CentsCity Featured in Pop City

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

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WYEP 91.3 FM to Pilot CentsCity

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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