- Goalsetter — a Black-owned family finance app company that provides a next-generation education-first banking experience for U.S. kids and teens — recently announced its seed capital raise of $3.9 million
Goalsetter — a Black-owned family finance app company that provides a next-generation education-first banking experience for U.S. kids and teens — recently announced its seed capital raise of $3.9 million. And the capital raised will support the company’s plans to accelerate subscriber growth and enhance its ability to further build out its platform. Goalsetter is known as the only debit card in the U.S. with a financial literacy curriculum designed exclusively for teens and tweens.
The funding round — which was initially set for $3 million and oversubscribed — was led by Astia with additional participation from PNC Bank, Mastercard, US Bank, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, Elevate Capital, Portfolia’s FirstStep Fund and Rising America Fund, and Pipeline Angels as other major investors.
And individual investors include notables such as philanthropist and investor Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman & CEO of Vista Equity Partners; NBA Stars Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, and Baron Davis; actors Sterling K. Brown and Ryan Bathe; MLB Star CC Sabathia and Executive Director of PitCCh In, Amber Sabathia.
In a report published in 2017 by Prosperity Now and the Institute for Policy Studies, research has found that Black people spend $1 trillion every year in the U.S., but are projected to have a negative net worth by 2053. And Latino net worth predicted to zero out by 2073.
The app’s features include financial education elements like “Learn to Earn” — which lets kids earn money for every financial quiz question they get right. And “Learn Before You Burn” enables parents to automatically freeze teens’ and tweens’ debit cards if they haven’t taken their financial literacy quizzes for the week. In September 2020, Goalsetter was featured as the Apple App of the Day and also released its Cashola Card, a U.S.-based debit card that includes financial literacy tools for teens and tweens.
Goalsetter’s founder Tanya Van Court was formerly an executive at ESPN (where she launched ESPN3) and Nickelodeon (where she led NickJr.com and Noggin.com). And Van Court’s experience in media and entertainment helped her hone her ability to create content that is both engaging and educational for kids and families. At Discovery Education, Van Court also launched kids’ digital textbooks on multi-modal learning.
KEY QUOTES:
“As the only Black-woman owned fintech company focused on the kid’s fintech space, we know how critical early finance education is to all kids in our country, and to Black and Brown kids in particular. Despite an increasing buying power, our Black and Latino communities are trending towards negative worth. Now is the time to teach our children to become smart spenders instead of conspicuous consumers. Goalsetter does this by teaching them that financial education, saving, and investing are the building blocks for achieving generational wealth.”
— Tanya Van Court, CEO and Founder of Goalsetter
“Astia invests in companies that include women leaders and we invested in Goalsetter because we see an extraordinary founder who has developed a uniquely creative, effective and scalable platform to increase financial literacy among youth and ultimately promote a more equitable world. Tanya Van Court is an exemplar of entrepreneurs we back, and we are excited to be on this journey with her.”
— Astia Managing Director Victoria Pettibone
“We are proud to support Goalsetter in their mission to increase financial literacy in Black and Brown communities. Financial education is fundamental to building wealth. We are excited for young people and families to have this tool as they take control of their financial future and become savvy investors and future entrepreneurs. ”
– Kevin Durant, Co-Founder at Thirty-Five Ventures
