Chris Peterson and Liz Botner sit down with Andrew Babin, co-developer of HaloFi, a new voice-controlled money management app designed with accessibility in mind. Andrew shares his journey with Stargardt’s disease, his unexpected path from construction to finance, and how his experiences inspired the creation of HaloFi—a tool merging AI and voice technology to make financial management more inclusive. The conversation explores how AI-driven voice interfaces are transforming accessibility in finance, what it takes to break into the financial industry without prior experience, and how to persevere through personal and professional obstacles with determination and creativity.

Contact Info

Guest:
Andrew Babin, Co-developer of HaloFi
📧 andrew@halofiapp.com

🌐 halofiapp.com

Organization:
Penny Forward
🌐 pennyforward.com

Production Partner:
Aftersight (formerly Audio Information Network of Colorado)
📞 (720) 712-8856
✉️ feedback@aftersight.org

🌐 aftersight.org

Producer: Jonathan Price

Show Credits

Hosted by Chris Peterson and Liz Botner
Produced by Chris Peterson and Liz Botner
Audio editing and post-production by Jonathan Price
Music composed and performed by André Louis
Distributed in partnership with Aftersight
Penny Forward is a nonprofit providing accessible financial education programs by and for people who are blind.

Chapter Markers

00:00 – Introduction and welcome back
01:10 – Andrew’s early life and Stargardt’s diagnosis
03:25 – From construction to finance: a career pivot
05:50 – Breaking into finance during the COVID era
07:30 – Navigating work and independence with vision loss
09:45 – Lessons in perseverance and enthusiasm
11:00 – The idea behind HaloFi
14:00 – Overcoming barriers in finance exams and accessibility
16:20 – Building inclusive technology from the ground up
18:40 – HaloFi demo and functionality walkthrough
23:50 – Future features and AI-driven financial actions
26:30 – Launch timeline and how to join the waitlist
28:15 – How to contact Andrew and follow the project
30:00 – Partnership announcement with Aftersight
30:36 – Closing remarks and credits