The document discusses the problem of excessive materialism among parents and children and lack of understanding of the value of money among kids. It proposes a solution called Sow, which would enable young people to accept monetary gifts and inspire them to put the money toward saving, sharing, and spending to support their goals and interests. Sow would allow friends and family to easily support the endeavors of young people. The summary provides high-level information about the problem, proposed solution, and market opportunity in 3 sentences or less as requested.
2. The Problem
2
Parents and kids are wrapped up in a culture of materialism and excess that
they do not know how to break out of…
Leading to:
• Kids who do not understand the value of money
• Parents who despise the excess materialism, but perpetuate it
• A culture that is centered around buying things rather than
funding needs, dreams, or goals.
3. The Opportunity
3
• There is no single place that enables young people to accept monetary gifts and
inspires them to put them to good use – saving, sharing, and spending to
meaningfully support their goals and interests.
• There is no good way for family, friends, and
close networks to know what endeavors
young people are “into” and easily support
them in achieving their goals.
4. Sow: Making Money Matter
4
From Crib to College
• Solves the problem of gift-giving for milestones and
everyday support of goals
• Baby: College Savings…starting at birth
• Birthday/Holiday: Makes holiday giving meaningful
• Baccalaureate/College: Engages alumni in
supporting students’ dreams
6. Sow my
Savings
(save)
Virtuous Cycle of Giving
6
MY
PROJECTS
LIV’S
PROJECTS
JOE’S
PROJECTS
Sow my
Causes
(share)
Sow my
Wishes
(spend)
Grandma
Uncle Next Door
Neighbors
My College
Alumni Network
Big Brother &
Sister-in-Law
Friends
$
$
7. Team & Advisors
7
Tanya Van Court
CEO and Founder
General Manager and SVP Digital,
NickJr.com, Noggin.com
SVP Marketing,
Discovery Education
Diana Rhoten
Advisor – Product & Marketing
Associate Partner, IDEO
Sarah Youngwood
Advisor - Finance
Managing Director, Investor Relations,
JP Morgan Chase
Tristan Louis
Advisor - Technology
Global Head, Internet & Mobile
Desutsche Bank
Chief Innovation Officer, HSBC
6 start-ups, 5 successful exits
8. Team & Advisors
8
Steve Youngwood
Advisor – Digital Marketing
COO, Sesame Street
EVP, Kids & Family Digital,
Nickelodeon
Yvette Butler
Advisor - Finance
EVP, Capital One Financial Advisors,
Capital One
CEO, Ogilvy & Mather Africa,
SVP, Marketing, Publicis
Sheldon Gilbert
Advisor - Data
CEO, Proclivity Systems
Nadja Bellan-White
Advisor - Marketing
8
Ty Ahmad-Taylor
Advisor - Technology
Vice President, SmartTV Services,
Samsung
Founder, FanFeedr (acquired by
Samsung)
9. Market Size: US
9
96 Million kids & young adults
(Ages 0-22)
Significant Sow Market
(+ their parents, relatives & alumni networks)
Revenue Potential
$400 Million
from Referral Fees Alone
$
Transaction
Fees
$
Financial
Product
Referrals
$
Affiliate
Revenue
10. Business Model
10
User
Acquisition
Gather user
funds/info
Intelligent
Suggestions
Referral
Fee
User Buys Product =
New User Account =
Affiliate
Fee
Includes
• Project Types
• Location
• Spending Patterns
• Demographics &
Preferences
Based On
• Age of kids
• History
• Usage
• Spending Habits
• Goals
From
• Advertising
• University deployments
• Viral Marketing
• Distribution Partners
Fee Types
• Bank Account Referral
• Brokerage Account Referral
• 529 Account Referral
• Affiliate Fees
• Transaction Fees
Future Potential: Advertising
Large expected
user base
High quality
user data
Premium
targeted ads
High profit
potential
Transaction
Fee
11. Value to Partners
11
Prospective Partner Product or Service
Customer Acquisition
Cost
Sow Referral Value Proposition
Wamu Savings Accounts $200 $50 $150
Wells Fargo Banking Accounts $175 $125 $50
e-Trade Brokerage Accounts $475 $100 $375
Partners can
increase revenue
via cost-effective
customer
acquisition.
