Interview | Dorm Room Biz

Jul

Interview with Mike Ferrari, Co-Founder of SmartyPig

Written by Chris on July 1, 2008 – 8:00 pm -

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While I was doing some research for my article “Frugality for College Students - 13 Ways To Save Money While In College” I asked my Twitter friends for some suggestions. One of the replies that popped up was from Mike Ferrari at SmartyPig.com suggesting his website as a way for students to save towards a goal of theirs whether it be for books, a spring break trip, a new camera, a trip, or whatever. So after taking a browse through the SmartyPig website, I decided to give it a shot and test out the system. Because the sign up process was so easy and the site is easy to navigate in it self, I thought it was a great idea. I got in contact with Mike again via Twitter to see if he would be interested in doing an interview for Dorm Room Biz. With that being said, the following is an interview we exchanged via multiple emails. I hope you enjoy!

Start off by telling us a little bit about your background - where you went to school, what you studied, etc.
I’m from Ohio, originally. Bowling Green and Dayton. I moved to Des Moines when I was 15. I went to DePauw University, in Greencastle, Indiana. Graduated in 1993 in Psychology and Business Administration. Went into advertising right after college.

What sparked your initial interest in entrepreneurship?
Always had a thing for coming up with business ideas. You know the routine. You come up with this great idea and ultimately end up talking yourself out of it. I became quite good at it. Drove my wife mad. But one day, almost four years ago, I had this idea that I found really hard to blow holes threw. That idea was and became what is known as SmartyPig.

Almost four years ago, my wife and I had our first child, Charlie. I remember thinking how important it was to start a college savings program for him. I remember starting his 529 plan a few weeks after he was born. We started putting a hundred dollars away each month. And after 5 or 6 months, I remember logging into the 529 site and seeing his savings build. And more importantly, remembering that feeling of “responsible saving”. It was like I hadn’t even missed the money. Automatically taken out of my checking each month. We just became accustomed to not having the money. Soon after I was in Phoenix playing golf with some old college buddies. I had just dropped them off at the airport and I went back to my hotel to kill a few hours before my flight back to Des Moines. I grabbed my computer looking for a site that would help me save up for other things in my life. I wanted to save up for a trip for my wife and I (some day) to go to Italy. A lofty goal I knew would take years to save for. And I also knew I wanted a new road bike next year. Was training for Ride The Rockies with some friends… So I just assumed there was a site out their that was all about “goal savings”. When I didn’t see it, I guess you could say I had my “light bulb” moment. Started drafting a business plan right then and there. It was all I thought about. Trying to shoot holes in the idea from every direction. I spent the next few months flushing out the idea and showed it to a friend of mine, Jon Gaskell. It wasn’t long before the two of us quit our jobs and became the co-founders of SmartyPig.