One-line solution summary
Seedlyng plants seeds of financial knowledge to help our users understand how money works & grow their bank account.
Pitch your solution
The old saying is that “money makes the world go round,” and many citizens around the world are not getting their piece of the pie due to their lack of financial education. Many also suffer from generational ignorance when it comes to financial literacy, and this has to stop if we are ever to help improve the lives of everyone around the world.
Seedlyng Financial Literacy is the solution to this problem. Our technology products meet our customers where they are mentally, and emotionally. We stress emotionally also, because spending habits are based on emotional needs and wants also. Our ultimate goal is to CHANGE the mindsets of ALL of our customers and teach them to be financially savvy.
We provide students with personalized, relatable content and help teachers by taking the fear out teaching finance through ‘just-in-time’ professional development.
Seedlyng works with schools, banks and nonprofits to provide:
?? Our award winning app
??? Virtual/In person workshops
? Year long curriculum
? Teacher LMS Dashboard
➕ Campus Ambassador Program
We have partnered with Microsoft, the Stash Investment App, Learn & Earn, and Centsai Education to ensure our students have access to all the best financial education possible.
Film your elevator pitch.
Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
Support educators, school leaders, and other system stakeholders including through adaptive learning management systems, personalized instruction, and access to professional development and training opportunities
Where our solution team is headquartered or located:
Van Alstyne, TX, USAIs your solution working in Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and/or Malaysia?
What specific problem are you solving in Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and/or Malaysia?
We are currently working with the Syrex Corporation, former Filipino professional basketball player, Renren Ritualo, and educators in the Philipines to create a financial literacy program for the schools, families, and communities that Syrex want to support.
Our solution matters even more now because of House Bill No. 9058, filed by AAMBIS-OWA Party-list Rep. Sharon Garin and Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo, which "calls for the introduction of a subject on savings and investment in the curriculum for junior high school."
In the linked CNN article it also mentioned that, "only half (55%) of Filipino adults know the effect of inflation on the prices of goods and services. Only a third (33%) of the respondents correctly answered questions on interest rates."
Our solution is built for students, teachers, and parents! We believe that ALL 3 are important stakeholders that can change the trajectory of their community. We support teachers by providing them with the tools, coaching, and mentoring they need to deliver high quality finance lessons. We support students through engaging, fun, and jargon-free content. We support parents through workshops and our personalized mobile app so they are able to learn right along with their child.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Our target audience is middle and high school students and their parents. We are still in the discovery phase with the Syrex Corporation and pinning down exactly which schools and communities they want to support first.
Once we are able to prove that our initial programs are making a difference then we will seek out partnerships with bigger corporations to spread our program.
The lack of technology is a MAJOR issue for students there. In the US most students have access to a Chromebook or a mobile phone. This is not the case in the Philippines. So, we will train the teachers via Zoom and etc, and the students will receive printed copies of lessons.
Students and parents with cell phones will be able to access lessons via their Smart Phones when wi-fi is avaialble, and use our 'Save to Library' option so they can complete lessons when wi-fi isn't available.
How does the problem you are addressing, the solution you have designed, and the population you are serving align with the Challenge?
We target low-income communities because these are the communities that need our support the most.
We do this by first assessing our students' current level of financial knowledge and then our technology creates a personalized curriculum plan for each user.
We also know that some populations have limited access to wi-fi, computers, and other digital resources. So, users can save lessons in our app to their library. We also work with WTAN, they provide a SIM card that works with all domestic cellular carriers and many global carriers that give computers & tablets internet access.
We are a FULL-TURN KEY solution for a community, business, school, or nonprofit. We are a tech company, but we don't just depend on our technology to do the work. We also provide a human component through our training, support, and ambassador program.
What is your solution’s stage of development?
Growth: An initiative, venture, or organization with an established product, service, or business model rolled out in one or, ideally, several contexts or communities, which is poised for further growthWho is the Team Lead for your solution?
Derrick Wesley, CEO & Founder of Seedlyng Financial Education
Which of the following categories best describes your solution?
A new technologyWhat makes your solution innovative?
Our technology and program are different from our competitors because we create a personalized experience for our users. For example, each user starts by taking a short assessment in the areas of financial psychology, entrepreneurship, saving, and budgeting.
Our app creates a personalized set of courses based on each students’ individual needs. Teachers benefit from our program because they get access to our year-long curriculum, Learning Management System, and support that includes lesson planning and data analysis.
