AI Financial Coach
An AI-powered personal finance platform designed to help underbanked, low-income Americans achieve economic mobility through personalized, real-time financial guidance.
Role
Product Manager
Context
CMU Tepper Tech Innovation Challenge 2022
Year
November 2022
Team
Team Yaya (4 Members)
01 — My Contribution
What I Did as Product Manager
As PM on a 4-person team, I led product strategy, user research, and prototyping, translating a complex financial inclusion problem into a concrete, user-centered product vision that took us to the CMU Tepper finals.
Product Strategy & Roadmap
Defined the product vision, feature prioritization framework, and phased roadmap. Led MoSCoW-style feature scoring across 4 user segments to align the team on MVP scope.
User Research & Personas
Developed the core user persona ("Monica") through pain-point analysis and demographic research. Mapped the end-to-end user journey from discovery through first financial recommendation.
Prototyping
Built the product prototype illustrating key user flows (spending dashboard, personalized recommendations, and financial product access) used in the final CMU presentation.
Presentation & Storytelling
Co-developed the competition deck, structuring the narrative from problem framing through financials to secure finalist placement at CMU Tepper Tech Innovation Challenge.
02 — Problem
Millions Are Left Behind by the Financial System
Underbanked, low-income Americans lack the financial tools and literacy to manage everyday expenses, avoid predatory products, and build toward long-term goals, trapping families in cycles of debt across generations.
$12K
Average new childcare expenses in Year 1 alone
$230K
Average cost of raising a child to age 17
25M
US mothers with children under 18 needing better financial planning
~25%
Higher credit card debt for Americans with 2 children vs. none
56%
Childcare expenses as share of African-American family income
52%
American households earning under $70K annually
03 — Target Users
Who We're Building For
AI Financial Coach is designed for underbanked, low-income Americans who lack the tools and literacy to navigate financial decisions on their own.
"Monica"
Assistant Store Manager · $70K household income · Two bank accounts, low financial literacy
“I make the same amount of money but my expenses keep climbing. I don't know where to start.”
"The Planner"
Hourly worker · Focused on building credit and saving for long-term goals
“I want to save for a car and my kids' future, but I just seem to be spending faster than I earn.”
"The Climber"
Gig worker · Rebuilding credit · Seeking vetted loan options to avoid predatory lenders
“I need a loan but I don't know which offers are safe. My credit score isn't where it needs to be.”
04: Solution
Core Features
AI Financial Coach combines real-time spending intelligence, personalized product access, and long-term goal planning, powered by a self-improving data engine.
Click a button below to see each feature in action
& tap inside the app to explore interactively. -->
Home
Personalized Savings Dashboard
Analyzes your spending against similar households in your geography to surface specific, actionable savings opportunities, down to the merchant level.
05 — User Journey
End-to-End Experience Flow
From first download to first personalized recommendation, AI Financial Coach is designed to deliver immediate, tangible value.
Download
Discover AI Financial Coach via referral, social, or partner
Onboard
Complete profile with income and goals
Connect
Link bank accounts via Plaid integration
Analyze
AI Financial Coach ingests spending and builds baseline
Recommend
First personalized savings recommendation
Set Goals
Define short and long-term financial targets with guided milestones
Optimize
Model flywheel refines recommendations as outcomes accumulate
06 — Technical Architecture
AI Financial Coach's Model Outcome Flywheel
AI Financial Coach's strategic moat is its data engine, a self-improving flywheel that gets smarter with every user outcome, creating recommendations competitors cannot replicate.
Data Sources
Data Ingestion
Processing Engine
Data Storage
Presentation Layer
Tech Stack
07 — Competitive Landscape
Feature Comparison Matrix
AI Financial Coach is the only platform combining bank-level data access, cross-institution spending visibility, and a self-improving recommendation engine, all tailored to an underserved segment.
| Feature | AI Financial Coach | Traditional Banks | Mint / Advisory Apps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solution customizable to individual user | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Visibility to cross-institution spending data | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Directly integrated bank services | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Designed to improve over time (flywheel) | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Personalized financial product recommendations | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Targeted for underserved / low-income segment | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
08 — Market Opportunity
Market Sizing
Targeting working mothers with household incomes under $70K, a 25M-person segment underserved by existing financial tools and highly motivated to adopt better solutions.
Revenue Projections
$173M
Projected incremental revenue for PNC over 5 years
$110
Incremental annual revenue per AI Financial Coach customer
20%
Share of AI Financial Coach users projected to become net new PNC customers
09 — Go-to-Market Strategy
Phased Market Entry
B2C-first through referral and digital channels, with B2B partnerships layered in to accelerate adoption and build institutional trust.
MVP Launch
Core Value Delivery
Launch with two flagship features: Personalized Savings Recommendations and Spending Alerts. Objective: demonstrate immediate, tangible value and seed the model outcome flywheel.
Growth
Build the User Base
Drive acquisition through incentivized referrals, targeted digital advertising, influencer marketing on TikTok and YouTube, and in-person sign-up partnerships.
Monetization
Activate Revenue Streams
Introduce affiliate marketing for vetted financial products. Sell anonymized consortium data insights to partners. Offer 3-month interest-free promotions through distribution partners.
Long-term
Generational Retention
Encourage mothers to open PNC accounts for their children, creating a generational retention flywheel and expanding AI Financial Coach's addressable market over time.