Meet Zogo Finance, the only NC startup selected for latest MetLife Digital Accelerator

DURHAM — While a student at Duke University, Bolun Li came up with the idea for Zogo — a new mobile banking app that teaches teenagers how to manage their finances and establish good habits early on.

This week, the 20-year-old will be among those presenting as part of the Metlife Digital Accelerator powered by Techstars Demo Day at Market Hall in Raleigh on Thursday, October 10 starting at 6 p.m. His startup, Zogo Finance, was the only company from North Carolina that was selected for the 13-week immersive program.

WRAL TechWire’s Chantal Allam recently had the chance to catch up with him before the big day. Here’s what he had to say:

Talk to us a little bit about your company, and how you got started.

We started the company two years ago really trying to solve our own problem, that growing up, no one taught us anything about financial literacy. Parents didn’t really talk about 401k or credit score at home, and my team all took some forms of financial literacy class in high school, but they are just so lectury and boring and ineffective.

Later we learned that banks and credit unions spent millions of marketing dollars sponsoring these classes every year trying to put their brand in front of GenZ, but it’s probably not the best strategy.

So we really put our teenager’s hat on and start developing this financial literacy app that can not only make learning fun but also help financial institutions better reach and engage GenZ.

And after many pivots, our solution is a financial literacy app that pays kids to learn.

You’ve already received a number of accolades. Share with us some of your successes, and what it’s meant to you.

We introduced our solution first to credit unions four months ago at a conference. And in the past four months, with just content marketing, we’ve received inbound demo requests from 154 financial institutions. We are the winner of NACUSO Next Big Idea Competition and also the Best of Show at Finovate this year, and these awards have really accelerated our exposure in the industry.

My team and I are just so excited to see the energy around the product not only from financial institutions, but also from teenagers in our test group. We started the company because we want to build a financial education experience that our peers would actually use. It’s exciting to see the vision comes to live.

You’re the only NC startup participating in the MetLife Digital Accelerator. Why did you decide to take part in this program?

We’ve heard good things about Techstars from our friends and our investors. I also met MJ, the managing director of the program, earlier and really enjoyed our conversation. Before joining the accelerator, we’ve gotten many interests from companies looking to implement Zogo as an employee benefit. With MetLife as a partner, we can accelerate the exploration of that market. So overall, it’s just a great fit for us.

You’re an undergrad at Duke University. Is it true that you participated in the accelerator while attending classes at Duke? How was that possible?

Yeah. It’s difficult for sure but our focus is definitely on Zogo. We definitely learned how to manage our time.

What have you gained from taking part in the accelerator?

Apart from getting access to the vast network of MetLife and Techstars, I think being in an environment where nine innovative companies are all pushing for success really helps shape the culture at Zogo. We have accomplished so much in just three months it’s unbelievable.

What should we be expecting from you on Demo Day on October 10?

We’re making a big announcement and I would say a big milestone for Zogo. We worked very hard during the accelerator to hit this goal, and it’s so exciting to see that we not only accomplished our goal but exceeded it.