Hi from a first-time founder building in the financial literacy space
Growing up, money was always this scary thing nobody talked about. My family made mistakes not because they were irresponsible, but because nobody ever taught them. And I kept thinking, why is this still the case?
I'm Celine, a freshman at USC studying electrical engineering, and I'm building Finnley, a gamified financial literacy app where you grow a virtual pet's world by learning real money skills. It sounds cute (it is), but the emotional hook is the whole point. People don't come back because of streaks. They come back because they built something they care about.
I'm a first-time founder, and I built this at a startup competition a few months ago and haven't stopped since.
Anyone else here building something that started from a really personal place? I would love to hear your stories.
Replies
Love the concept, Celine! Turning financial learning into a cute virtual pet adventure is such a powerful hook. I built The Sponge out of a personal need to master a massive range of topics for Jeopardy, and turning my own curiosity into a tool has been incredibly rewarding. If you're up for it, I'm launching on PH soon... would appreciate a follow (see PRODUCT HUNT LAUNCH link in my profile). The Sponge is an AI‑powered flashcard app that turns any webpage into study material.
@rianbrob That sounds really interesting! I'll definitely check that out when it launches. I'm also going to launch soon, probably in the next 1-2 weeks and would really appreciate a follow as well :)
@celine_tsai Sounds good 🚀