playing online games, and 87% of adults interested in teaching their children financial responsibility, we’re at the nexus of an emerging opportunity,” said Felix Brandon Lloyd, President of Skill-Life. “Through the extensive network of branches of BancVue’s clients, hundreds of thousands, eventually millions, of children around the country will gain access to much-needed financial education.”
The Skill-Life transaction is BancVue’s first corporate acquisition. The Texas-based firm has recently announced a number of strategic partnerships, including Deluxe and CSI. BancVue and its marketing partner FIRST ROI provide REALChecking®, a system of innovative products, superior marketing, and data-driven consulting, INMO™, the online account opening system with the highest funding rate, and FIRSTBranch®, a dynamic online marketing system designed exclusively for community financial institutions.
“In Skill-Life, we’re recognizing that industry leaders like Mr. Lloyd and his company can benefit from our network of clients,” says Krajicek. “At the same time, we gain from their creativity and enhance our own ability to serve BancVue’s partners.”
BancVue was recognized last year as the second fastest growing financial services firm in Inc. Magazine’s 28th Annual List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies — the Inc. 500. The Austin-based firm expects to continue its growth trajectory with the nationwide launch of Kasasa™, a national brand of superior products designed to unite community financial institutions with the marketing scale they need to compete and win.
About BancVue
BancVue is the leading provider of innovative products, marketing, and consulting solutions to community financial institutions nationwide. Serving over 650 community banks and credit unions around the country, BancVue’s solutions allow these institutions to compete and win in the war against the megabanks and direct banks. Community financial institutions benefit from the development and implementation of BancVue’s innovative products, including Kasasa™, a national brand of superior products that gives community financial institutions the marketing scale they need to compete with the megabanks, and REALChecking®, a system of innovative products, superior marketing, and data-driven consulting. For more information on BancVue, visit www.bancvue.com.
About Skill-Life
Skill-Life, Inc. began as CentsCity, LLC in January 2007 with the mission of building financially healthy families and communities. With seed funding from the social venture fund Echoing Green, Skill-Life has since gained support from the Alpha Lab, Idea Foundry, Technology Collaborative, Grable Foundation, Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, and several private investors. The Beta version of Skill-Life’s flagship product, formerly called CentsCity, launched in August 2009, employing online games and real-world incentives to teach tweens financial skills.
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August 12th, 2009 | Tags: AlphaLab, CentsCity, Customers, Felix Lloyd, Financial Education, Financial Literacy, Finovate, Media, Pilot Partners, Pop City Media, Press, WYEP
CentsCity is featured in this week’s issue of Pop City. Check out the article here. Also pasted below:
Skill-Life launches real-life financial game for tweenagers; founder named to 40 under 40
Skill-Life, an Alpha Lab startup, has quietly launched a new online game that teaches life skills and financial literacy to tweenagers.
Founder and CEO, Felix Lloyd, is also making a splash as a local celebrity, having been recently named to the Pittsburgh Magazine list of 40 under 40 and chosen as one of 32 companies in the world to attend Finovate 2009, a showcase of the hottest new startups and best new financial and banking technology.
The decision to move to Pittsburgh was a no-brainer, Lloyd says.
He and his wife, both former school teachers, considered San Francisco but Pittsburgh made more sense on many levels. His wife works for Google while Lloyd pursues his entrepreneurial dream. The goal, he says, is to build healthy communities and educate young people to be smart money managers through gaming technology and real-life awards.
Skill-Life began as CentsCity in January 2007. Seed funding came from Echoing Green (see the Pop City story here), Innovation Works’ Alpha Lab, the Technology Collaborative, Idea Foundry and local foundations. The software was initially tested with the help of students in Mt. Lebanon and Fox Chapel.
Designed for students ages eight to 14, CentsCity is based on the 70-10-10-10 principle of spending, savings, investing and charitable sharing. Players navigate through a world of landmarks and work their way up to financial guru. Hopes to add a nutrition and citizenship component too.
