Meet the Young Entrepreneur Taking on the Sharemarket (Alli Kennedy)

In this episode, I spoke with Alli Kennedy, creator of Sharenanigans - a board game designed to teach investing fundamentals to families. Originally conceived as an app, Alli pivoted to a physical board game after realising the benefits of bringing families together around the table rather than focusing on screens.

The game takes inspiration from Monopoly but focuses on share market investing, with gameplay lasting between 30 minutes to 2 hours depending on chosen goals. Players can select short or long-term investment objectives, mirroring real-world investing strategies.

Alli has launched a Pledge Me campaign to fund the first production run of 1,750 games - enough to fill a 20ft container. The campaign offers tiers from $5 donations up to $5,000 sponsorship packages. A unique feature allows businesses to secure branding spots on the game board across four industries: tech, agriculture, health and energy.

Despite initial hesitation about creating a board game in a tech-focused startup environment, Alli believes the physical format better serves her mission of sparking family conversations about investing. The game doesn't aim to create expert investors but rather introduce key concepts in an engaging way.

The Pledge Me campaign runs until August 2nd, with the games expected to arrive in New Zealand by late September/early October. The retail price is set at $75 including shipping.