Medean is a mobile app that takes users on a personal “journey” to help them improve their finances.
Unlike other platforms that only let users create a budget or track spending, Medean enables users to set financial goals — and then guides them through a step-by-step process on how to achieve them.
Along the way, users can “unlock” new badges and features of the app, and compare their progress with their peers.
Medean was created by co-founder and CEO Erik Skjodt. Skjodt has experience in finance and venture capital, including starting two previous startups. He is a member of Forbes' Young Entrepreneur Council and is a contributing author for Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money, and Forbes.
Skjodt started Medean to target "millennials," a demographic that struggles with personal finances.
60% of millennials have less than $1,000 saved. Their average debt is $28,000. As a result, 70% aren’t satisfied with the state of their finances, and 65% are interested in getting help.
Perhaps surprisingly, less than 15% of millennials actually set a budget or seek financial assistance.
This low number is due in part to the fact that many financial apps don’t provide a personalized experience. This can lead users to receive irrelevant advice — and then give up on the app quickly.
To understand this problem, consider an example of someone who earned an extra $800 in their most recent paycheck.
One app might tell the user to save that money, regardless of their outstanding debt; another might suggest they invest it, even if they already invest aggressively; and a third might urge them to make an extra payment on their loans, no matter what the rest of their budget looks like.
Any of these suggestions might be good advice — it just depends on the user.
Medean, in contrast, offers tailored advice by taking users on a financial journey. The journey starts with an assessment of where someone is in their financial life — for example, a recent grad with student debt, or a young professional aggressively investing for retirement.
Each user will be assigned a financial score and a step-by-step program to help them reach their goals. Users “advance” on their journey by completing these steps, and complete challenges like saving more money to improve their score.
Medean is offered as a “freemium” app.
The basic free version provides budgeting tools, a financial score, and peer-to-peer comparisons.
The “Plus” level includes these features, as well as personalized financial advice and progress reports. This version costs $6.99 per month.
The “Elite” level (slated for launch in Q4 2020) will include the option for a no-fee checking account, personalized debit card, and a fully-managed investment account. This will cost $9.99 per month.
In 2017, Medean raised $750,000 in a seed round, and launched its app later that year. It also completed the BMO Harris Bank Fintech Accelerator Program.
In 2018, the company partnered with two Fortune 500 banks. It also completed the CivicX accelerator, which is affiliated with Capital One.
Today, Medean has around 10,000 users, and has been featured in U.S. News and World Report, Yahoo! Finance, NBC News, and TechCrunch.
Medean averages nearly 15 sessions per month per user, more than 2x more than its competitors. This proves that users are engaged and stick with its platform.
With funds raised, Medean will increase its marketing efforts, hire additional staff, and aim to co-brand products like its upcoming checking accounts and debit cards.
It soon aims to reach 15,000 members, and surpass $100,000 in monthly recurring revenue.