About
Why this exists.
Start the Chain exists to close the financial knowledge gap — one calculator, one definition, one first investment at a time.
The story
A cheat code that existed in one neighborhood and not the other.
Growing up on Long Island, I lived in two different worlds.
The first was a predominantly Black neighborhood where people worked hard — genuinely hard — but the struggle never seemed to end. Not for lack of effort. Not for lack of character. Just an endless sense that no matter how much people gave, the ceiling stayed low.
The second neighborhood was predominantly white, and something was different there in a way I couldn't name at the time. There was a quiet confidence about the future. An assumption that things would compound — that what your parents built would become a foundation for what you'd build. Nobody talked about it directly. It was just in the air. A cheat code that existed in one neighborhood and not the other.
When I got to college and started studying finance, I found out what that cheat code was. The math wasn't complicated. The tools were accessible. The information had been available for decades. It just hadn't made its way to the people I grew up around — not by accident, but because of a long history of exclusion that kept those tools out of reach for generations of Black families.
That realization made me want to do something. Not a course you have to pay for. Just a free, honest tool that puts the information in front of people who deserve to have it — clearly, without jargon, and without anyone making money off their attention.
That's Start the Chain. The tools your grandmother was denied. In your hands. Right now.
Hal Telfer
Founder, Start the Chain
What it is
A free tool. Nothing more, nothing less.
The grandma calculator
Shows what consistent monthly investing in the S&P 500 would have produced over decades — using real historical returns going back to 1950. The centerpiece of the site and the thing that makes the math personal.
The generational calculator
Shows what you can build across three generations starting today. You invest. Your child inherits and adds to it. Your grandchild inherits what that becomes. The chain you start now.
Plain-language definitions
What is a stock? A bond? An index fund? An index? Clear, jargon-free answers written like a trusted older sibling who figured it out and wants to share it — not a textbook.
Where to invest
A plain-language comparison of Fidelity, Schwab, and Vanguard — with a step-by-step guide to opening your first account. No affiliate fees. No recommendations that benefit us. Just the honest comparison.
What it is not
Start the Chain is not a brokerage, a financial advisor, an investment platform, or an app you download. It does not manage your money, give personalized financial advice, or make recommendations based on your individual situation. It is a free educational tool — nothing more, nothing less.
Why it's free
Free forever. That's not a tagline.
The audience this site is built for has been on the receiving end of financial products designed to extract value from them — predatory loans, overdraft fees, high-cost money orders, financial "advice" that primarily benefits the advisor. Start the Chain will never be one of those things.
There are no ads. No subscriptions. No premium tiers. No data sold to third parties. No affiliate fees from the brokers we recommend. The site uses Plausible Analytics — a privacy-first tool that counts page visits without cookies and without tracking anyone individually.
The goal is to make the tool as widely available as possible, particularly to people who have historically been excluded from financial education. That goal is incompatible with putting it behind a paywall or monetizing the people who use it.
$0
Cost to use — forever
$0
Ads or sponsorships
$0
Affiliate income
Get in touch
Let's connect.
Whether you're an educator, a community organization, an HBCU looking to share this with students, a journalist covering financial literacy, or just someone with feedback — I'd love to hear from you.
Site
startthechain.orgA dedicated contact email is coming soon. In the meantime, feel free to share feedback by using the site and watching this space.
If you're an organization interested in partnering — bringing Start the Chain into a classroom, a financial literacy program, or a community event — please reach out. This tool works best when it reaches people through trusted relationships, not cold traffic.
Ready?
Start the chain.
The grandma calculator is waiting. See what consistent investing over decades actually produces — then decide if you're ready to start your own chain.
Run the calculator →