Ignacio Aguirre is on a mission to use his creative talents to build games that teach young people about money. In this podcast, Ignacio shares his entrepreneurial journey, the inspiration for his "big idea" and how his start-up combines three of his interests. You will also hear how he uses his time with students to gather feedback so he can continuously iterate on his games. Enjoy! 

Details:

• 0:00~1:11 Introduction
• 1:11~7:03 Igancio’s background and first investments
• 7:03~8:38 Combination of finance, education, and video games
• 8:38~13:41 What students could learn from Snowball’s games
• 13:41~14:07 A word from NGPF
• 14:07~16:16 Students as motivation to improve the game
• 16:16~20:11 How Ignacio’s vision changed over time
• 20:11~22:25 How the budgeting game works
• 22:25~22:38 Business model going forward
• 22:38~26:20 Ideas for the investment game
• 26:20~27:28 Why should teachers use Snowball’s budgeting game?
• 27:28~28:38 Conclusion

Resources:

• Snowball Financial Education

Quotes:

• “I have a background in finance. I’m interested in video games not only because they’re fun but because they have the ability to engage people for such a long period of time. I didn’t enjoy my education and I was always trying to fix the things I didn’t enjoy. My company is a combination of those three things. It’s financial education, gamified.”

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.