There’s no age limit on when people can learn financial literacy, according to mobile banking app Goalsetter.
The Black-owned kids and family finance app announced that it has raised a $3.9 million seed capital round and plans to use the funds to accelerate subscriber growth and enhance its ability to further expand its platform, according to a press release.
The funding round was led by Astia, with participation from other companies such as PNC Bank, Mastercard, US Bank, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, Elevate Capital, Portfolia’s FirstStep Fund and Rising America Fund, and Pipeline Angels.
In addition to those major investors, Brooklyn Nets’ Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns’ guard Chris Paul, former NBA star Baron Davis, and ex-MLB player C.C. Sabathia all joined as individual investors in the revolutionary app.
“We are proud to support Goalsetter in their mission to increase financial literacy in Black and Brown communities,” Durant shared in a statement. “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.”
Other notable investors include philanthropist Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman & CEO of Vista Equity Partners (who wiped out debt for Morehouse College graduates), actors Sterling K. Brown (“This is Us”) and Ryan Bathe (“The First Wives Club”), and Amber Sabathia, Executive Director of PitCCh In.
Goalsetter — which is the only debit card in the U.S. with a financial literacy curriculum designed exclusively for teens and tweens — was created by founder/CEO Tanya Van Court (a former Nickelodeon executive) as a means to help parents and their kids replace gift-giving with goal-giving.
“I realized how early consumerism starts,” she shared with TechCrunch in a 2019 interview. “We all have more and more and more and value things less and less and less. Our mission is to teach children that money has real value that can go towards the things you want to accomplish in life, and to people who are in need of it.”
With the $3.9 million seed, Court hopes to continue pushing Goalsetter’s unique mission that centers around financial literacy, especially among Black youth, CNBC reports.
“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,” Court said in a statement. “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.”
In terms of future plans, CNBC shared that the company has other corporate partnerships that are slated to be revealed later this year. Court also told them that Goalsetter will be rolling out a unique initiative to help promote the app amid Black History Month.
For more information about Goalsetter, visit its website.