Our Story

OneUp was founded in 2021 by Rajan Kaushek, then a high school freshman and the president of the Menlo School Investing Team, to address a growing crisis: 81% of Generation Z lacks basic financial literacy. What began as a solo initiative has since grown into a national student-led nonprofit redefining how young people engage with money.

Our mission is to make essential financial knowledge accessible, engaging, and actionable for all students. Since launching our flagship three-day investing bootcamp, we’ve graduated over 500 students in person and reached more than 1,500 families through additional one-day accelerators and school-based events. Through online resources and self-paced video courses, we’ve expanded our total impact to over 30,000 students nationwide.

What started as a one-person effort has evolved into a dedicated team of 15+ high school student educators, designers, and organizers, all united by a commitment to financial empowerment. With the help of grant funding and community partnerships, we offer all programming completely free of charge, ensuring that financial education remains accessible regardless of background or income.

In 2024, we launched the OneUp High School Chapter System—a national initiative enabling student leaders to bring OneUp’s curriculum to their own campuses. Modeled after organizations like DECA and HOSA, the chapter system provides training, branding, and curriculum infrastructure to help students teach their peers and scale impact organically.

Our curriculum covers core topics including investing, budgeting, economic responsibility, and real-world financial decision-making, with a strong emphasis on interactive learning and real-life application. Every session is designed to bridge the gap between classroom learning and life readiness.

OneUp is more than a program—it’s a movement. We’re building a new standard for youth financial education: practical, inclusive, and built to last.