Briana Franklin of UnDEBTfeated Is Redefining Financial Education for the Next Generation

Please share a brief introduction and your business:

UnDEBTfeated is a financial wellness and debt-constraint prevention enterprise addressing one of the most under-acknowledged drivers of economic instability in the U.S.: predatory lending. Born from my own lived experience of battling six-figures in student loans acquired through the pursuit of my undergraduate studies, UnDEBTfeated was founded to shift financial education away from surface-level budgeting advice and toward structural debt prevention, mitigation, and systemic reform. We specialize in helping our audiences (primarily high school teens) understand how debt is created, who profits from it, and how to strategically avoid or dismantle it before it becomes life-limiting.

Did you always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?

Yes, since the age of 8, when I first learned it as a vocabulary word in language arts

Take us back to when you launched? What was your marketing strategy?

UnDEBTfeated actually made its initial debut in fall 2023 as the YouTube series extension of The Prosp(a)rity Project, raising awareness squarely for the student debt crisis by interviewing figures in finance, entertainment, business, and sports. Promoting the show across our social media platforms was our primary marketing strategy, which I'd say was moderately successful, especially when we could cross-promote with some of our more high-profile guests with wide reach & large audience counts

What accomplishments are you most proud of to date in your business?

Not having given up when everything around me suggested I probably should have. Though I'm no stranger to an a-linear trajectory, this founding journey was especially disjointed, and 2025 was the year of being humbled, at times to the point of humiliation, as I struggled to regroup following the dissolution of The Prosp(a)rity Project in favor of bringing UnDEBTfeated to its fully realized form.

What is one thing you wish you had known when you started your Entreprenista journey?

Can't really say, only been in the community for about a week!

When hiring, what is your go-to interview question?

How can this role best prepare you for the life you eventually want to lead?

What did you do before starting your own business?

Prior to this business, I founded/ran UnDEBTfeated's nonprofit predecessor, The Prosp(a)rity Project, which was an organization helping debt-constrained Black women pay off student debt + build financial literacy and career development skills

What made you take the leap to start your own business?

Knowing that if I didn't, the problems I've been affected by (exploitation caused by predatory lending) would only continue to proliferate and derail more young lives

Do you have any recent wins?

Getting tapped by a South FL org to build a custom financial wellness curriculum + hired by a high school in Boston to run the first in-person pilot of our signature HIRE vs. Higher program

What's one app on your phone that you cannot live without?

The Bible app; Jesus keeps me sane and sufferable!

Who are your customers?

High school/post-secondary educational entities (school district/municipalities), career prep orgs/NGOs

What's your top productivity tip?

Time block; put phone on DND; take a 2-3 week social media hiatus at least once a quarter

What's your favorite business tool?

ChatGPT, though I'm becoming aware of the environmental repercussions and thus try to only limit use to when absolutely critical, it's been a game changer for 10xing output and ability to optimize/streamline operations

What's your approach to work-life balance?

Make time for everything proactively rather than reactively. Block out 3-4 hour chunks for deep work + time for social and fitness/wellness activity. When I can afford, spa 1x/month!

How do you avoid burn-out?

Self-care! Prayer, journaling, investing in my hobbies (reading, language learning), working out

What advice do you have for aspiring Entreprenistas?

Keep your village close! This path, unfortunately, can be quite isolating, and in having a family that is generally very unfamiliar with the entrepreneurial landscape/ill-equipped to support me through the journey, having a trusted community of fellow founders has made all the difference in my ability to stay the course

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