U-Nest - Interview with the developer of a fantastic app

Did you have any prior development or coding experience?

Before starting this project, I did not have much exposure to coding mobile apps. I worked at a large investment company as a financial advisor before beginning this journey, which did not require me to know coding. In order to bring my vision to life, I partnered with one of the most reputable development teams in Santa Monica called 'Distillery'. I also had to quickly learn the basics of software development in order to better direct my development team.

What was the most challenging aspect of developing mobile app?

Designing the outstanding customer experience is the most challenging aspect. Predicting how your clients will interact with the app and what user/screen flow will work best can be difficult. It can also be challenging to prioritize which features in the app should be included until you get the app in the hands of real users and let them provide feedback.

_{Ksenia Yudina}

Ksenia Yudina, CEO and founder of U-Nest is a financial expert and entrepreneur with over ten years of experience in the financial industry. Most recently, as a vice president at Capital Group/American Funds (the largest 529 plan provider in the US), she developed domain expertise and deep industry insight in wealth management. Prior to that, she founded and operated a real estate company specializing in residential short sales. Ksenia holds an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a CFA Charter.

Name a few of your favorite apps and reason you love them.

'Acorns' - Fulfills a great need and has a fantastic user experience. 'Venmo' - Makes my life so much easier for easily moving around money. Even better than 'PayPal'. 'Uber' - I like to be able to get places using cars, bikes and scooters.

How long have you been working on this app?

Approximately one year. Two months to get the idea into an action plan. Six months of development with the development team. In this time we also built out a whole website and social media program. Then one month of beta testing to work out the bugs, and finally we went live two months ago!

What need of the user did you have in mind when developing this app?

We wanted to bring the ability for every parent to save for their children’s education (in the most tax efficient way possible), to the average Americans, who currently don’t have access to financial advisors. That was our key goal. To do this we had two core objectives: 1) Educate parents about the best way to save for their kids. 2) Build an app that allows them to set up a college savings plan in minutes, on their phone in a paperless and automated manner rather than spending hours filling in paperwork and figuring out investment options.

In what way do you think your app is better than similar apps on the market? Please describe in detail what innovation you think you bring and what you are proud of in your app.

There is actually no other app on the market that does what we do. Specifically, we created an app that established a tax-free college savings plan in minutes on your phone. While there are some similar browser-based solutions, we are the only app that does this. In addition, we have features such as as simple college saving calculator and the ability for friends and family to gift to the college fund. A parent, while on-the-go, can see where they are towards their saving goals which gives them the confidence that their children’s future is secured.

What are your future plans and expected features of the coming new versions of this app?

We have big plans for our app. For starters, an Android version will be coming soon to serve almost 40% of the market that have that platform. We also plan to offer different financial products to our users (beyond a college savings plan).

Assuming new users of your app are reading this page. What do you want to ask them to do (contact you about X, Share the app, etc.)?

We would like them to make sure that they are prepared for the future and help their kids avoid the expensive student loans. Download the app and start saving for your kids’ future today. If you don’t have a family yet, please help us spread the word and let others know that there is a simple way to start saving for education in the most tax efficient way.