Built From Real Struggles With Money

Started in a cramped Gwangju apartment in 2019, solving the problems we actually had — not the ones textbooks talked about. Turns out, a lot of people share those same challenges.

How We Got Here

The journey wasn't linear. We made mistakes, learned from clients, and adjusted course more times than we can count.

2019

The Starting Point

Minjae and I were sitting at his kitchen table, spreadsheets everywhere. We'd both just spent months trying to figure out why our paychecks disappeared so fast. Banks offered complicated products we didn't need. Apps tracked spending but didn't explain why it mattered. So we started teaching ourselves — and then our friends asked to join.

2021

The Pivot That Changed Everything

We tried doing one-on-one coaching for two years. Exhausting and impossible to scale. Then Sora suggested recording our sessions and turning them into structured modules. That shift let us reach 50 people in our first group program — ten times what we'd managed individually. The feedback was honest and sometimes brutal, but it helped us refine what actually worked.

2023

Expanding Beyond Seoul

Most financial education focused on Seoul's high salaries and expensive rent. But we heard from people in Busan, Daegu, and smaller cities who faced different realities. We rebuilt our curriculum to address regional cost differences, local job markets, and community savings practices. That year we worked with over 300 households across eight provinces.

2025

Looking Forward

We're developing a six-month program starting in late 2025 that combines financial planning with practical career development. Because budgeting only works if you have income to manage. It's ambitious, but our pilot group of 40 participants is already showing promising progress. We're also partnering with three local universities to offer workshops — though that's still being finalized.

What Drives Us

These aren't corporate values we put on a poster. They're the principles we argue about, test against decisions, and occasionally fail to uphold — then work to get back on track.

Reality Over Theory

Financial advice should work in actual life. If it only makes sense in a perfect scenario with no unexpected expenses, we don't teach it. Our curriculum gets updated every quarter based on what's happening in real households.

No Shame, Just Progress

Everyone starts somewhere different. We've worked with people drowning in debt and others just trying to save their first emergency fund. Judgment doesn't help anyone build better habits — specific guidance does.

Transparent Methods

We show exactly how we build budgets, calculate savings rates, and project timelines. No proprietary secrets or mysterious formulas. You should understand the process well enough to teach someone else.

Long-Term Thinking

Quick fixes rarely stick. We focus on sustainable changes that work over years, not weeks. That means slower progress sometimes, but it's progress that actually lasts beyond the initial motivation.

The People Behind This

Small team, diverse backgrounds. What connects us is that we've all had to learn this stuff the hard way first.

Darian Moss

Lead Educator

Spent five years as an accountant before realizing most people needed basic financial literacy more than complex tax strategies. Now builds curriculum that actually makes sense to non-accountants. Still drinks too much coffee during program launches.

Reagan Vance

Program Coordinator

Former social worker who saw how financial stress affected every other life problem. Manages our community programs and keeps us grounded when we get too theoretical. Has an uncanny ability to predict which topics will generate the most questions.

Why This Matters

Financial education shouldn't be gatekept behind expensive certifications or incomprehensible jargon. And it definitely shouldn't make you feel inadequate for not knowing things no one ever taught you.

We're working toward a version of financial literacy that's accessible, practical, and honest about limitations. Not everyone will become wealthy. But everyone deserves to understand where their money goes and how to make deliberate choices about it.

That's the work. Some days we do it well, other days we're still figuring it out. But we show up consistently, listen to feedback, and keep refining the approach. If you're interested in learning with us, our next program cohort opens for enrollment in September 2025.