As a young boy, I watched my family deal with a great deal of stress from unsecured debt. This forced us to live paycheck to paycheck. I didn't know how to deal with it. I put $10 I had earned from my paper route in an envelope and gave it to my mother, hoping it would bring relief; instead, it brought tears.
As I grew up, I mistakenly thought that I needed to become wealthy to prevent this from happening to my own family. I didn't focus on the root issue, which is that very few people learn how to save and spend money effectively.
And so, Ascend was built.