Startup Spotlight #95: Rapunzl

Rapunzl leverages the connectivity of social media to foster a competitive mobile community centered around financial markets.

Mar 08, 2021

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I got the chance to speak with Brian Curcio and Myles Gage, co-founders of Rapunzl, about what they are working on at their startup, and any advice they have for emerging entrepreneurs.

Brian and Myles met freshman year of high school and became friends talking about stocks. Over time, they realized that ordinary investors have paid a price to learn to invest; and that price typically was real money ending up in Wall Street’s pocket. Rapunzl was founded to provide an unparalleled investing education through fun (and free) investment competitions with scholarships and cash prizes.

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Startup Spotlight: Rapunzl

Rapunzl co-founders Brian Curcio (left) and Myles Gage (right).

Problem: There is a lack of engaging platforms that offer an opportunity for individuals to earn while you learn about investing.

Market: Our target market consists of 18- to 24-year-olds in the United States which represents ~30 million individuals as the Total Addressable Market. The Serviceable Addressable Market is similarly sized given the ubiquitous nature of smartphone adoption and the free nature of the Rapunzl app.

Solution: A simulated, competitive investing platform that educates investors by allowing them to trade in real-time and compete for prizes with their peers.

Team: Rapunzl was founded by high school friends, Brian Curcio (CEO) and Myles Gage (CMO), in April of 2017. Our technical founder, Chris Thomas, joined the team in 2019 and currently serves as CTO.

Recent Success:

Curcio and Gage: We’ve been really successful in creating an investment competition for high school students which has garnered national interest. We started with an investment challenge for high school students in 2018 that attracted 2000 students. That has since led to hosting a competition in New York, Los Angeles, and for colleges on the east coast. We are now planning a national competition with Nasdaq which will encompass high schools in eight major cities.

Recent Struggle:

Curcio and Gage: We’ve struggled to take a step back and appreciate the big picture as Rapunzl has grown. We try to make a conscious effort to remind ourselves that any startup is a marathon, but it’s hard to avoid a perfectionist mentality with every project we undertake. The most important thing we try not to forget is that every decision isn’t life or death and that failure is okay as long as we learn and improve from it.

Founder Advice:

Curcio and Gage: Planning is key and thinking is cheap. Most businesses fail due to problems that are mainly avoidable, however, more often than not we as entrepreneurs do not spend enough time thinking about all possible outcomes and contingencies in case things do not go as initially planned. Additionally, planning allows you to think about problems that may not be currently present, but may arise in the future.

Three Cool Founders You Should Know About:

Curcio and Gage: Here are three founders you should check out next!

Michael Cavanaugh, Founder & CEO of Regiment: Regiment is a digital investment bank connecting entrepreneurs with earnest investors.
Rohan Gupta, Founder of StreetFins: StreetFins is a free financial literacy site created and operated by college students.
Roger Cawdette, Founder of Finary: Finary is a social investing platform building group chats for Gen Z and Millennials.

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