Explaining complex financial systems and economic theories to a broad audience is no small task, yet Kyla Scanlon has emerged as a prominent figure doing just that for a new generation. A podcaster, writer, and financial educator, Scanlon breaks down intricate topics into digestible content primarily through short videos on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, reaching audiences across age groups. Her approach combines clarity with relatability, making economics more accessible to those who might otherwise feel excluded from the conversation.
Scanlon, born in 1997, earned her bachelor’s degree from Western Kentucky University in 2019 with a perfect 4.0 GPA, majoring in economics, finance, sales, and business data analytics. After graduation, she worked at Capital Group, a major investment management firm managing over $3 trillion in assets, where she spent 21 months in roles involving research, risk analysis, and investment strategy. In 2021, she joined On Deck (now ODF) as an investment partner, developing a 10-week financial curriculum. She later founded Bread, a company dedicated to financial literacy.
On her Substack, Scanlon identifies herself as “a commentator and educator (not an influencer!),” emphasizing her mission to inform rather than entertain. Her content often uses metaphors—such as comparing stock valuations to concert ticket pricing—to illustrate economic concepts. For instance, she explained in a 2025 Instagram post how high price-to-earnings ratios reflect investor optimism, driven by expectations of future profitability, particularly in AI-related stocks like Nvidia and Apple. She also cautioned that rising interest rates could pressure equity valuations.
As of late September 2025, Scanlon had amassed 412,000 followers on Instagram, 238,000 on TikTok, and 194,000 on X. Her YouTube channel, though less frequently updated with its latest video posted in January 2025, has around 83,000 subscribers.
Her 2024 book, *In This Economy? How Money and Markets Really Work*, uses illustrations and real-world analogies to demystify topics like employment, debt, and market dynamics. In a July 2025 interview with Jon Stewart on *The Daily Report*, she criticized the lack of economic education, stating the book aims to equip people with essential knowledge for modern life. Review platform Blinkist praised the book for blending personal narratives with insightful analysis, offering readers both engagement and enlightenment.
On Substack, Scanlon continues to publish essays that explore macroeconomic trends, policy impacts, and behavioral finance, maintaining her focus on education over viral appeal.
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Meet Kyla Scanlon: The viral Gen Z economic commentator taking over TikTok
Understanding the global economy and financial markets isn’t easy for everyone, and breaking down the complexities isn’t a simple task. n nBut Gen Z podcaster, economic commentator, and author Kyla Scanlon is trying to tackle one subject matter at a time, and she’s breaking down topics that might sound complicated into easier-to-understand formats on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram for her generation and young and old alike. n nHere’s how Kyla Scanlon got her start and how she’s disseminating her work through videos, essays, and podcasts. n n💵💰 Don’t miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet’s free daily newsletter 💵💰 n nWho is Kyla Scanlon? n nScanlon was born in 1997, according to several online sources. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Western Kentucky University in 2019, according to her LinkedIn profile. She had a perfect 4.0 GPA and studied economics, finance, sales, and business data analytics. n nAfter graduation, she was an associate at the Capital Group, a Los Angeles-based investment management firm with more than $3 trillion in assets under management. During her 21 months of employment there, she worked in research, risk analysis, investment strategy, and internal communications. For eight months in 2021, she was an investment partner at On Deck (now named ODF), where she built a 10-week financial curriculum. After ODF, she founded Bread, a financial education company. n nPart of Scanlon’s goal is to educate the public about money and markets, and on her Substack profile she considers herself “a commentator and educator (not an influencer!)” n nWhat is Kyla Scanlon known for? n nScanlon is known for taking economic and financial topics that can be complex, and she puts them into a comprehensive and easier-to-understand format. She typically summarizes her take into a short-form video, or reel — around 2 to 3 minutes — on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. n nFor example, in an Instagram post about stock market indexes reaching record highs in September 2025, she uses concert ticket prices as an analogy for price-to-earnings ratios and stock prices. Investors would be willing to pay high prices for tickets at a future concert on the view that the show will be amazing. In the case of high p-e ratios, investors are optimistic about stocks, and they’re willing to buy stocks with high valuations on the premise of higher future profitability. Scanlon further explains causes for share prices rising — namely euphoria over artificial intelligence (AI) boosting productivity and how a select number of stocks, such as Nvidia and Apple, are dominating the market — and that a rise in interest rates could cause a decline in stock prices. n nHow many followers does Kyla Scanlon have on social media? n nScanlon has 412,000 followers on Instagram, 238,000 on TikTok, and 194,000 on X as of late September 2025. On her YouTube channel, where her content is longer but her most recent upload was in January 2025, she has about 83,000 followers. n nMore on finance: n nHow to sort data in Google Sheets: Refining information further n nHow to track stock price changes from 52-week lows with Google Finance n nHow to create an in-cell dropdown list on Google Sheets n nWhat is Kyla Scanlon’s book? n nIn This Economy? How Money and Markets Really Work, published in 2024, Scanlon tackles the current state of the economy and financial markets, and she uses illustrations and metaphors to cover topics such as employment and debt. n n“I think we really underserve people with economics education, and we send people out into the world without understanding anything about economics,” Scanlon told Jon Stewart on The Daily Report via YouTube in July 2025. “And so the book is really meant to just help people understand these things that you have to know to exist in the modern world.” n nBlinkist, a website that summarizes books, has several reasons why In This Economy? is worth reading, and one of them is that it “engages readers with real-life stories and thought-provoking analyses, ensuring a stimulating and informative reading experience.” n nWhat does Kyla Scanlon write on SubStack?