L.A.-Based Website Plays With Money Management

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Scott Saunders was in private equity. Now he wants to be an Internet entrepreneur. So he’s taking his expertise in finance and turning it into an online game people play to get their money matters in order.

Payoff.com launched last week as a website where people can work to achieve their financial goals while earning awards and prizes along the way. When a person first logs on to the website, they are asked to specify a financial goal – anything from paying off college loans to saving for a trip to Australia. A person who meets deadlines and makes progress toward that goal will be awarded with badges, marks of achievement they can share with friends on Twitter or Facebook, and the potential to win cash prizes.

Saunders, co-founder and chief executive of Westchester-based Payoff, said the goal of the website, with its gamelike structure and monetary prizes, is to help motivate people to better manage their money.

“In real life, you can sometimes go a long time without getting feedback and people have the tendency to be unmotivated,” he said. “It’s really about motivation.”

Payoff, headquartered in the Howard Hughes Center, doesn’t require a subscription and doesn’t sell advertising. How will Saunders make enough money to pay his 30 employees? Payoff features links to financial services companies, such as a bank that offers savings accounts or peer-to-peer loans, and if the site generates business, the company that benefits will pay a commission.

A number of financial management websites have launched in the last few years, including Mountain View-based Mint.com and HelloWallet in Washington, D.C. But Saunders, who also previously worked in venture capital, said Payoff has more game features than the other sites.

“They’ve been designed for more financial types,” he said. “There aren’t many people who want to see the spreadsheets and pie charts. We wanted to build the platform for them.”

Vegas Dimension

RealD Inc. took advantage of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week to announce it has big plans for the year.

The Santa Monica provider of 3-D technology for movie theaters and homes started the week off by unveiling a plan to work with Samsung Electronics on a new 3-D television screen. The high-definition screen will have the technology of a 3-D screen in theaters and work with standard movie theater 3-D glasses. The screen also will be formatted to show 2-D pictures in high definition.

“RealD is focused on delivering a premium 3-D experience on screens of all sizes, from motion picture theaters to consumer electronics,” Bob Mayson, president of consumer electronics, said in a press release.

RealD, which began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in July, also announced its newest line of 3-D eyewear that will be compatible with most 3-D screens, no matter the manufacturer. Currently, all different 3-D TV brands require different glasses that are not compatible with rival sets. But RealD’s universal glasses will sync with most major 3-D television brands.

“Most 3-D high-definition televisions today use active 3-D eyewear that are not compatible with 3-D televisions from other manufacturers, leaving retailers with cumbersome demonstration setups and consumers with potentially costly and inconvenient scenarios,” Mayson said.

RealD said it plans to sell this technology to other 3-D eyewear manufacturers. The company will make the new technology available in the first quarter this year.

Both the 3-D glasses and TV screens were on display at CES, an annual four-day conference, closed to the public, where companies preview products.

News & Notes

MarketShare, a Westwood analytics company that develops marketing software, announced that Steve Tobias has been appointed senior vice president and managing director. He was previously managing director with New York-based Marketing Management Analytics, where his clients included Discover Card, Walt Disney Co. and Johnson & Johnson. … Disney Interactive Media Group has named Brooke Chaffin senior vice president of women and family. She will oversee content for these demographics at Disney Online. … NxSystems LLC, a Torrance provider of on-demand television and Wi-Fi connections to hotels, has named Christopher Sophinos chief executive; he is charged with adding new content and services to its product line. … OnGreen, an L.A.-area startup that helps green companies raise money, has named Mark Allen Bernstein a clean technology adviser. Bernstein is managing director of USC’s Energy Institute.

Staff reporter Natalie Jarvey can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 230.

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