KEVIN MAHONEY

For millions of fans, the ultimate dream job would be working for the NFL. Kevin Mahoney lived the dream, nabbing a college internship with his hometown Cleveland Browns and a full-time League job in salary management after graduation. “The experience was memorable, but also all football, all the time,” he said, prompting him to leave for an MBA in finance at Georgia Tech. There, an internship at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta provided a bird’s-eye view of the post-crisis real estate market and led to a full-time job, followed by five years with a German investment firm. In 2017, married with two infant sons, Mahoney found himself wrestling with personal finance questions that he discovered his peers also struggled with.

Deciding he’d rather help younger families than “wealthy German investors,” he started his own firm, quickly earned a CFP designation and now provides project-based help with specific problems including student loans and mortgages, as well as investing advice. In 2019, he provided pro bono advice to furloughed government employees, and helped recruit 60 advisers to offer similar services.

In 2020, he offered pro bono help to anyone who experienced a financial shock due to Covid. “I want to empower clients and keep everything as simple and as straightforward as possible.”

— Evan Cooper