Nexa Tax
2026
Simplifying taxes for college athletes
I built and launched the brand identity, messaging, and social marketing for an emerging startup creating an app for college athletes.
Overview
Simplifying taxes for college athletes
Nexa is a fintech startup helping college athletes manage taxes and the financial responsibilities that come with NIL income.
My Role
I joined before launch as the founding designer, developing its identity and early marketing presence. My role eventually grew into Head of Marketing, leading creative direction, content strategy, and campaigns as the company entered the market.
Problem
College athletes weren't thinking about tax season
NIL changed college sports. Athletes could now earn money through endorsements, sponsorships, and business opportunities, but with those opportunities came unfamiliar financial responsibilities.
Unlike a typical paycheck, NIL income could come from multiple sources, each with its own payments, agreements, and expenses to track. For athletes already balancing academics, training, and competition, understanding taxes was another responsibility demanding their attention.
We needed to reach an audience that wasn't necessarily thinking about taxes yet, much less actively searching for a solution.
Challenge
The goal was never to outpace a legacy company like TurboTax. It was to earn the attention of college athletes without sounding too corporate or becoming so casual that the brand lost credibility.
Traditional financial advertising wasn't the answer. Neither was borrowing the visual language of sports media and calling it a day.
We needed to find something in between.
Approach
A brand inside sports culture
Before designing, I studied what college athletes watched, followed, and shared. The question wasn't how a tax company should look; it was how NEXA could belong in the media and conversations athletes already cared about.
That thinking shaped the brand's visual language and the content that followed. The system needed to be recognizable, flexible, and capable of supporting both practical tax education and the pace of sports culture.
01
Audience
College-athletes earning NIL income
02
Creative Principal
Sports culture first, keeping financial credibility intact
Brand Identity
Nexa's identity drew from college sports culture, bringing the energy of athletic branding into a space typically dominated by banks and accounting firms.
I reimagined their existing logo to land more like a badge and purple gave us a recognizable presence without relying on the usual blues and greens of financial branding.
Anton brought the punch of sports headlines, with bold, condensed lettering suited for the fast-moving world of college athletics.
Poppins balanced it out with a friendlier, more readable typeface for tax education, product information, and everyday communication.
Content Strategy
Education
Breaking down NIL taxes, deductions, deadlines, and financial responsibilities into straightforward, digestible content. The goal was to make unfamiliar financial concepts easier for athletes to navigate.
Culture
Connecting Nexa to the world of college sports through athlete partnerships, humor, trends, and conversations already happening within the community.
News
Covering developments in NIL, college athletics, and the changing financial landscape surrounding student-athletes. Keeping the audience informed while establishing Nexa as a relevant voice in the space.
Launch & Campaigns
Bringing Nexa to market
As the company prepared to launch, the work expanded beyond identity and organic content. I developed promotional animations, product demonstrations, App Store creative, and campaigns introducing athletes to the platform. We also worked with college athletes on collaborative content, bringing the product into the communities it was designed to serve.
Alongside the consumer-facing work, I created pitch decks and investor materials, carrying the same identity into a different kind of conversation.
Outcome
A launched app, onboarded athletes, and most importantly - an engaged audience.
Nexa launched on the App Store in May 2025, supported by the identity, content system, and campaigns we had developed. The company went on to report more than 300 onboarded athletes, alongside ambassador partnerships and media coverage. Our launch and social efforts also produced measurable organic reach and engagement.
What started as a wild idea, was fully brought into fruition. Being able to capture an entirely new audience and having no references to rely on was the most engaging part of my role. Combining two contrasting elements, such as taxes and partying college athletes, and having both of them work together was truly a special experience.
Key outcomes
App Store launch
Nexa launched on the App Store with a fully customized UI system.
First 1,000
The first 1,000 followers are usually the hardest and we hit it in the first year.
3 Publications
Media traction gained as business journals reported our success.
Scalable design system
Nexa went to market with an entirely fresh and individualized brand identity.