Thomas Washington Jr. (TJ), is a Boston Native who grew up in a large part of the city called Jamaica Plain. The young CEO spent his early years watching many of the people in the area struggle due to high poverty and crime rates. Rather than following similar paths as the locals and peers, Washington used his experiences as motivation to help change the circumstances in his neighborhood. He had always played mock investment games, with his mentor, Dr. Joseph Warren, a Northeastern professor, which inspired him to learn more about economics. As Washington entered his adult years and gained more knowledge on these topics, he recognized a large part of the problem in his community was the lack of resources for learning to become financially literate.