SoFi Blog

At SoFi, we think a lot about how we build products to help consumers make good financial decisions. But we thought it’d be interesting to hear how others in the fintech space in San Francisco were considering these questions, too. So earlier today, we hosted a breakfast for members of the press at our new downtown engineering office space in San Francisco to discuss just that along with representatives from Robinhood, Wealthfront, Digit, and Plaid. The panel was moderated by Kristen Berman, co-founder of Irrational Labs with behavioral economist Dan Ariely and co-founder of the Common Cents Lab with Duke University. Here’s a quick recap.

The story behind this epic surprise…

Recently, the SoFi team noticed that SoFi members who had paid off their student loans started celebrating their debt payoff. Popping champagne, baking cakes—the posts were coming in almost daily.

We were so inspired by their triumph over debt we started sending them surprises—sweatshirts, sunglasses, champagne glasses, and so on.

Completed a DIY home improvement project recently? If you’re a Millennial, then we’d be willing to bet that you then posted a picture to social media to show off the finished product.

We recently conducted a survey where we were able to uncover the differences between Millennials and Baby Boomers when it comes to home improvement projects to celebrate the start of home improvement season 2018 and our now Tiny Kitchen Makeover viral campaign.

We surveyed a national sample of 1,231 consumers aged 24-72 who had completed a DIY home improvement project in the past two years and found that Millennials are more likely (23%) than Baby Boomers to land in the ER from a DIY home improvement project gone awry, and that overzealousness may be because they are eager to show off their latest project on social media.

How It Works is an ongoing series here on our blog, exploring and demystifying topics about which we hear often from our members and the public. Today, we’re taking a look at how SoFi makes money.

[UPDATED 11/29/18 to include information on how SoFi Money makes money! We also updated how we make money on our Wealth product.]

By Jane Bianchi

If you’re groaning because your boss just gave you yet another pointless assignment with an unreasonable deadline, you might think, “My job sucks, but all jobs do. Work is work, so I better just deal with it.”

And sure, every job has its downsides. But how do you know when things are getting so bad that it’s time to quit?

One major red flag is when the work doesn’t matter to you at all. “Fundamentally, we’re wired for meaning. When we are in a role that isn’t aligned with things that we really care about or the things that we’re really good at, we suffer,” says Valerie Olson, Senior Career Coach at SoFi.

Another is realizing that your dissatisfaction at work is making you sad, irritable, or angry, not only at the office—but also at home. “Work bleeds into the rest of your life. If you’re unhappy during the day, it’s going to impact your friendships and your relationships,” says Alexandra Dickinson, Member Strategy Lead at SoFi.

Sound familiar? Check out these six other subtle signs from Olson and Dickinson that it’s time to start job-hunting.