We have also partnered with Microsoft and have plans in place to create an AI-powered web version of our app that will also allow us to partner with more content creators and finance leaders.
Have you tested your solution’s approach? If so, how?
Yes! We first launched in 2019 before the pandemic hit and we were off to a GREAT start and then COVID arrived and slowed us down, BUT didn't stop us.
During the pandemic we launched our FIRST pilot with 5 schools from Lebanon in the Middle East. We received VERY positive feedback from the teachers, students, and directors there:
- 4 Lebanon Schools in the Middle East (1250 students) via the US Embassy - this is a paid pilot.
- Middle & high schools (Richardson ISD/60 students, Plato Learning /Chicago, IL - 200 students)
- 2 non-profits (Twin Falls Boys & Girls Club/Twin Falls, ID/60 students - paid pilot, The Michael Finley Foundation/Carrolton, TX/ 70 students)
Upcoming Projects:
- Edenma.org (Fall 2021)
- Galveston, TX ISD (Fall 2021)
- HCSD High School (Fall 2021)
- Golden Aya, Africa (Fall 2021)
Describe the core technology that powers your solution.
Our award-winning technology is a game changer for schools and nonprofits. The Plan-It app creates a personalized learning path for each user based on their original diagnostic assessment.
For example, if you are a teenager that scored on the lower level then you will receive lessons, articles, videos, and quizzes based on your age and score. We also provide teachers an LMS Dashboard so they can track student progress, and prepare lessons.
?? The Plan-It Mobile App & Teacher LMS Dashboard:
Available for Android and Apple
What is your theory of change?
We are called Seedlyng because we plant seeds of financial knowledge to help our users understand how money works and grow their bank accounts. Our entire purpose is to introduce complex financial topics and help our users understand them in the easiest way possible.
For younger users, we provide cartoon and child-friendly content. For our older users, we provide content from engaging influencers that our target audience can connect with.
We have taken teaching strategies we learned in the classroom from teaching core subjects like math and reading and applied those strategies to our technology. Students WILL grow from being a part of Seedlyng because it is built into our process.
A student's journey includes taking their pre-assessment, getting their results, and personalized curriculum and they will receive certificates for completing certain courses. If a student is struggling with mastering a concept, then their teacher will analyze their assessment data and we will work with a small group of students to help them grow their financial IQ in the area of struggle.
Which target population(s) does your solution address?
What are the key characteristics of your target population?
Which categories best describe your main EdTech product or service?
In which countries will you be operating within the next year?
How are you measuring your progress toward your impact goals?
We currently track how many students and teachers we are able to support. We monitor student growth and engagement on our platform.
Teachers provide feedback on the usage of our tools, and students inform us about how much they did or didn't like the content.
These are important metrics for us to track because if students are bored they won't want to learn. If they are learning then their financial knowledge base is growing and they will grow to make wiser decisions.
What are your impact goals for the next year, the next three years, and the next five years? How will you achieve them?
Impact Goals:
Current - 10,000
1 Year - 2,000,000
5 years - 10,000,000
"Our goals can only be reached through the vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success."
-Pablo Picasso
Picasso’s quote is the driving force behind our company. We believe that our customers have ALL the potential in the world for GREATNESS but it can only be FULFILLED through the vehicle of a plan. Seedlyng’s goal is to be there for our customers as they grow and develop.
How we Plan to Reach Our Customers:
Paid advertising
Social Media (Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, & etc.)
Offer free teacher workshops
Search Engine Optimization
Implement a referral program
Partner with influencers to promote our brand
What barriers currently exist for you to accomplish your impact goals?
Describe these barriers as they relate to your solution. How do you plan to overcome them?
Our biggest challenge is financing. We are a group of teachers with a passion to end financial illiteracy, but passion doesn't pay the bills or allow you to hire a team.
Our solution is already in the market being used by our target audience, but we have to be careful to not grow too fast and bite off more than we can chew.
If we had the funds to hire a sales and support team, then we could scale up and help more communities like those in the Philippines and beyond.
Please provide a brief history of your organization. What was the motivation behind starting your organization and/or the development of your solution?
We are a group of educators that saw that the current system is broken, and we decided to do something about it. I'm Derrick Wesley, the CEO, and founder. I have over 9 years of classroom experience, I won TD Ameritrade's Innovation Contest and I am continuing to push my own personal limits to reach my goals.
Our COO, Richard Ciarletta, is also a former educator and school principal. Richard has also served as an edtech consultant and sales rep. Rich and I taught together at my first campus and our time together helped inspire the creation of Seedlyng.
