Goalsetter Raises $3.9M for Kids' Financial Literacy

Goalsetter, a service designed to empower parents in teaching their children about financial responsibility, has announced the completion of a $3.9 million seed funding round, with Astia leading the investment.

PNC Bank, Mastercard, U.S. Bank, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, Elevate Capital, Portfolia’s First Step and Rising America Fund, and Pipeline Angels were also participants in this funding round. The investment group also included several prominent individual investors, such as Robert F. Smith, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Baron Davis, Sterling K. Brown, Ryan Bathe, CC Sabathia, and Amber Sabathia.

Goalsetter was initially introduced in 2019 as a product of the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator. The platform was created by Tanya Van Court, who, having experienced a loss of over $1 million during the 2001 economic downturn, is dedicated to providing children of all ages with financial education, covering economic principles, terminology, and the foundations of financial well-being.

Drawing on her extensive experience at Nickelodeon and ESPN, Van Court possesses a strong understanding of how children learn and what captures their interest. She made a commitment to ensure her own children would be well-informed about wealth preservation and growth.

The application enables parents to distribute allowances directly through the platform, and even rewards correct answers to in-app quizzes with monetary payouts. Furthermore, family members and friends can contribute “goal cards” as an alternative to traditional gift cards, assisting children in saving for future aspirations.

The company has also recently introduced a debit card for children, providing parents with control over card usage and the ability to temporarily disable it until the child successfully completes the weekly financial literacy quiz.

On average, families are able to save $120 each month utilizing the platform, and Van Court reports that two families have each saved over $10,000 within the past year.

The company is preparing to launch a significant campaign next week in observance of Black History Month, with the objective of reducing the wealth disparity among Black children and children of color through enhanced financial education.

“Simply providing a debit card to a teenager is a good start,” Van Court explained. “It teaches them about spending. However, it’s equally important to educate children on the fundamental concepts of wealth creation, and to understand the distinctions between investment accounts, certificates of deposit, mutual funds, and savings accounts. We explain interest rates and the power of compound interest. Our primary focus is financial education, as teaching children only how to spend is insufficient.”

Goalsetter previously secured $2.1 million in funding in 2019, and this latest round brings the company’s total funding to $6 million. The recent funding round was highly sought after, allowing Van Court to carefully select her investors.

“Each of these investors has consistently demonstrated a commitment to social justice and to investing in diversity and inclusion initiatives, even before these issues gained widespread attention,” Van Court stated. “We were fortunate to be oversubscribed and able to choose investors who had already shown a dedication to including diverse voices at their tables in 2019, 2018, and 2017.”