Mission

The missing curriculum for the modern economy.

Over half of American adults are financially illiterate. Meanwhile, Wall Street algorithms are weaponizing attention to build a consumption mindset in kids before they understand what an interest rate is. Ante is our attempt to fight back , with something they'll actually open.

64%
of Gen Z uses Buy Now, Pay Later
37%
of Gen Z report sports betting
87%
rise in Gen Z credit card debt (10y)
$2B
weekly volume in prediction markets
Founder's note

I spent high school volunteering with a nonprofit teaching financial literacy to students from wildly different backgrounds. Then I worked in banking, and it clicked: the tools we use to extract money from young people have gotten dramatically more sophisticated , and schools have taught nothing new to defend against them.

Ante takes the same lessons I used to teach in classrooms and turns them into something Gen Z actually opens. Bite-sized quizzes. Real scenarios. Compound interest, credit traps, BNPL, taxes, investing. Every lesson mints Acorns , a play-money currency , that you can ante in private prediction markets with your friends. The market is the hook. The skills are the point.

We're not sponsored by any bank. Acorns aren't money. Nothing here is financial advice. This is a game built to inoculate the next generation against the machines built to extract from them.

What we teach against

The threats built into your feed.

Deregulated prediction gambling (Kalshi et al.)
Sportsbook apps engineered like slot machines
Buy Now, Pay Later stacking
Payday loans and 400% APR traps
Credit card minimum-payment cycles
'Get rich quick' TikTok courses & dropship scams
Loot boxes and CSGO / Roblox case gambling
Timeshare pressure sells
Who writes the questions

Built with analysts & professors, not influencers.

Every lesson and market template is reviewed by current finance-industry analysts and professors - so the mechanics you learn map to the ones actually used on desks and in classrooms.

Universities
Babson CollegePrinceton UniversityCarnegie Mellon UniversityUniversity of TorontoNorthwestern UniversityUniversity of British Columbia
Firms
BofA SecuritiesWells FargoJ.P. MorganMorgan StanleyGoldman Sachs

Contributors participate in an individual capacity. Institutions listed above are for attribution only and do not imply endorsement.

The curriculum

Six skill trees. One economy.

Ground Rules
Checking, saving, needs vs wants, emergency funds, reading a paycheck.
Inflation & Purchasing Power
Why $100 shrinks. The Fed. Nominal vs real. COVID, Zimbabwe, and the auction game.
Compound & Credit
The 8th wonder. Simple vs compounding. Credit scores. BNPL traps. The 22% minimum-payment bleed.
Investing Basics
Stocks vs bonds, index funds, Roth vs Traditional, diversification, liquidity, APR vs APY.
Scam Radar
Get-rich-quick TikTok courses, timeshares, dropship pumps, in-game gambling, sportsbook mechanics.
First 90 Days
Rent, taxes, first paycheck, budgeting a semester, avoiding the October broke spiral.

Ready to level up?

Start with a 3-minute quiz. Earn your first Acorns. Join a group when you're ready to trade takes with your friends.