Ethan Robson is our Campus Director, his job is to work with the students on campus and create a finance club to help share financial knowledge with the campus and community. Ethan and I worked together as co-teachers in a low-income, underserved school in Richardson, TX.
What type of organization is your solution team?
For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models
How many people work on your solution team?
1. Derrick Wesley, CEO
2. Richard Ciarletta, COO
3. Ethan Robson, Campus Director
How long have you been working on your solution?
2 years
How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?
We work well together because we have worked with students, teachers, and administrators together in the school system, and now we are just changing our roles a little. This gives us an advantage because our education partners view us as one of them because we are!
Provide an example of your Team Lead’s ability to conceptualize and implement a new idea.
As a startup it is important to always be prepared to pivot based on a variety of factors. COVID19 had a MAJOR impact on our business model. For example, before COVID hit, we had plans to launch our first pilot with 2 schools in Harlem. Spencer Dinwiddie, NBA star for the Brooklyn Nets, was scheduled to host the event and also provide some cool gear for the students there. We planned to have represenatives there to help showcase our technology and roll-out the start of our startup with a BANG! Unfortunately, none of that happened and then we went into lockdown.
So, it was back to the drawing board for Seedlyng. We had to figure how do we provide high-quality financial education from our homes. We did like a lot of other companies we took advantage of Zoom and Google Meets and went 100% virtual. Our team discussed our options, and instead of us teaching the classes, we switched to a Train-the-Trainer model and haven't looked back sense. Schools are more than happy to assign a teacher the role of, financial eduacator, and with our support they are able to be Rock Stars!
What organizations do you currently partner with, if any? How are you working with them?
Strategic partners:
Microsoft- We were accepted into Microsoft’s Startup Program. We will leverage this partnership through their co-sell program. In 2020 Microsoft partnered with over 3600 schools. Our participation in this program will give us access to their team of over 40,000 sales representatives worldwide.
Stash Investment App-Stash is a competitor of apps like Robinhood and Acorns. Stash has a passion for financial education and their values align with our own. Stash provides our students with a 6-8 week Project Based Learning Activity and provides real funds at the end for our students to invest. Also,
If our proof of concept is proven during our pilot, this will create a new revenue stream because STASH will pay Seedlyng to be a part of the schools we partner with.
Learn & Earn App-Learn & Earn was created by the makers of the Acorns app. They are shifting their focus to provide their users with career development tools.
Similar to STASH, we will earn a percentage of the revenue generated from our students using the Learn & Earn app.
Why are you applying to the Octava Social Innovation Challenge?
Seedlyng Financial Education is applying because we believe that your organization can help us expand our global outreach efforts.
We view our Philippines project as our proof of concept for that will allow us to grow and help other Asian customers, because we will have proof that we are able to help students learn and grow. Yes, we have done it in Lebanon and in the US, but each area brings their own unique challenges.
Partnering with Octava and Solve will really expand our network and help us to connect with the decision makers that can really make a difference.
We would LOVE to expand into Singapore next. In Fintech News' recent article titled, Financial Literacy Still a Sticking Point Among Singaporeans, the article stated that, "“Personalisation is going to be key for banks if they want to avoid being sidelined by new entrants that give more inclusivity and access. Banks need to be using the technology available to understand their consumers’ habits and in turn, anticipate their needs, with hyper-personalised recommendations and services.” This is EXACTLY what we do at Seedlyng, we provide personlized tools for schools, banks, and nonprofits.
In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?
Please explain in more detail here.
1. Human Capital - We would benefit from your experience in choosing the right team members for our project. Besides technical and work experience, we are looking for teammates that believe in our mission to close the financial education gap for ALL, and agree with our motto, "Mission Over Money."
2. Financial - We do need money to accomplish our goals, because we have to keep the lights on! We would lean on your knowledge of different ways to acquire the funds we need so we can have the global impact that we are envisioning for our company.
3. Monitoring & Evaluation - In the classroom, teachers HAVE to know if their students are learning and growing, and it is the same with a business. We would like your help and support to set up ways to monitor and evaluate our growth so we can reach those who need us the most.
4. Technology - We have a great opportunity in place being members of the Microsoft for Starups program. We have plans ready to roll out for our upgraded web version and your technological expertise can help us make sure we get it right the first time.
Solution Team
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Derrick Wesley Founder & CEO, Seedlyng Financial Education
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Solution Name
Seedlyng Financial Education