Meet Deeta Saravanan

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Deeta Saravanan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Deeta, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

I would definitely say from dance, particularly my background in ballet. Outside of high school and running Project YouthFinLit, I am also a pre-professional ballet dancer.

I train 20-23 hours a week and have competed at national and international ballet competitions, including the Canadian Grand Prix (W.B.A.C.), Universal Ballet Competition, and the Youth America Grand Prix. I have also trained at ballet schools, including the Royal Ballet Upper School in the UK, Academie Princesse Grace in Monaco, and the School of American Ballet in NYC.

Ballet has taught me the importance of consistency and compounded growth. In ballet, you rarely see day-to-day, let alone weekly, improvement. But every few months or so, in the form of doing one more pirouette or a developpe just a few degrees higher, you’re able to catch a small glimpse of it. It’s in those moments that you realize how all the small, seemingly insignificant moments have added up.

I carry this same philosophy with me in everything I do — whether that be running my nonprofit or managing my school work. I’ve learned that with discipline and consistency, progress is possible, even if not immediately visible.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m the Founder and Executive Director of Project YouthFinLit (PYFL). PYFL is a 501(c)3 international nonprofit organization dedicated to providing youth worldwide with comprehensive financial education, eliminating barriers based on race or socioeconomic status.

I started Project YouthFinLit (PYFL) due to the lack of accessible financial literacy resources for youth and began at the beginning of my sophomore year by contacting schools and educational organizations about my program and the possibility of hosting a teaching event at their school/community. I was lucky to have received numerous positive responses, which led to successfully setting up PYFL teaching events and activities for the rest of the year.

Two years later, PYFL has directly worked with over 3,000 students worldwide through our three educational programs: in-person seminars, virtual seminars, and brochure/finlit materials distribution. Our volunteer base, a defining part of our organization, is at the heart of our mission — “financial literacy tailored to youth by youth.” Having volunteers serve as mentors and guide other youth on their financial literacy journey has benefited us tremendously, with 275+ volunteers from over 6 countries helping us to meet each student’s needs.

If you are interested in volunteering with PYFL, make sure to fill out the interest form linked in our Instagram LinkTree and website under the volunteer section! Volunteers have a variety of opportunities to choose from including in-person and virtual seminars, brochure and presentation-making, and writing for our blog.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1) Resilience: My favorite quote has always been, “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you,” – and it’s still something I remind myself of every day. Resilience is especially essential in any entrepreneurial endeavor because the number of setbacks is countless. Without the ability to bounce back, it’s very hard to survive.

2) Adaptability: I learned the importance of this when I moved from Atlanta to New Jersey right before the start of my junior year. I had to seriously reconsider the future of PYFL since most of my team was centered in Georgia, and I initially considered starting over entirely. However, I’m so grateful I didn’t and decided to keep PYFL centered in Atlanta. It taught me how to adapt to changing circumstances without starting over completely, and it actually led to the creation of a new program: state/national PYFL chapters.

3) Dependence: While independence should not be overlooked, the ability to work and collaborate with a team is just as, if not more, important. PYFL has shown me the power of collaboration – working with volunteers, partners, and students to achieve our shared vision.

My biggest piece of advice is to constantly find ways to challenge yourself and to never become comfortable or complacent — always seek out new opportunities to improve and evolve!

What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?

Figuring out how to remodel our program to further incentivize students and sponsors.

When I first founded Project YouthFinLit (PYFL), I originally had a mission to make financial literacy accessible and engaging for youth so that they would be more exposed to financial concepts early on.

However, one piece of feedback I received a couple months ago when pitching PYFL for venture capital changed my approach. I had an investor say he was impressed with the traction I had gained but that to truly scale, I needed to create a more compelling incentive for both kids and corporate partners.

This led me to redefine PYFL’s business model. Now, students who enroll and graduate (free of cost) from PYFL’s program – passing multiple assessments and a final exam – receive a $50 credit when they open a minor savings account with a bank. This model offers a low-cost customer acquisition strategy for banks, which typically costs over $200 per customer, and provides students with practical, hands-on experience in financial management. By incentivizing both students and corporations, with the latter playing a crucial role in the success of the program, PYFL aims to prepare the next generation of financially literate individuals.

If you are a bank representative interested in exploring partnership opportunities or learning more about how our program can benefit your institution, please don’t hesitate to contact us at contact@projectyouthfinlit.org.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://projectyouthfinliteracy.org
• Instagram: @projectyouthfinlit
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deeta-saravanan-62887a231

Image Credits

Diamond Challenge