Josh Landy

Role: Executive Director, Gifted Savings Met Date: 2025-03-31 (Virtual Meeting with Gary Sheng & Johnny Rapp) Organization: Gifted Savings Based In: Washington Heights, NYC (as of March 2025)

Contact Information

• Email: [Update if available]
• Phone: [Update if available]

Personal Background

• Extensive career in the nonprofit sector focused on social impact and youth development.
• Previous roles include work in arts (theater), music education (hybrid learning platform in ~400 schools), and supporting grieving children (Experience Camps - former COO & bunk counselor).
• Business school graduate who pivoted back to nonprofit work.
• Passionate about creating transformative change for young people.
• Part of the Gifted Savings team that attends Burning Man.
• Duke Alum.

Gifted Savings Initiative

• Founder: Farhad Mohit (also founded Bizrate, Shopzilla, Flipagram).
• Mission: Directly gift investment assets ($1k initial portfolio) to high school students to promote financial inclusion, economic equity, and opportunity, bridging the wealth gap.
• Problem Addressed: Lack of financial literacy education (investing) in high schools, especially impacting students in poverty.
• Solution: Provides students with investment assets and knowledge via an app with weekly lessons (investing basics, risk/return, goal alignment).
• Current Status: Piloting with the senior class at Westbrook Academy (funded by Russell Westbrook) in South LA; Expanding to a full district in Georgia and Yellow Springs HS, Ohio.
• Impact: Shifts student mindset from spending to saving; helps them envision long-term goals (home ownership, business creation); builds financial resilience and understanding of market volatility.
• Operational Model: Tech-driven app minimizes overhead; scalable with low cost per additional school. Operating expenses are fully covered, 100% of donor gifts go to student portfolios.
• Needs: Increased visibility to attract more schools and donors.
• Future Plans: AI integration for personalized lessons/support; building a robust alumni network; tiered incentives for student engagement (deposits for level completion, potential portfolio doubling for top engagement).

Perspectives & Values

• Believes in the power of having "skin in the game" for learning (financial literacy).
• Values creating pathways for underserved youth.
• Emphasizes long-term vision and impact (e.g., alumni network).
• Sees the potential for gifted portfolios to fundamentally change students' life trajectories.

Connections

• Farhad Mohit: Founder of Gifted Savings.
• Victoria / Jack: Colleagues at Gifted Savings/Good Party.
• Russell Westbrook: Funder of Westbrook Academy pilot school.
• Alex Dermer (Get Engaged): Connection made via Johnny Rapp for Georgia outreach.
• Joe Liemandt: Potential partner/funder (via Gary Sheng).
• Gary Sheng: New connection, potential facilitator for partnership with Joe Liemandt.
• Johnny Rapp: New connection, potential creative collaborator, facilitator for Georgia connections.

Potential Collaboration Areas

• Introduction to Joe Liemandt for potential integration with Alpha School / EdTech initiatives.
• Attendance/Representation at America 2.0 Summit (Josh, Farhad, others).
• Creative/design support from Johnny Rapp and his team.
• School introductions in Tennessee (via Gary's network) and Georgia (via Johnny's network).

Interaction History

• 2025-03-31: Met with Gary Sheng and Johnny Rapp via video call. Presented Gifted Savings mission, progress, and needs. Discussed potential synergies with Joe Liemandt's work, AI integration, and creative enhancements. Agreed to meet Johnny Rapp in NYC for further discussion and demo. Received connection to "Get Engaged" in Georgia from Johnny. Invited to have Gifted Savings represented at America 2.0 Summit.

Transcripts

Transcript ID	Date	Summary
2025-03-31-josh-landy-johnny-rapp-gifted-savings	2025-03-31	Video call with Gary and Johnny discussing Gifted Savings financial education program and collaboration opportunities