Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Tech Crunch 50: Shryk.com: Kids Can Do More WIth Money Than Buy Candy

We all know that American adults suck at saving money. Our average savings rate is about as low as the price of a Taco Bell Burrito. There are lots of reasons for this, among them the declining real income of American families.

But another reason, at least in my opinion, is we don't teach financial responsibility. The Shryk sites are out to change all that. Here's their sucinct self description:

Instead of relying solely on our education system, Shryk has created a new model for helping children and adults alike learn $literacy. Compounding lessons in the classroom with real world experience strengthens our ability to make a long-term difference. Our two-pronged approach will bring a free platform to schools and reinforce these lessons with our online banking platform providing the ability to grow with users into adulthood and beyond.

There are two web properties in their solution:

iThryv: An online banking platform offering youth friendly features like customizable templates and tools to help them understand and control their spending better. The system makes allowances for member age to provide age appropriate tools and pages. It also offers points for good behavior that can be spent in an online store. Such behavior can relate to participating in education or in responsible financial planning.

WeProsper: A financial literacy and learning community with outreach to schools.

Their approach is looking for a perfect storm of involvement from:

Banks and financial institutions
Teacher and schools
Sponsors
Parents and Young People


I love the mission and can see great marketing opportunities for banks and other firms desiring to reach and connect with young people and their money. Definitely check this site out.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Because people have been abusing the comment platform to place phony links to deceptive sites, I am now moderating all comments. If your comment is legit and contains a relevant link, it will be published.