Four University of Bristol graduates who created an app to help other young people become more financially confident have secured £40,000 in external funding to launch their idea.
Developed in response to the growing cost-of-living pressures faced by students and young people, the free AI-powered platform, ‘Vero Financial’, encourages positive money habits through real-time prompts, challenges, and rewards.
Supharat Tantanarungsee, Yihsuan Liao, Zirui Shang and Sofia Sukach created the concept initially as part of their course before expanding it into their dissertation project and now a social venture.
The graduate team from Thailand, Taiwan, China and Ukraine, respectively, secured funding through the ImpactU Pathfinder Awards, enabling them to further develop the app, which is currently in testing ahead of its official launch on the App Store.
“When researching the idea, we found that many people – especially Gen Z students – don’t actively track their spending,” said Sofia.
“The consequences extend beyond money, harming mental wellbeing, academic performance, and increasing vulnerability to university dropouts and long-term debt.”
“Gen Z students rely on their banking apps, but those apps usually just show the damage after you’ve already overspent. We wanted to create something that helps people stay disciplined before that happens,” added Sofia, who alongside Supharat and Zirui, completed a master’s in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, whilst Yihsuan studied an MSc in Business Analytics.
Explaining how the app works, Supharat, said: “We use AI-personalised challenges, gamification, and real-world rewards to turn money management into an engaging habit-building experience. By making financial discipline simple and rewarding, we help students reduce money stress and build long-term financial confidence.”
Users who meet savings goals or demonstrate consistent financial discipline earn tokens that can be exchanged for discounts with local partners.
“The rewards are designed to feel meaningful,” Sofia added. “It’s not just another student discount – it’s recognition for making better financial choices.”
In the project’s early stages, before securing funding or developing the app itself, the team tested their gamification concept with 18 university students over a three-week period, using small, low-cost incentives, including some sweet treats, to simulate rewards.
“After the pilot, 64% of participants reported lower levels of financial stress and 91% felt more confident in their ability to manage money. That’s when we knew this kind of impact was worth building.”
“We didn’t have money, so we used chocolate eggs as rewards. People loved it,” Sofia said.
During her recent graduation ceremony at the Wills Memorial Building, Sofia spoke about her intention to use what she had learned at the University to drive positive change, fulfilling a promise she made to herself whilst living in Ukraine during the Russian invasion.
“For me, the goal of coming here was to learn how to create impact,” she said. “When the time is right, I want to return to Ukraine and take what I’ve learned with me.”
Mark Neild, Associate Professor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship / Programme Director for Runway at the University of Bristol, said: “It has been such a pleasure and privilege to watch the idea morph and grow from initial exploration onto forming a team founded on a realisation that it is not about helping people, but supporting them to help themselves that leads to impact.
“As an international team with few UK connections and even fewer resources, their tenacity has taken them to unimaginable heights.”
You can find out more about Vero Financial here