“This is something we don’t teach in schools,” explains Lloyd. “It’s intimidating to most of us. I was going over the limit on my own credit card, doing all this teaching, and I realized that I needed to learn these things as an adult.”
WYEP is running a pilot program with CentsCity for local youth, giving kids an opportunity to earn concert tickets and prizes by racking up points in the game. To receive a Passport and gain access to the online world, smail here.
Writer: Debra Diamond Smit
http://www.popcitymedia.com/innovationnews/skilllife0812.aspx?utm_campaign=Hot%20Date%20in%20Pittsburgh&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=VerticalResponse&utm_term=Skill-Life%20launches%20real-life%20financial%20game%20for%20tweenagers%3B%20founder%20named%20to%2040%20under%2040
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July 2nd, 2009 | Tags: AlphaLab, Beta, CentsCity, Echoing Green, Felix Lloyd, President Obama, Social Impact, Social Innovation
I was just writing to Mike from AlphaLab where Skill-Life was incubated last summer and fall. He asked about the trip down to the White House.
As I told him, it was incredibly exciting to be in the White House — one of those things you can’t actually fathom until you’re in the East Room looking at a portrait of Abraham Lincoln that you remember seeing in middle school history books. Even more, to be included in a group of social entrepreneurs who the President says are creating the most innovative solutions to our communities most challenging problems, is humbling and inspiring.
The $50 million fund will help take social enterprises like Skill-Life, Inc. to higher levels as will the fact that the President has established an Office of Social Innovation. Knowing that real dollars are being committed makes a tremendous difference. We made some excellent connections to folks from the private, philanthropic, and government sectors.
These times are calling for the kind of double bottom-line work and outside of the lines innovation that Skill-Life is doing. There is real energy, action, and opportunity that we will continue to build on as we release the beta version of CentsCity this month and continue to grow our business.
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November 12th, 2008 | Tags: AlphaLab, Jobs, Tech Collaborative
Our time at the AlphaLab officially ends at the end of the month as the IW team here prepares to bring in a new group of six tech start-ups It’s been a great five months going on six. This office space, and the community it has fostered, has been terrific.
Today, I had the opportunity to check out our new digs in Oakland (the part of Pittsburgh where Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh are located). It’s a great office space right in the heart of Craig St (311 Craig Street; Suite 303). And it’s already too big for me alone, which is absolutely critical as we step up our efforts to bring on an executive producer, game engineer, marketing executive, and other critical team members.
The office space is being provided free of charge to Skill Life through the Tech Collaborative — http://www.techcollaborative.org/ — an economic development, not-for-profit organization. Another shining example of Pittsburgh supporting local tech initiatives and entrepreneurship!
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October 28th, 2008 | Tags: AlphaLab, Demo, Game Development, Investment
After five months here at AlphaLab, Demo Day has come and gone. It was a great opportunity to talk about Skill-Life in front of a receptive audience of investors and potenatial partners. The last few days of preparation have been intense but I’m happy with how things turned out. A few nibbles here and there — good places to start as we continue our current investment round.
The demo portion went well and the problem of financial literacy is obvious — an easy sale. I’m not certain that I spent enough time on the central question “how we make money.” The challenge is having a company with a social mission and the intention of seeking foundation funding early on. That inevitably comes across as something not terribly attractive to VC’s, and potentially, to angel investors as well.
The key, I think, is for us to embrace the mission-driven nature of Skill-Life while also making clear our plan for eventually reaching a consumer market. As of today, we’ve got a good demo, a solid pitch, and a workable plan for getting to the next level.
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October 23rd, 2008 | Tags: AlphaLab
We’re only a few days away now — 5 to be exact! After five months of being one of six companies in Innovation Works first AlphaLab, the time has come to show what we’ve been up to. The event is being attended by a number of potential investors, partners, customers, and champions, so the stakes are high. At this point, we’re working to get ready — perfecting the pitch and building the demo.
It’s an exciting and anxious time. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to present Skill-Life to so many folks of note. In our short lifetime as a company and social enterprise, this may be the most significant single event yet — with plenty more to come!
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