KÜDZOO

KÜDZOO operates as a mobile application designed to incentivize academic achievement among students aged 13 and older. The platform was founded in 2014 by Logan Cohen and Trevor Wilkins, who served as COO and CEO, respectively. The idea stemmed from Wilkins' own childhood experience, where his parents offered monetary rewards for good grades, a system that he credits with motivating him to attend Princeton University. He and Cohen, who met at a Phillies game, initially developed the concept as a web-based platform before pivoting to a mobile app to better engage its target demographic.

The core function of the app allows students to upload photos of their report cards to earn a digital currency called “Küdzoo Cash.” This currency can also be acquired through other activities such as daily school check-ins, grade improvements, and answering daily trivia and SAT preparation questions. The earned Küdzoo Cash is redeemable for a variety of rewards, including discounts at local and national businesses, gift cards for retailers like Amazon and Chipotle, scholarship information, and unique experiences such as celebrity meet-and-greets. Grade verification is managed through a combination of optical character recognition (OCR) technology and a manual review process.

The company's business model generates revenue through partnerships with businesses that pay to offer rewards on the platform, effectively serving as a marketing channel to the Gen Z demographic. For local businesses, KÜDZOO utilized a pay-per-transaction model, taking a percentage of the transaction when Küdzoo Cash was used. For national brands, revenue was generated on a campaign-by-campaign basis. The app was free for students and schools. After a soft launch in August 2014, the company saw significant user growth, reaching over 130,000 users by September 2015 and over 500,000 by 2016. The founders were recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Education in 2016. While the company raised over $1 million in funding, it is reported to be inactive as of 2024.

Keywords: student rewards, academic achievement, mobile application, edtech, grade-based rewards, Küdzoo Cash, student engagement, digital currency, report card scanning, scholarship opportunities, brand partnerships, Gen Z marketing, education technology, Logan Cohen, Trevor Wilkins, student discounts, gamification, academic incentives, school rewards program, defunct startup