How Zogo Is Revolutionizing Financial Literacy For Gen-Z And How Brands Can Get Involved

Zogo is the #1 app that helps Gen-Z improve their financial literacy. They break down complicated financial topics into fun bite-sized modules—and partner with financial institutions to reward users for learning about finance.

It’s a terrific idea, with a terrific founder—I caught up with the irrepressible Mr Pineapple himself, Bolun Li to find out more.

Afdhel Aziz: Bolun, welcome. Please tell us a little about Zogo and how the idea came about?

Bolun Li: The inspiration for Zogo was sparked in high school when my classmates and I were required to attend a financial literacy seminar. Representatives in suits from a local bank spent 2+ hours speaking on stage, and it was clear the students were bored, uninspired, and pretty much just texting the entire time. At the end of the presentation, the bank gave each of us a little flyer and a promo to earn $20 if we opened up a checking account with them—and that was it. Later, when I got to Duke, it became clear that there was a huge lack of knowledge among my peers when it came to money—even among the most highly educated students with esoteric expertise on topics from paleontology to medieval studies. And yet, some of the most important concepts around financial literacy were entirely missing from our education. So from my dorm room in college, my team and I decided to embark on the journey of Zogo: to design a platform that reinvents how education is delivered to young people. 

Bolun Li, CEO at Zogo

Bolun Li, CEO at Zogo

Aziz: What is your user base and what do you think has been so responsible for the massive increase in the user base?

Li: Our user base largely consists of Gen-Z and Millennials. 

Our app is extremely intuitive: we pay users to complete bite-sized educational modules and they come away with a better understanding of financial responsibility - it just seems too good to be true. The concept of "get paid to learn" is surprising to many people, and when people are surprised, they share. Most of our user growth comes from referrals. We haven't put a single dollar behind paid advertising because we haven't needed to—people want to help others learn (and earn) and we make that easy.

Also, we meet people where they spend their time—on their phones. Because our generation came of age during the smartphone era, our lives are all mobile-first. And yet, our education system hasn't caught up to this (yet). Zogo wants to change that.

Aziz: And what data are you showing on how they have benefitted?

Li: 97% of users reported Zogo has improved their financial literacy. We also hear anecdotes all the time from users on how Zogo jump-started a part of their financial lives—whether applying for their first mortgage or opening a checking account. Looking at our stats, on average our users spend 1.5 hours learning financial literacy—that’s pretty remarkable given how dry this material has previously been delivered to audiences. 

Aziz: Congratulations on hitting your 100th financial institution! How do they value what you do?

Li: Thank you! It's pretty crazy that we signed 100 financial institutions in 18 months. I almost can't believe it myself. For our financial institution partners, they see Zogo as the new way of creating engagement with their customers. They also see it as a way to acquire new and younger generations of customers. Some of our financial institutions are now also integrating Zogo into their mobile banking app, so I think in the near future, engaging education within mobile banking apps will become the new norm. And for us, we see Zogo really evolving from just an education and marketing tool into the next generation of a banking loyalty program as well. 

Zogo teaches financial literacy in a way that GenZ actually loves - On their phone. Gamified. With incentives embedded.

Zogo teaches financial literacy in a way that GenZ actually loves - On their phone. Gamified. With incentives embedded.

Aziz: What other sectors of the financial sector do you think are ripe for financial literacy to be refreshed?

Li: Other financial sectors we're exploring include: retail investing, housing, insurance, car financing, and more. It’s also not just financial sectors that need an educational refresh. For example, a tire company reached out and asked if we could help educate their customers on auto service and tire care. Zogo’s vision is to become the go-to place for learning life skills—and a place where education can be led by institutions beyond schools.