Tanya Van Court, creator of Goal Setter, knows about kids. She’s a mother of three and a former Nickelodeon executive. For years, she oversaw content creation for kids but it was her own child that inspired Goal Setter. Her daughter really wanted a bike for her birthday, instead she got a bunch of toys she really didn’t want. Van Court realized she was feeding her children into the trap of wasteful consumerism and she decided to do something about it.
Rather than give stuff to kids for the sake of giving it to them, why not support their goals instead? This led her to create Goal Setter. It’s part bank account, part crowdfunding platform and part social media. Kids (with parents’ help) set up an account. Like a bank, all accounts are FDIC insured. Once the account is set up, a kid can put a goal on Goal Setter like “I want to save for a new bike.” They can make regular deposits on their own and share their goal with friends and relatives. When a birthday rolls around, instead of buying a gift, people can fund the goal.
Parents can also donate through a rounding up function in the Goal Setter app. Like Acorns which deposits “spare change” into an investment account, GoalSetter lets parents put their spare change into the kid’s account. Van Court has some serious people advising her, including folks from Sesame Workshop and the aforementioned Acorns. She likely wants a Shark to help her with marketing and funds for expansion. Will a Shark make it a goal to invest in this business?
My Take on Goal Setter
I think teaching kids to save money is a great idea. Research shows that kids who learn to save at a young age are more financially responsible as adults. If more kids learn about finance with this platform, I am all for it.
I have one tiny problem with Goal Setter. They make money on transaction fees. I don’t want to deny them their right to make money, but making grandma pay a fee to give money to her grandchild leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Grandma can just as easily mail a check.
My kids learned to save with a regular bank account. If they wanted to save up for something, they had to save double what it cost. When they got checks for birthdays and holidays, they put them in the bank. I guess I’m old fashioned, but I don’t see why we need an app for EVERYTHING. I admire what Van Court is doing, but it’s not for me; I’m out.
Will Sharks Set Goals?
Van Court is a smart woman who will undoubtedly impress the Sharks. I think she’ll get multiple offers, too. I think Lori and Daymond will bow out, but I think Mark, Jamie and Mr. Wonderful will bid. I’m predicting a deal with Mr. Wonderful because it fits in with his “Something Wonderful” platform.
Honeyfund, the honeymoon crowdfunding platform Mr. Wonderful invested in back in season six recently passed the $600 million funded mark. They too make money on transaction fees – about $15 million to date. Kevin’s deal with them was fee based: $400K for one-third of their transactional revenue until he gets three times his money back.
Just by marketing to the Honeyfund people, Goal Setter could exponentially increase their business. Kevin likes woman run businesses too. If he doesn’t get this deal, I’ll be surprised.
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