Learn Money. Build Businesses.
Invest in Your Future.
Poca Investment Club is a hands-on financial education program of Pocahontas Financial Education Foundation, Inc., based in Marlinton, West Virginia. Learn investing, personal finance, entrepreneurship, business, accounting and financial independence by actually doing them — together.
Open to high school students, young adults and adults. No investing experience required.
Portfolio value
$118,420
Total return
+18.4%
Diversification
76/100
Alpha vs S&P
+6.3%
Holdings
6
Educational example only — not actual Foundation investment performance.
Who we are
A small-town organization with a big idea.
Poca is being built in Marlinton, West Virginia to give people practical experience with money, investing, businesses and the decisions behind them. We’re especially interested in helping high-school students and young adults begin before decades of financial decisions are behind them — but adults who want to learn, mentor or simply understand these subjects better are welcome too.
No prior investing experience, finance degree, or portfolio required. Curiosity is a pretty good place to start.
Learn First
Understand the ideas before putting them into practice.
Decide Together
Research, discuss, challenge assumptions and make decisions collaboratively.
Practice Safely
Use simulations and hands-on exercises before real Foundation capital ever enters the picture.
You can learn a lot more by doing.
Poca is built around experiences rather than lectures. Sometimes we teach, compete, and debate — and sometimes we get things wrong. That’s part of learning.
Research real companies
Look at businesses you already know.
Manage simulated investments
Make decisions and see what happens.
Build business ideas
Turn an idea into something real.
Learn from professionals
Meet business owners and mentors.
What we do
Money is bigger than the stock market.
Understanding investing matters. But understanding how money, businesses and organizations work matters too.
Investing
Stocks, ownership, diversification, risk, valuation and long-term investing.
Personal Finance
Saving, budgeting, credit, debt, taxes and building wealth over time.
Business & Entrepreneurship
Ideas, customers, revenue, expenses, profit and cash flow.
Accounting & Financial Statements
What the numbers tell you about a business — and what they don’t.
Economics & Decision Making
Markets, incentives, risk, trade-offs and incomplete information.
Financial Independence
Long-term thinking, compound growth and more choices for your future.
Organizations & Governance
Boards, voting, policies, accountability and how organizations operate.
All of it, together.
One program where investing, money, business and governance connect.
Start virtual. Learn. Then make it real.
We aren’t starting by gambling with real money. Members operate in a simulated environment first — then, when the organization is ready, real Foundation capital enters the picture under real governance.
Practice without risk
Research real companies, build portfolios, make decisions and see what happens — without putting actual capital at risk. Room to learn, experiment, debate and occasionally be spectacularly wrong.
Then make it real
Investment decisions involving Foundation assets happen under real governance, approval and internal-control processes. Members don’t contribute or pool personal money — they learn what responsible investing looks like by watching it happen.
Maybe investing isn’t the thing that gets you excited. That’s okay.
Ever thought about starting a business? We’ll explore how an idea becomes something people pay for — the problem, the customer, the costs, the pricing, and why a profitable company can still run out of cash. Members develop concepts, work the numbers, and learn from people who’ve actually built businesses.
Poca is about understanding how wealth gets built — not just how stocks get bought.
Education first
A curriculum that grows with you.
Nobody arrives knowing the same things. Poca’s education starts with what members already understand and grows with them — combining short lessons with real experiences: simulated investing, company research, business challenges, discussions, guest professionals, and the operation of the Foundation itself.
- Plain-English lessons — no finance degree required
- Connected to actual experiences and decisions
- How-to guides, a glossary, and investment strategies
- Learn at your own pace; the platform adapts to you
Level 1 — Foundations
What investing is and why it matters
Level 2 — Portfolio
Building and balancing a portfolio
Level 3 — Companies
Reading company financials
Level 4 — Valuation
Judging what a stock is worth
Level 5 — Analysis
Researching and writing a thesis
Level 6 — Management
Managing a portfolio over time
Level 7 — Advanced
Advanced strategies and topics
You’re not just joining it. You can help build it.
Pocahontas Financial Education Foundation, Inc. is itself an educational opportunity. Members can learn what it takes to create and operate a nonprofit — how a board works, how bylaws are written, how money is accounted for, how decisions are approved, and how an organization proves it’s accomplishing its mission.
The organization we’re building becomes part of the classroom.
Show up. Participate. Learn.
What does a Poca meeting look like?
Probably not much like school.
Some meetings may support Microsoft Teams participation and recordings where appropriate.
And yes… there may occasionally be homework.
High school students: you’re absolutely invited.
You don’t need to know anything about stocks, have a finance degree, or own an investment account. Bring curiosity — we’ll handle the rest together. We’re especially interested in helping high-school students and young adults start thinking about earning, saving, investing, entrepreneurship and long-term financial independence while they have an enormous advantage: time.
- No experience required
- Adults are welcome too — learn, mentor, or participate
- Parents can help their students get started
For parents & guardians
For participants under 18, parents and guardians are part of the process. Poca uses guardian authorization, privacy protections, and separate permissions for photography, video, and public or social-media use. A student can participate even when a guardian declines optional public-media permissions. Parents are welcome to contact us and help their high-school students get started.
Transparency in everything we do
Don’t just take our word for it. Look.
We’re building an unusually transparent organization. As records become available, the public can see how the Foundation is structured, governed and operated.
Formation & Status
How the Foundation is organized and its nonprofit status.
Board & Leadership
Who governs the Foundation — directors, seats, and terms.
How Decisions Are Made
Board structure, quorum, voting, and two-person controls.
Governing Documents
Articles, bylaws, and adopted policies on the public record.
Resolutions
Certified board decisions on the public record.
Financial Transparency
Aggregate fund totals — never individual donors or details.
Transparency never means sacrificing member privacy — especially young people’s.
Built in Pocahontas County.
Pocahontas Financial Education Foundation, Inc. is based in Marlinton, West Virginia, with a mission rooted in creating practical financial and entrepreneurial education for people in Pocahontas County and the surrounding community. We believe rural communities deserve access to financial knowledge, professional exposure and hands-on learning — and we think we can build something pretty special here.
Sophisticated financial and business education can happen right here in Pocahontas County.
Interested?
Start here.
We’re building the Foundation, developing the curriculum and organizing our first meetings. Register to become part of Poca, or send us a message to learn more, volunteer, mentor, speak at a future meeting, or help us build the program.
204 8th Street, PMB #41
Marlinton, WV 24954
Parents and guardians are welcome to contact us or help their high-school students get started.
Your future is worth learning about.
Whether you’re curious about investing, thinking about starting a business, trying to understand money better, or simply wondering where to begin — there’s a place to start.