Sow gives users a
compelling reason
to open up their first
banking accounts.
12. Value to Users
12
Sow
Crowd-funding
sites
(GoFundMe,
Kickstarter)
Financial
Management
sites
(Mint.com)
Allowance
Management Sites
(FamZoo,
Allowance
Manager)
Community
Connects users with their friends,
family & networks.
Focuses on personal development
rather than project development.
Crowdfunding
Enables users to participate in “kin-
funding”
Gift-giving
Solves the problem of– but not
limited to - key gift-giving
opportunities: Baby, Birthday,
Baccalaureate
Financial
awareness
Elevates savings as a core value
Social
Promotes adopting and supporting
causes
Sow offers the most
engaging social –
financial platform for the
needs of millennials and
Gen Z.
13. Market Approach
13
Launch
Word of mouth & viral, blogosphere referral badges, shareable website tags
Targeted Marketing– Parents & Collegiates
• University campuses
• Parenting blogs
• Family finance blogs and 529 Sites
• Facebook targeted marketing
SEO
• Organic Search
Growth Maturity
Network Effect
• Campus word-of-mouth
• Birthday/Baby Invites: “Check out my Sow”
• Parent Blogger Badges: “I Sow for…”
PR
• Buzz marketing
• Company blog
• PR tactics
Internet Advertising
• Adwords
• Parenting Sites & Blogs
• Facebook + Instagram
14. Key Milestones
14
February, 2015: Clickable prototype complete
March, 2015: MVP complete
June, 2015: Beta launch
• 100 Users
June — July, 2015: Collect data and refine product offering
July - Aug, 2015: Market launch
• Parenting websites, blogs and 529 sites
• 5 universities
September, 2015: Expanded Feature Set
• Integration with Credit Cards
• Integration with Banking/Affiliate Partners
• Launch Sow iOS app
17. Exit Strategy
17
• Allows Chase (or other
consumer banks) to target
Millennial customers and
seamlessly add first-time
accounts
• Integration with Chase
Quick Pay
• Expands Intuits financial
suite of products with a
focus on Millennials
• Intuit purchased Mint.com
for $170MM in 2009
• Extends Yahoo Finance
offering with a financial
tool focused on
Millennials
• Integration with Yahoo
Finance site
• Leverages Google’s
dominance in Search
for monetization
• Builds Google’s social
presence
• Deepens connections
with existing users
18. Investment Ask: First 6 months
18
Uses Expenses Notes
Developer Salaries $113,000 1 Senior Dev, 1 Junior Dev
Marketing $113,000
Marketing investment in first 6 months before
network effect takes hold
User Experience & Design $ 54,000
Web Hosting & Servers $60,000
Benefits & Taxes $38,000
Founder/CTO Salaries $70,000
Travel $24,000
T&E will include trips to colleges to help launch first
10 schools – 2 team members per visit
Office Space $12,000
Legal, Finance & Human Resources $15,000
Insurance $7,200
Transaction Costs $0
Total $501,200
22. The Opportunity: College/Grad School Savings
22
89%
of parents value
education for their
children’s future
Only 51%
of families
are saving for
college
23. The Opportunity: Allowance & Savings
23
$780
is the average
allowance for
U.S. kids
1%
of parents say their
kids are saving
any allowance
24. 24
2 pts
Children who have
college savings
accounts score 2
points better than
those who don’t
25. The Opportunity:
Generation “We” not Generation “Me”
25
83%
of millennials made
a financial gift to an
organization
in 2012
3x
as likely to have
500+ friends
on social media
$200B
in
direct
spending
annually
63%
will buy a
non-favorite
brand on sale
Significant Social Sharers Savers
26. Facebook “Would you rather…” campaign
26
Graduate with Freshwater Pearls…or Financial Peace? Raise him with Hoop Dreams or College Dreams?
Sow lets those who love you support goals that
matter…on graduation, your birthday, and every
day. #givegoalsnotgoods
Isow.com
Sow lets your family and friends help him to achieve
his educational goals instead of his field goals.
#whatdoyousow?
Isow.com
27. Facebook “Would you rather…” campaign
27
Give him the gift of More Stuff or More Savings?
Sow can help turn birthdays and holidays into
opportunities to launch goals…not (yet another)
rocket blaster.
