Philadelphia Students Are Learning Through a Platform Built by College Entrepreneurs
For young students, financial literacy can feel overwhelming. Financial education often does not begin in a classroom; it begins on social media.
Every day, young people scroll past videos promising quick wealth, sports betting wins, cryptocurrency success stories, and luxury lifestyles that appear attainable overnight. Yet behind those messages are financial realities that many students never fully learn about in school: budgeting, debt, taxes, credit scores, savings and investing.
As financial decisions become increasingly complicated for young people, financial literacy advocates say education is becoming more important than ever. As young people face increasingly complex financial decisions, educators and entrepreneurs alike are asking a common question: are our students receiving the financial education they need before entering adulthood?
This lingering question led Joshua Grady ‘27 and Dayyan Chaudhri ‘28, two students at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, to create CentIQ, a financial literacy platform being used by schools and organizations across the country, including its largest educational partner, the School District of Philadelphia.
The founders say the idea began with a simple conversation.
Chaudhri and Grady connected through Loyola Marymount University’s entrepreneurial curriculum, where student-led innovation programs had helped launch a number of ventures tackling real-world problems. CentIQ was recently featured as part of the university’s business incubator showcase, and continues to receive support through LMU’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.
“We wanted to make financial education more accessible and engaging,” Grady said. “A lot of the information is either difficult to find or not very interesting to learn.”
The startup has since evolved into a platform containing more than 400 lessons covering topics such as investing, budgeting, taxes, saving, credit, economics, cryptocurrency, spending habits, and the psychology behind financial decision-making.
The company’s impact is now reaching far beyond Southern California.
During an interview with the Philadelphia Student Press Association, the founders identified the School District of Philadelphia as CentIQ’s largest partner, putting the platform directly in front of students across one of the nation‘s largest urban school districts. That partnership comes as conversations about financial literacy continue to grow nationwide.
Research and educational partners have increasingly argued that financial education should begin earlier and remain a core part of the student’s academic experience. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, helping students understand topics such as spending, saving and economic decision-making at a young age will better prepare them to navigate adulthood and make informed financial choices.
For Philadelphia students, those lessons carry particular significance.
Many students will graduate high school facing decisions about college loans, financial aid, packages, credit cards, employment, opportunities, and independent living expenses. Yet, financial education often receives far less instructional time than academic subjects.
Chaudhri and Grady believe the challenge has become even more urgent because of changing online trends. CentIQ’s approach attempts to meet students where they already are: on their phones.
The platform’s lessons are designed in a format familiar to students who consume short-form digital content, while schools and community organizations can create structured learning pathways and track student progress. Educators can also issue completion certificates to students who finish assigned programs.
For Philadelphia, the larger story may not be the technology itself, but what it represents.
Chaudhri and Grady started with a simple observation: smart people can struggle with money if they are never taught how to manage it. As their platform expands through more institutional partnerships, they hope more students will have access to the tools and knowledge needed to make informed financial decisions before those choices carry real consequences.
In an age where financial advice is only a scroll away, knowing which advice to trust may be one of the most important lessons students will ever learn.
Written by: Claire Herquet
Comments