Amy Moses ’89 got the idea for her business, Ballooning Nest Eggs, from a gift. For her nephew’s bar mitzvah, she wanted to make a financial investment in his future. In her search, she realized that the experience of giving or receiving monetary gifts was impersonal for the recipient and unfulfilling for the gifter. “I ended up settling on a US Savings Bond,” she says. “He would have had more fun using it as a Frisbee.”
Columbia Connection
Four alumni have worked on her venture. Another is an investor.
With her deep background in media and entertainment, Moses spotted an opportunity to help parents tastefully steer their network toward monetary gifts. Her digital business, Ballooning Nest Eggs, will ultimately provide a platform — with social networking tools, e-cards, and invitations — for a highly social form of monetary gifting.
The company is currently developing content and raising funding. When it launches, the gifting platform will make the process convenient and appealing for parents, gifters, and youngsters alike, while providing a new way for financial firms to engage consumers. “Parents keep asking me when we're launching,” says Moses. “And financial firms love the way our platform helps them build relationships across the generations.”