When I first started learning financial modeling:
- I was overwhelmed by scattered YouTube tutorials of varying quality and half-completed Excel templates.
- I tried several courses from well-known financial education sites, where I had to download gigabytes of videos, massive Excel files, and 100-page PDFs. They weren’t easy to digest — I often found myself juggling multiple tabs, switching between a PDF, an Excel workbook, and a video just to understand what was being explained.
- Most of these courses were either packed with jargon or lacked the step-by-step guidance I needed. And many of them relied on passive learning — watching videos instead of actually practicing. When I did try to build something on my own in Excel, it was hard to tell whether my assumptions or results were correct.
💡 For anyone starting out in financial modeling, here are three resources I think are especially valuable:
1. Kenji Explains (YouTube) Kenji’s videos are some of the easiest to digest I’ve come across. He comes across as a humble, patient teacher. The engagement speaks for itself — one comment I saw said, “The way you explain things is far better than 99% of the professors I had.” In finance, a lot of education content can feel overly complicated. It doesn’t have to be that way — the best content is simple and clear.
2. r/FinancialModeling (Reddit) A well-moderated community with technical discussions, thoughtful engagement, and peers who are genuinely willing to share ideas and help answer questions.
3. Quantus Finance (App) I built Quantus on the belief that learning by doing is the most effective way to master financial modeling. Think of it as a virtual coach guiding you step by step as you build models. Practice drives real learnings — far more than passively watching videos.
👉 If you’re just getting started, these three resources are worth checking out.