Posts Tagged ‘Customers’
September 28th, 2009 | Tags: Beta, CentsCity, Customers, Demo, Felix Lloyd, Financial Education, Financial Literacy, Finovate, Game Development, Investment, Media, Press, Todd Waits
We’re winding down our first full day in NYC for the Finovate Conference. It’s been an action-packed one and our 7-minutes on stage are less than 24 hours away (actually less than 18 hours — we’re scheduled to demo at around 3 pm EST).
The highlight of the afternoon was actually getting to check out the venue and take the stage for a rehearsal. It’s a phenomenal looking space with big screens and all the work s everywhere. A lot of time and effort has clearly been put into the planning of this event. The list of companies with which we’ll be presenting includes some heavy hitters including Mint, which was recently acquired by Intuit. And the audience is comprised of execs from Citibank, ING Direct, Wells Fargo, and other banks as well as a number of venture capitalists and influential press. This will certainly be our biggest stage to date — an opportunity that we’ve worked hard to gain and intend to make the most of.
The rehearsal went off without a hitch, which we can only suppose is a good thing (we’re actually assuming that the rehearsal was a minor disaster so as to keep us honest for tomorrow). We’re well prepared on this end and, more importantly, our innovation stands out on its own. CentsCity has a look and feel that’s distinct and our potential value to financial service institutions is tremendous.
After rehearsal, we had the opportunity to have crepes with Heather Marold Thomason of Bad Feather and Andy Hieb of Dtek Digital Media. These two companies have played major roles in the design and execution of the Skill-Life.com and CentsCity.com sites. It was a rare opportunity to sit down with them face to face. We got to talk shop (we’ve just put to print another round of 2,000 CentsCity Passports and are initiating another phase of development on the CentsCity beta that will include the introduction of our first in-world mini-game — the Ducket Dash!). And, as it turns out, all of us have dogs that we love immensely. Go Wendell!
For much of the evening, we met up with folks at a Finovate happy hour. Among the most notables were John Waupsh and Gabriel Krajicek of BancVue and FirstRoi. These guys were full of energy and personality. They had some very interesting and insightful perspectives on the industry and CentsCity’s value to financial service institutions. They also insisted that they would be hands-down the best demo tomorrow (turns out they lobbied to bring a lion on stage with them and/or a choir to hum the “Battle Hymn of the Republic”). Of course, we then let them know that they were up against a giant in CentsCity and the Skill-Life team this year — they’d have to settle on being a great opening act!
Otherwise, it was a southern-cooking dinner for the Skill-Life team. No need for details there aside from saying we tried to keep it light as much as is possible when choosing from a menu on which mac & cheese is a vegetable.
Now, it’s getting in game mode. More to come.
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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 20th, 2009 | Tags: Beta, CentsCity, Customers, Financial Education, Financial Literacy, Game Development, Product Development
From Tuesday (7/21) to Thursday (7/23), we will be conducting private testing of the CentsCity Beta version. CentsCity is a fun online world where tweens learn financial skills and earn real-life rewards!
We are presently looking for a limited number of people to test drive the product. If you would like to give us feedback on CentsCity before we launch publicly, please let us know by responding to this message.
Best,
Skill-Life, Inc.
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Skill-Life, Inc.
CentsCity — http://centscity.com/ — Learn Money, Earn Rewards!
1739 East Carson St. #323
Pittsburgh, PA 15203
Phone: 412-871-3713
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June 27th, 2009 | Tags: Beta, CentsCity, Customers, Pilt Partners, WYEP
Skill-Life has entered into an agreement and pilot partnership with WYEP 91.3 FM Pittsburgh. This partnership is part of WYEP’s “Engaging Communities on the Economy” project for promoting financial literacy among Pittsburgh youth ages 8-18.
WYEP has agreed to purchase a total of 600 “access passports” for Skill-Life, Inc.’s “CentsCity” financial literacy online program. These access passports will allow up 600 students to be among the first paying users of CentsCity once it becomes available for public use.
Skill-Life, Inc. will be working with WYEP to determine the best way to distribute the WYEP-sponsored access passports. WYEP will promote CentsCity as a financial literacy resource for students on wyep.org under the “WYEP FreeZone for Students” section, as well as in e-newsletters, print pieces and other non-broadcast materials throughout the duration of the partnership term. WYEP will also promote CentsCity to its youth services partners through the WYEP FreeZone program throughout the duration of the partnership term.
The term of this partnership will span June 8th through August 31st, 2009, with the possibility of extension beyond August 31st pending review and approval from both parties.
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