Getting Children Involved in Understanding the Power of Saving and Investing, with Tanya Van Court, Founder and CEO of Goalsetter: TWMM 071

Tanya Van Court is the Founder and CEO of Goalsetter. Goalsetter is a goal-based FDIC-insured savings, gifting and allowance platform made just for kids and powered by those who love them. Goalsetter lets kids save in 3 big categories: saving for their future, sharing with others and spending on things or experiences that really matter to them.

Goalsetter lets the whole family get in on the savings action – family members can use birthdays and holidays to send kids GoalCards instead of gift cards so kids receive real money toward real dreams; parents can set up round-ups or auto-save to help save for big goals over time, and kids can earn money via Goalsetter Allowance to learn the power of earning to make their dreams come true.

Goalsetter wraps our savings platform in a fun financial literacy quiz called “It’s Lit!” that helps kids become financially literate, complements of memes and GIFs from their favorite YouTube personalities and recording stars.

Kids who have savings accounts in their names are not only 6 times more likely to go to college; they’re also 4 times more likely to own stocks by the time they are young adults. And that’s why Goalsetter’s mission is to get every household in America saving, one kid at a time.

Prior to her role at Goalsetter, Van Court served as Senior Vice President of Partner Marketing at Discovery Education, where she launched digital textbooks to schools across the country.

Van Court also formerly worked at Nickelodeon, where she led their digital preschool and parenting businesses, including NickJr.com.

Prior to Nickelodeon, Van Court served as vice president of new media products for ESPN, where she led the launch of ESPN3.

Van Court holds two degrees in engineering from Stanford University, and three degrees in parenting from her children Gabrielle, Hendrix, and Maxwell.

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Sneak Peek Into What You’ll Learn…

3:11– Just what is Goalsetter? Tanya tells us how the platform was designed with the lens of kids in mind, to get them excited about saving while letting family and friends give meaningful gifts.

7:55– Traditional savings methods are okay but Goalsetter is more sophisticated. We hear how children can change their habits and make sacrifices when they get involved in their savings plans.

10:00-The platform is FDIC-insured, so kids learn the value of saving in a secure institution. Tanya shares a personal experience and reveals how the seed for Goalsetter was planted by her then nine-year-old daughter.

14:33– Drum roll as Goalsetter debuts on Shark Tank! For Tanya, this means getting in front of millions of families in America and potentially changing the lives of kids from all walks of life.

16:40– What motivated Tanya to put aside the comforts of corporate life? She gives a rundown of her career journey and pulls back the curtain to reveal the sacrifices involved in launching Goalsetter.

27:03– Not one of us is perfect but Tanya spent years trying to be just that. She explains how personal loss shaped her worldview, the significance of relationships, and why her mantra is “enough is enough.”

34:35– Gabrielle helps to design financial literacy quizzes, Hendrix loves to fight, Maxwell doesn’t always like to share mommy. We get a glimpse of Tanya’s family life.

40:05– Foot massages, pizza nights, family games, Saturday morning cartoons… We go behind the scenes to see what gives Tanya great joy and balance, and how she takes care of herself.

44:37– Brass Tacks: The lightning round of concrete advice and tips.

Quotable quotes:

“Kids who have savings accounts in their name, no matter how much is in those accounts, are six times more likely to go to college and four times more likely to own stocks by the time they’re young adults.”

“Money habits are set by the time they’re seven years old, so if we don’t set them right, then we’re launching them on a path that none of us wants our kids to be on.”

“I really believe that we have the potential to change the next generation and to help them to save in a way that, quite frankly, their parents don’t.”

“Relationships matter… It doesn’t matter how good you are, if you don’t have relationships in place, you’re not going to be able to move whatever you’re doing to the next level.”