SYCLUS / FIN LIT x HIP-HOP X GAMING

[Skip Crowell]

Hello,

My name is Skip Crowell, founder of Syclus, a NYC-based social impact startup that combines money/finance, hip-hop culture, and technology in new and entertaining ways to help create the first financially successful generation of under-resourced Black youth. Syclus was created to break the cycle of poverty by empowering the pre-banked consumer segment to become productive participants in the U.S. financial system and not only achieve their money goals, but elevate their goals by helping them become role models to their peers and parents.

Given that gaming is an integral component of our model, This past academic semester (Spring 2021), Syclus had the pleasure of partnering with Carnegie Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) to create Bodega Tycoon (aka: BodegaBudget), an educational game whose goal is to enhance under-resourced Black high school students knowledge of budgeting, credit, loans, and investments, while boosting their confidence in financial institutions that have not traditionally served their community well.

You can learn more about Bodega Tycoon/BodegaBudget and Syclus at bodegabudget.com, where you can also access the game and its trailer.

I would love to chat with anyone who is interested in learning more about this game-changing project and/or interested in partnering/collaborating to build v.2. Thanks so much and I look forward to engaging with this robust community.

Skip