We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Deeta Saravanan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Deeta below.

Deeta, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?

Something that I would (and am planning to) change about the education system is the lack of productive financial literacy resources for children. While financial literacy is arguably one of the most essential life skills, there is a noticeable lack of materials catered to youth that get them engaged and excited to learn.

When I founded Project YouthFinLit (PYFL), I originally had a mission to make financial literacy accessible and engaging for youth so that they would be more exposed to important financial concepts at an early age.

However, one piece of feedback I received when pitching PYFL for venture capital changed my approach. I had an investor say he was impressed with the traction I had gained but that to truly scale, I needed to create a more compelling incentive for both kids and corporate partners.

This led me to redefine PYFL’s business model. Now, students who enroll and graduate (free of cost) from PYFL’s program – passing multiple assessments and a final exam – receive a $50 credit when they open a minor savings account with a bank. This model offers a low-cost customer acquisition strategy for banks, which typically costs over $200 per customer, and provides students with practical, hands-on experience in financial management. By incentivizing both students and corporations, PYFL aims to prepare the next generation of financially literate individuals.

Deeta, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started Project YouthFinLit back in 2022 after realizing just how few financial literacy resources there were for young children. While most young adults are forced into learning financial literacy, I wanted children to be comfortable with it at a young age. Hence, they are well-prepared to enter adulthood and set themselves up for financial success.

I began at the beginning of my sophomore year by contacting school officials and educational organization heads about my program and the possibility of collaboration or teaching events. I received numerous positive responses, which led to successfully setting up PYFL teaching events and activities for the rest of the year.

Flash forward nearly two years, and PYFL has grown substantially. Through our three different educational programs, we have directly worked with over 3,000 students worldwide, conducted 25+ in-person seminars, taught 35+ virtual classes, and distributed 1000+ financial literacy materials.

Our amazing volunteer base is one of the most essential parts of our organization. With over 250+ volunteers from over five countries, our volunteer base is vastly diverse, which is needed to meet each student’s needs. One of our missions is “financial literacy tailored to youth by youth,” so having volunteers serve as mentors and guide other youth on their financial literacy journey has been invaluable to us.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Building our audience on social media has been one of the most enjoyable parts for me. Our primary platforms are Instagram and TikTok, where we’ve grown to over 1,300 followers and accumulated more than 10,000 likes combined. It didn’t all happen overnight; it was a result of consistent posting, leveraging app algorithms, and learning from what worked and what didn’t. 

For anyone just starting to build their social media presence, my advice is to be clear about who you’re trying to reach, stay on top of trends on platforms like TikTok, and ensure your digital presence is as accessible as possible.

The most significant factor in our growth was identifying our exact target audience. We knew we wanted to reach high school students interested in finance, business, and marketing who might want to volunteer with us. By understanding who we were speaking to, we could tailor our content to them. 

TikTok has also been highly beneficial for us. The best advice I can offer is to take advantage of trends on TikTok. We’ve seen such a huge increase in engagement by participating in trending challenges and then putting our own “PYFL spin” on them, like making the trend about getting volunteer hours with us. This not only made our content more relatable but also helped us reach a broader audience who might not have found us otherwise.

A last piece of advice is to ensure that your website and links are easily accessible from your social media profiles. We use Linktree to organize all of our important links—our website, volunteer forms, and more—so that anyone interested can find everything they need in one place. This simple step makes it super easy for people to take action, whether they just want to learn more about PYFL or get involved ASAP.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

The biggest “twist” I’ve faced in my journey so far was having to move out of Atlanta during my junior year of high school when I was 16. Having invested so much locally in PYFL, the thought of leaving behind everything I had built was so disheartening. I had established my nonprofit, made valuable educational and corporate connections, and was finally starting to see the tangible impact I had made on students across the Metro Atlanta area. The idea of uprooting what I had worked so hard to grow was scary, to say the least.

As I prepared to move, I had to seriously reconsider the future of PYFL. With most of my team centered in Georgia, I initially considered starting over entirely. But after thinking it over, I realized that my move didn’t have to be the end of PYFL in Georgia. Instead, it could be an opportunity to expand and adapt. I decided to keep organizational activities running in Atlanta, maintaining its momentum. Still, I also took the time to explore opportunities in my new home.

Fortunately, PYFL has been able to open numerous state and international chapters, including Princeton, New Jersey. Maintaining strong communication with my team in Georgia was tough initially, but it gradually improved. We began holding our weekly meetings online, and maintained project schedules despite the distance.

This pivot was one of my most challenging moments, but it was the first time I recognized just how valuable adaptability is. What initially felt like the end turned into a chance to grow PYFL in ways I couldn’t have even imagined!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.projectyouthfinlit.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/projectyouthfinlit/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deeta-saravanan-62887a231/