At his first Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) state competition, Sai Mani was so nervous to speak publicly he had to ask a friend to request water from a restaurant waiter. Now, the Davidson Academy senior serves as Nevada DECA's state vice president of leadership and has built Finlingo, a free online platform that makes financial literacy more accessible to students.
Located on the 夜色视频 campus, the is a public school serving profoundly gifted students in middle and high school. The Academy was ranked No. 4 nationally and No. 1 in Nevada in the 2026–27 U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools rankings. Its location on the University campus also gives students opportunities to pursue college-level coursework while completing their high school education.
Mani has attended the Davidson Academy since seventh grade. Although many of his classmates gravitate toward science, technology, engineering and mathematics, Mani found his interests leaning toward business, an interest that began long before he entered high school.
“When I was growing up as a kid, for some reason, I was really interested in finances,” Mani said. “I was always behind my dad's back whenever he was doing taxes or going through bank statements and stuff like that.”
That childhood curiosity eventually inspired , a free, game-style financial literacy platform featuring 120 lessons covering topics such as budgeting, saving, and needs versus wants, along with practice resources for business competitions.
“I just wanted to make learning financial literacy very accessible for everyone,” Mani said.
The platform combines bite-sized lessons with interactive features designed to make learning engaging. Mani said he does not monetize users' data and built the resource to help students access financial education regardless of their circumstances.
His interest in business grew after joining DECA, a student organization focused on preparing emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management.
“When I joined DECA, that kind of gave me an eye into the business world,” he said. “I figured out that I was much more of a social science and business kid.”
Mani's involvement eventually led him to run for state office in the organization. He now serves as Nevada DECA's state vice president of leadership, a role that has helped shape his interests and Finlingo's development.
The platform includes competition-preparation resources for organizations such as DECA, Future Business Leaders of America, and Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, allowing students to access practice material in one place.
At the Davidson Academy, Mani said the school's small classes and collaborative environment have helped him discover new perspectives.
“Having such a tight-knit community is kind of what helps me get exposure to a lot of things,” he said.
The school's location on the University campus has also given Mani opportunities to explore his academic interests. Because he hopes to pursue business, he has taken economics, mathematics and statistics courses at the University for college credit.
Mani said taking University courses is a common experience among Davidson Academy students, with many of his peers beginning college-level coursework early in high school and some as early as seventh grade.
“Being able to dive deeper into what I'm really interested in is, I think, one thing that the University and schools that are located near college campuses are really good at,” Mani said. “I'm able to get a real feel for what I might be able to do in the future.”
Mani began developing Finlingo during the second semester of his junior year. The project started as a Google Chrome extension before he expanded it into a website to make it more accessible. The extension allowed him to experiment with interactive lessons and features such as coins and avatars. After noticing organic traffic, he decided to develop a website that students could access from different computers. Building the website took approximately a month. Since then, Mani has continued updating its lessons and features. He largely built the platform independently, relying on YouTube tutorials, Reddit discussions and educational resources to learn along the way.
One of his biggest challenges was learning how to build the website's backend while considering user privacy.
“Trying to keep privacy in mind” became an important part of the process, Mani said, as he worked to protect users' information and make the platform accessible to students.
The project has also begun reaching classrooms beyond Nevada. Mani recently discovered that teachers in several other states were using Finlingo, an encouraging milestone for a platform that began as a personal project.
“I thought that this might be kind of like a long-term goal, to have teachers using it in other states,” he said. “I thought Nevada teachers would start using it first, but it kind of went the opposite way.”
Mani hopes to see more Nevada schools adopt the platform and eventually expand its reach nationwide.
Outside academics and Finlingo, Mani makes time for athletics and outdoor recreation. Because the Davidson Academy does not offer its own sports programs, he has played tennis at Damonte Ranch High School throughout his high school experience. During his junior and senior years, he served as team captain and played first-line singles.
He also enjoys snowboarding at Mount Rose during the winter and spending time with friends playing basketball or trying other sports.
“I just try to have a good mix of academics and then athletics in my life,” he said.
As Mani approaches graduation, he continues to update Finlingo and explore ways to make financial education more engaging. For now, the project brings together his interests in business, technology and education while helping other students learn skills they can use beyond the classroom.
What began with a childhood fascination with taxes and bank statements has grown into a platform reaching educators beyond Nevada. Through his experiences at the Davidson Academy and on the University campus, Mani has found ways to turn his curiosity into something other students can use, one lesson at a time.
