An accounting startup has turned tax preparations into a Pokémon Showdown game

A Game-Changing Approach to Filing Taxes

In PokéTax, users engage with characters known as Tax Trainers, akin to gym leaders in Pokémon, who represent different components of a tax form, such as income, deductions, and credits. These trainers pose questions that assist players in completing their tax documents accurately.

Open Ledger co-founder Pryce Adade-Yebesi explained that once users finish their journey in PokéTax, they are directed to the IRS Direct File site for official submission. This creative concept is inspired by the open-source Pokémon game, Pokémon Showdown, and Adade-Yebesi assures that this development is no joke.

From Concept to Reality

Adade-Yebesi and his co-founder Ashtyn Bell established Open Ledger earlier this year, successfully raising $3 million in funding from Kindred Ventures and Black Ventures. Initially, the concept of PokéTax started as a light-hearted idea among the team. They wondered, “Could we actually pull this off?” The enthusiastic answer turned out to be a resounding yes.

The game includes an AI assistant that helps users streamline their responses, and as players tackle different Tax Trainers, they have the opportunity to earn badges by discovering additional deductions.

Transforming Tax Filing into Fun

Filing taxes is often seen as a necessary but unexciting part of adulthood, and few entrepreneurs have thought to gamify the process. One notable attempt prior to PokéTax was the dating-style game Tax Heaven 3000 that guided users through tax preparation in a unique way during the 2022 tax season.

With PokéTax, Adade-Yebesi aims to inject fun into financial processes, making them not only more engaging but also less daunting for users. As the deadline for filing taxes approaches on April 15, this innovative approach may just lighten the burden of this annual chore.