Case in Point: Checking in on Changed's Post-Shark Tank Moves (2024)

Special TBT today, as I caught up with the founders of Changed App , an innovative debt management and repayment solution created by brothers Dan Stelmach and Nick Sky of Chicago. Shark Tank ABC fans will recognize them from Season Nine.

Not long after their life-changing appearance there, we met at the opening evening of a FUND venture and investment conference in Chicago. (The best conversations often happen over happy hour. Our firm was going for a Series B raise so I definitely needed a drink!)

Fast forward several years, I've been reflecting on all the macro and micro, high tech and high touch changes in the marketing environment the last few years. And how it’s highlighted that an innovative, nimble approach can make a difference now more than ever.

Dan and Nick randomly came to mind. Changed has been rolling with rapid-fire changes that marketers and businesses are facing.

Changed started as Dan and Nick were among the sea of graduates struggling with the burden of student loan repayment (43.6 million at latest count). To ease the pain, they created an app that simply rounds up everyday purchases and stashes it in an account. Such if you pay, say $3.65 for a grande Starbucks latte, the app adds and routes that 35 cents short of $4.00 into your account.

Surprising how fast that loose change adds up to help pay off loans. (It was a “why didn’t I think of that” moment as I listened to their story.)

Change offered a winning combination of leveraging technology to help with education-related issues, a concept that totally resonated with me – and apparently also with Shark Mark Cuban . He granted the brothers $250,000 for a 25% equity stake plus his invaluable high-tech, high-profile expertise.

Since then, Changed has racked up success to make a Shark proud: It’s sent over $25 million in payments, helping members save $50M+ in interest and shorten their repayment time by decades.

The growth company has set an example of resilient, agile navigation in the last several turbulent years. I wanted to share some of the insights from their journey, particularly from the marketing perspective.

Make marketing moves that count

Dan and I discussed the challenges of marketing a high-growth tech product on a budget. Particularly managing spend – which can quickly get out of control in digital channels in particular – so it yields maximum return and is efficient.

“There’s no silver bullet. It’s important to be very analytical, track the funnel from top to bottom and aggressively as possible,” he said.

Changed also uses the prudent test, learn and scale approach across digital channels. That involves piloting and proving concepts before going in big to identify priorities for your investments in the highest potential places. I've stood up several high performance marketing departments or agency models quickly and cost effectively thanks to this approach.

Changed picks its priorities through business intelligence: It's currently working on cracking the code for how influencer and partner marketing can power member acquisition. That’s a good focus, as a 2021 HubSpot survey found that influencer marketing provided the highest ROI for marketers among 27 omnichannel marketing tactics.

Then there’s the quest for the nirvana of campaign optimization especially in a fast-paced omnichannel marketing environment. “It takes a little bit of time to get your rhythm with any campaign you launch. Analyzing your channel performance on a consistent basis is key and identifying which campaigns are working and which aren’t,” Dan said.

Proactively track and act on market trends

On the macro side, the Changed team actively sought out the next big opportunity. Changed has regularly expanded its debt management solution from the initial focus on student loan repayment to a full suite of products all anchored in their broad "Do debt differently" positioning.

Their latest move shows the advantage of being in the right place at the right time with your marketing offers: This month, Changed added credit card debt management to take on US consumers’ crisis in credit and savings:

• Americans are grappling with a record $986 billion owed on their charge cards, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported in June.
• The latest tally shows that American have blown through $1.76 trillion in savings since 2020.

Nimble marketers seize such opportunities. Changed adapted its positioning and messaging to ride this growing customer wave. Here’s an example: “Stuck between building your savings and paying down debt? With Changed, you don't have to choose. We help you establish an emergency fund, set aside money for a downpayment, or work towards any number of your money-saving objectives. It's streamlined savings, all from the palm of your hand,” the company now tells customers through its value proposition.

Never stop innovating

Continuous innovation to meet or beat customer needs has been critical to keep building member base and share of wallet through economic ups and downs. While new features might seem incremental, customers – especially techie ones – crave regular upgrades such as those Changed implemented recently:

• Unlimited debt and bank links
• A 10x roundup multiplier
• Same-day transfers

And then there’s that souped-up summary dashboard. It offers users to view of all of their debts in one place, track payment progress and even receive personalized recommendations to take down their debt.

"We're excited to offer these new features to our users, providing them with more tools to take control of their finances and pay off their debts faster," said Nick, Changed’s CEO.

Glad to have had the chance to check in with Dan and Nick about their journey. Changed is a case study in how to achieve marketing and business resiliency and agility through embracing innovation, identifying investments wisely and consistently meeting customer needs, from entrepreneurs who have literally swum with the sharks.