My First Nest Egg is an app that teaches good money habits to children by gamifying financial lessons and making them fun. Parents can set up a virtual piggy bank to set up earning puzzles or goals corresponding to their allowance and savings. CEO Nicolle Hood and COO Annie Shoen told us more about My First Nest Egg and how they hope to help kids build budgeting knowhow early.

Tell us about your app and what it does.

My First Nest Egg gamifies healthy financial habits for children ages 3 to 12—critical years since studies show money habits are set by age 7. Developed by two moms in collaboration with child psychologists, this app uses patent-pending technology to teach kids how to earn, save, and be generous in a fun and engaging way. It includes a virtual piggy bank, chore puzzles, savings goals, an introduction to automatic savings and interest, and an easy and exciting way to earn allowance. Most importantly, the app encourages and rewards kids for achieving, which builds self-esteem and helps them grow into happy, successful adults.

How does your app work?

My First Nest Egg is a virtual piggy bank and a one-stop app for teaching kids good money habits. Money stored in piggy banks or kept in the bank of mom and dad can be transferred into their digital accounts. All of the money is virtual; it is not connected to a bank, so there is very little personal information required (just a name and email address). When children want to spend money, parents buy the items like they normally would and deduct the amount from the virtual accounts. Parents can set-up either custom or expert earning puzzles in which the recommended puzzle represents a goal, prize, or allowance, and each piece is a task which brings your child closer to that goal. The app can be downloaded on a child's device and put into view-only mode so your child can see their accounts, request puzzle pieces, report their acts of generosity, and see a fun financial fact every day.

Tell us a little about your background and how you discovered no-code tools like Bubble.

Nicolle and Annie founded My First Nest Egg out of necessity. They have three and four kids respectively and were searching for a way to help them form healthy financial habits during their formative years. When they couldn't find an age-appropriate solution, they made one. An app seemed like a daunting task until a family member told them about Bubble. They found a Bubble developer who was able to take their vision and shape it into a viable product. Bubble was an affordable and nimble way to build, iterate, test, learn, and repeat until their product was ready to hit the marketplace.

Why did you build your app on Bubble?

The cost of full-stack development was too high for two non-traditional founders using lean methodology. It is so important to develop a product in the leanest way possible to test its market fit. We talked to other founders who used Bubble successfully to build an MVP and beyond and knew it would be perfect for our app.

What have been your milestones for success so far?

Our biggest milestones involve the impact our app is having on the families that are using it. Kids have accomplished thousands of acts of achieving, saving, and giving, and they are proud of themselves for their accomplishments. Parents tell us that their kids have stopped saying "I want" and started saying "I want to earn," "I want to save," and "I want to be generous."

What are your future plans for My First Nest Egg?

My First Nest Egg is now live in the App and Google Play Stores. In the coming weeks, we will be wrapping up our early access period and transitioning into a subscription model. We are excited to build partnerships with financial institutions and other organizations who value childhood financial literacy and mental wellness.

Learn more about My First Nest Egg: Facebook | Instagram

About Bubble

Bubble is a leader in the no-code movement. Bubble offers a powerful point-and-click web editor and cloud hosting platform that allows users to build fully customizable web applications and workflows, ranging from simple prototypes to complex marketplaces, SaaS products, and more. Millions of users are building and launching businesses on Bubble - many have gone on to participate in top accelerator programs, such as Y Combinator, or raise $365M in venture funding. Bubble is more than just a product. We are a strong community of builders and entrepreneurs that are united by the belief that everyone should be able to create technology.