You're Not Bad With Money. You're Playing a Rigged Game.

We started this journey because we felt that traditional money management tools were letting our generation down. Existing tools felt like relics from our parents' era. Mind-numbingly boring with clunky interfaces designed for accountants rather than for our generation that values visual engagement and simplicity. For team members with shared ADHD experience, these tools weren't just dull; they felt overwhelming and impractical.

A striking 65% of people with ADHD report significant challenges with money management. They are also two times more likely to suffer from anxiety linked to finances compared with the general population.

But why do so many young people with ADHD traits face these challenges? The answer lies not in willpower or discipline, but in how differently their brains are wired to process time, motivation, and rewards.

Welcome to the 'Manipulation Economy'. It’s Designed to Make You Spend

We’re up against a system that has mutated from a market economy into what we describe as a 'manipulation economy'. This represents a fundamental shift from markets designed to allocate resources efficiently, to a system engineered to exploit psychological vulnerabilities for profit.

This manipulation economy doesn't just passively fail people with ADHD; it actively targets their neurological differences through sophisticated tactics. Some of these tactics are:

• Advanced algorithms that identify and exploit attention patterns
• Frictionless payment systems that remove natural pause points for reflection
• Easy access to credit and "buy now, pay later" options without adequate safeguards
• Push notifications timed to coincide with dopamine dips
• AI-powered marketing that uses personalisation based on tracked behaviour

It's no coincidence that people with ADHD are four times more prone to impulse spending. The system has evolved to detect and target these vulnerabilities with precision. Where traditional advertising once relied on broad appeal, today's algorithms can identify exactly when someone is most susceptible to spending and deliver perfectly timed triggers in the form of hyper-targeted ads or push notifications.

As AI technology advances, targeting also becomes exponentially more sophisticated. The result? Nearly a third (31%) of those with ADHD struggle with debt, compared to just 11% of the general population.

The manipulation economy isn't just affecting individuals. It's reshaping society's relationship with money, creating artificial needs and manufactured desires that keep people trapped in cycles of spending, debt and anxiety.

For people with ADHD, this environment transforms everyday money decisions into a minefield, creating a nearly impossible environment for financial wellbeing.

It took a personal wake-up call for us to fully recognise this predatory system at work.

Our Wake-Up Call: Uncovering the 'ADHD Tax'

What started as a hobby project of building a leaderboard to compare our takeaway spending, turned into a moment of profound insight.

Friends with ADHD spent on average 5 times more money on takeaways compared to the rest. That’s when we first witnessed the 'ADHD tax' that leaves people with ADHD £1,600 worse off every year. It's a predictable outcome of the manipulation economy that understands precisely how to hijack and exploit decision-making.

This revelation led us to ask the following question:

What if we stopped fighting against how ADHD brains naturally function and instead designed tools that embrace these differences?

We Weren't Alone: 3,000 People Proved We Were Right

To explore this idea further, we created an online community specifically for people with ADHD who struggled with money management.

The response was overwhelming. Over 3,000 people joined in just a few months.

"I try my best to manage money sensibly with good intentions but it never happens," shared Morgan, "then I feel a huge sense of guilt and despair." 

The stories from community members backed up what the numbers were telling us: 81% of people with ADHD believe that banks do not provide tools that work for them. That wasn't just disappointing. It was clear evidence that the financial industry has failed to serve the needs of this community.

Our community became our strongest ally, showing us that the path forward wasn't about forcing ADHD brains to conform to existing systems, but about building new systems that embrace and celebrate how these brains naturally work.

Flipping the Script: From 'Pay-to-Win' to 'Save-to-Win'

Equipped with invaluable insights from our community, we took a decisive leap. Instead of creating yet another budgeting app, we built something radically different: a mobile game that transforms everyday money tasks into an engaging, fun and rewarding experience.

At the heart of our experience is an adorable tamagotchi-like squirrel that guides you through your money journey. This creates an emotional connection that in turn increases the levels of motivation. The visual progress with the cozy aesthetic makes it feel more like a fun adventure than managing money. 

This wasn't about superficial gamification. It was about fundamentally aligning money management with how to keep ADHD brains interested and engaged. Where traditional systems punish inconsistency, our app celebrates small wins. Where the manipulation economy exploits emotional vulnerability to impulse, our system harnesses that same energy for positive financial outcomes.

While most mobile games use predatory "pay-to-win" mechanics that drain users' wallets, we completely flipped this model on its head with the first of its kind "save-to-win" approach. The game turns the very act of saving money into the core game mechanic that helps players progress and unlock rewards. This creates a virtuous cycle where improving your money habits helps you advance in the game, generating both dopamine rewards and real-life progress with money.

Our mission gained further validation when we joined BGV's programme, Europe's leading early-stage 'Tech for Good' VC, dedicated to using technology to address societal challenges.

"Not Serious Finance": Our Battle Against Old-School Investors

Our journey, however, was far from smooth sailing. We faced rejection after rejection from investors stuck in their way of thinking. 'A game to manage money? That's not serious finance', they scoffed. 'It's a very competitive space and very hard to be 10x better than current tools', dismissed one VC.

What they couldn't grasp was that existing tools weren't just inadequate; they were completely disconnected from how younger generations actually interact with money in the real world.

Our battle wasn't just technical but also philosophical: challenging the deep rooted belief that struggling with money management reflects a moral failing. While VCs insisted young people 'just need more discipline', we pushed back with evidence of how the manipulation economy systematically exploits us for profit.

Where investors saw a market too crowded to disrupt; we saw millions of young people, especially those with ADHD, being failed by a system never designed for their brains. Despite every closed door, our strong conviction that money management should work differently ultimately led to a breakthrough.

£100,000 Saved and We're Just Getting Started

The early results speak volumes: our community has collectively saved over £100,000 during our testing phase. Behind these numbers are individuals reclaiming their confidence with money, transforming shame into empowerment, and taking back control in a system designed to exploit them.

We've just closed a £900,000 investment led by London Venture Partners with participation from current investors Bethnal Green Ventures, leading investors in Gaming and ‘Tech for Good’. This funding represents more than just capital. It validates that the world is ready for a fundamentally different approach to financial wellbeing.

This milestone is not a business achievement. It's a victory for our community members and for everyone who's ever been told their financial struggles were character flaws rather than the predictable outcome of systems that weren't built for their needs.

This funding allows us to scale what's working, but the true validation comes from our community members who are finally experiencing what financial tools should have been all along: allies in their money journey rather than another source of stress.