The Lean Startup Conference 2019

1. Big Problems
Require Big
Solutions:
The Story of EARN

2. Income Alone Will
Not Lift People Out
of Poverty
• Millions of Americans are “asset poor”
• The government should match the
savings of low-income people to
invest in assets
• Assets are largely defined as
education, homeownership,
entrepreneurship
2

3. EARN’s Mission & History
EARN creates prosperity for low-income families by helping them save and
invest in their futures.
• Founded in 2001, EARN helped 6,000 people buy homes, start businesses and
get a college education
• EARN Savers saved $6M, which was matched 2:1
• Operational restraints limited enrollment to 600 clients per year

4. America’s Savings Crisis
4
But Too Many
Americans Lack SavingsSavings Create Stability

5. “EARN will help one million
Americans save one billion
dollars by 2023”
- Ben Mangan, EARN CEO
• Build on what works
• Reduce barriers to participation
• Leverage technology to drive
efficiency and scale
5

6. Our Inflection Point
6
Strengths…
Deep, first-hand knowledge of what works and what doesn’t
Established and trusted relationships with funders
Financially stable with a “war chest” of reserve funding to
invest in tech development
Nationally recognized with a reputation for field leadership
Weaknesses…
Donors, Board and Partners attached to existing model
Confronting deeply held beliefs and misconceptions
No national footprint or national funding
No internal tech experience or internal tech team

7. The Backlash
“Nonprofits are not meant to
achieve scale. Our role is to
prove concepts and push
public policy.”
- Nonprofit CEO #1
7
“Making that public statement was
irresponsible. You are setting
unrealistic expectations of what is
possible. You are going to fail, and
we will all suffer”
- Nonprofit CEO #2
“Matched savings programs
are not scalable. There is
no business plan that can
make this a reality.”
- Everyone Else

8. “Hey Lean, Meet Philanthropy”
Our Sector
Impact
Want to predict outcomes 1-2 years in advance
Want to determine what the outcomes should be
Product
Require large amounts of demographic and programmatic data
Attached to sector norms and rules
Marketing
Focus on traditional outreach and nonprofit partnerships
Geographically/Demographically Focused
8

9. EARN Starter Savings Program
Built on rules and transactions:
• Focused on transactions not community
• Savings as a noun not a verb
• Penalized use of funds
• Lengthy sign-up process built for our needs
not our clients needs

10. “Hey Philanthropy, Meet Lean”
Our Sector Our Users
Impact
Want to predict outcomes 1-2 years in
advance
Want dynamic products that change
and improve in real-time
Want to determine what the outcomes
should be
Need products that align with their
lives and their values
Product
Require large amounts of demographic
and programmatic data
Want a fast and frictionless
onboarding process
Attached to sector norms and rules Want to be met where they are
Marketing
Focus on traditional outreach and
nonprofit partnerships
Connect primarily through digital
channels
Geographically/Demographically
Focused
Geographically Dispersed/Organic
growth
10

11. SaverLife 2.0: Flexible and Dynamic
11
Tax-Time Quest
Your one-stop guide to
making the most of your
refund and winning!
Built on community and
behavior:
• Multiple savings challenges
• Strong community support
• Simple onboarding
• Positive and rewarding

12. 12
-100%
-50%
0%
50%
100%
150%
200%
250%
300%
1 3 5 7 9 11
People deposited money into savings 82% of the months
where their income was above average in 2018
• Months Making Savings Deposits
• Months Not Making Savings Deposits
Jan ‘18 Dec ‘18
Above
Average→
←Below
Average
Incomevs.Average
Incomes were
below average
62% of all months
in 2018
Based on Savers receiving SNAP benefits, 82% of which are below 30%
AMI, 91% are below 50% AMI
Based on Savers with continuous data since 1/1/2018 that have both a
checking and a savings account linked to SaverLife (n = 680)
Income Volatility Makes Consistency
A Challenge

13. Reward and Engage
13
SaverLife promotes savings via digital online scratchers. For every week you save at
least $5, you have the opportunity to win $5.
• Over 60,000 plays
• High user engagement - email open rates
consistently above 40%
• People who play are 16% more likely to save

14. Leverage Moments in Time
14
SaverLife capitalizes on tax season and motivates families to save their tax refund.
• Nearly 45,000 people pledged to save over
$60 million of their tax refunds
• 65% of survey respondents said pledging
influenced what they did with their tax refund

15. Track Outcomes Without
Burdening Users
15
Slowing customer onboarding
reduces conversion rates

16. Streamlined Onboarding
Increases Conversion
16

17. Meet People Where They
Are, Not Where We Think
They Should Be
“Should we really be encouraging people to save
with PayPal? Shouldn’t we force them to use a
real savings account?”
• We saw a 5% Increase in Account Linking
When we made PayPal more visible during
onboarding
• PayPal is now the top-linked institution
17

18. User Acquisition at Scale takes
Creativity… and Money
18

19. We’re Helping Over 6,000
Californians Save
19
Our 175,000+ Members are spread
throughout the United States
2.3x
Savers more than double
their savings
11%
Savers save twice the
national average as a
percentage of income
$31,000
average income