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Why the "Rich Dad" Financial Advice Brand Needs Mobile and Their App Clutch to be Relevant in the Future

Posted by Carter Dotson on August 23rd, 2013

The Rich Dad Company, which promotes books, seminars, and now interactive media based off of the financial teachings from the book "Rich Dad Poor Dad" which has sold 30 million copies (but not without its criticism from financial writers), is taking its message to mobile with the launch of Rich Dad Interactive. Their first app is a learning app called Clutch, and with it and future apps, they're returning to the idea that sparked "Rich Dad Poor Dad:" teaching through gaming elements, or gamification.

Clutch is a learning app that will "take the physical [aspects] of Rich Dad, turn it into a mobile app, and gamify it a little bit, and teach people [in] the way that we're all really learning today, through videos like YouTube, through activities, using social media and being able to share…'bragging rights,' or what class you took or what investments you made," according to Director of Technology Shane Caniglia. He says that gaming elements are there and play a key part of what Clutch will be, with social media functionality, "there's unlock features in there that you have to make it through certain phases in order to unlock the next, and the last thing, I think the most importantly, the ability to simulate the experiences of investing in real life through Clutch as a tool."

Gamification is nothing new to the Rich Dad Company - author Richard Kiyosaki and his wife Kim (an author of financial books herself) created a board game in the mid-90's called Cashflow 101 that tried to teach the income philosophies he espouses: namely, having assets that generate more income than one's expenses in order to be independently wealthy. Ironically, Caniglia says that when Kiyosaki "created the board game, the lessons didn't necessarily translate from the game to the players. So he actually wrote the book as, this is kind of a funny story, as a marketing brochure to support the lessons in the game." And then it wound up succeeding as a New York Times bestseller and kind of supplanted the gamification that was attempted with the Cashflow 101 game.

But with Rich Dad Interactive, it's a return to that kind of gamification strategy. Times have changed, and gamification is a more robust concept, and that's what Clutch will try to do. It's adaptable, too: Caniglia says "we created it as a framework, so we can plug any type of content that we want in it, so it's completely flexible and agile in that world, and that was a mission of ours from a tech standpoint."

Caniglia sees this move to apps like Clutch and the upcoming mobile version of Cashflow 101 as key for the future of Rich Dad. "The general population just does not have an interest in attending seminars. The transition for us to digital is actually a fairly easy one - it's the only way the brand can survive, number one. Number two, because we started out really as a board game... it's a very easy transition for us to take our IP and turn it into these fun, interactive tools that we can now deploy on the mobile platforms. So the time is right for Rich Dad in order to reinvent itself as a brand but also to get to a younger demographic that, their lives are built around their mobile devices."

SuperBetter Review

iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
By Jennifer Allen on July 5th, 2013
Our rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar :: POTENTIALLY LIFE CHANGING
Offering a structured means in which to improve's one life is no small feat for this well designed self-help app.
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What Color Is Your Parachute? Job-Hunter's Workbook Review

iPad App - Designed for iPad
By Jennifer Allen on March 22nd, 2013
Our rating: starstarstarstarblankstar :: POSITIVE LIFE CHANGES
Figure out what you want to do in life with this comprehensive career analysis tool.
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Embracing Change Review

iPad App - Designed for iPad
By Jennifer Allen on January 26th, 2012
Our rating: starstarstarstarblankstar :: POTENTIALLY LIFE-ENHANCING
A niche app aimed at those looking to change their lives for the better, and are in need of a coaching tool to help them achieve those aims.
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Get Motivated For The Future With 2016

Posted by Jennifer Allen on August 18th, 2011
iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad

I'm a bit of a drifter in life without any set plans. I look at a friend of mine who has everything planned out in her future and kind of envy her. It must be nice to be so driven and focused on doing everything just right. While clearly we're both just different people in how we approach life, an app like 2016 could well keep us both happy.

It's an app focused on helping its users imagine how they'd like their life to be in 2016. It's a self help tool, really, to inspire people to achieve these aims. 2016 goes through some standard questions to assess just how the user wants to be in 5 years time. They cover the likes of what kind of property they want to own, what kind of career they want to have, what their relationship status is plus more. In all there are 80 questions about various spheres of the user's life which should hopefully encompass everything possible.

Users can then record a video letter to themselves in five years time to see how things are going. It's a pretty cool idea backed up by cloud saving functionality. Of course the only way to know if it works is check back in 5 years. I'm certainly keen to give such things a shot.

2016 is available now and it's free with a $2.99 full-featured version available via an in-app purchase. A small price to pay surely for the potential future benefits.

Affirmations Inspired by Nature Review

iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
By Chantelle Joy Duxbury on April 11th, 2011
Our rating: starstarstarblankstarblankstar :: JUST OK
An app that focuses on providing soothing calm music while offering messages inspiration and motivation, based on the natural elements of the world.
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Goal-Setting Workshop Review

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
By Jennifer Allen on January 13th, 2011
Our rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar :: POTENTIAL
Goal-Setting Workshop is a self help book in app form.
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