Personal finance site launches section for teens

CentSai Inc., a personal financial site focused on millennials, on Tuesday launched a platform dedicated to teenagers.

Called CentSaiAdulting.com, the new website offers content for teens on finance, including entrepreneurship, savings, student loans, credit cards and practical career topics. Gamification, videos, blogs, quizzes and social interaction will be the core of CentSai Adulting’s content.

“Just like learning math or a language, the younger you are, the faster you get on top of it. Financial literacy is no different. The problem we have is that access to financial education in high schools is limited. It’s also not very approachable. This is the gap CentSai Adulting is filling,” said Arindam Nag, CentSai Inc.’s chief executive and co-founder.

Nag spent nearly two decades at news outlets such as Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones in India, the United Kingdom and United States.

Nag and Doria Lavagnino, also a journalist, co-founded CentSai.com earlier this year. Today CentSai.com has over 83,000 users (70 percent of them born between 1980 and 2000), a majority of who came since its formal launch in April.

“What has resonated with our users and many financial educators is the story-telling approach we have taken to teach money issues,”said Lavagnino. “People read a personal story and say: ‘wait that’s me.'”

CentSai Adulting is partnering with non-profit Inceptia to offer Financial Avenue, a 10-part online course to help students learn about the basics of money management. Inceptia, a division of National Student Loan Program (NSLP), provides expertise in higher education, student loan repayment, default prevention, and financial education.

Currently, CentSai’s business model revolves around affiliate marketing and sponsored content. But Nag said the company has plans to launch subscription services for financial experts who are looking to reach out to millennials, next year. The company is also launching a segment for teachers in the fall.

The company has been self-funded so far but will soon actively seek venture capital/angel investor money in the fall.