Money isn't just a kid's game, is it?
Monety is a startup in the fintech industry, that sells finance educational products for children aged over 7 years old. The idea started back in 2019, Ivan Atanasov as a financier wanted to create an online bank/wallet, but as the competition was already a lot, he decided to focus on making a product for kids, help to educate them on how to manage their money from a young age.
The team is formed by Ivan Atanasov, Nikolay Mihaylov & Yana Avramova. They met during their course at Founder’s Institute and from one word to another, they figured out they were interested in the same thing - help the Bulgarian educational system improve their teaching methods and communication about children’s values. Nikolay had set a goal for himself to improve his financial literacy and what better way to do it, than this?
When they started working together on the project, things happened very naturally and it was almost like it was a sign from the universe, Nikolay admits.
They also received a lot of positive feedback from both normal people online and actual specialists, bankers, and financiers and were told how there is a need of such a product and it would definitely be successful if executed right.
During the pandemic, they had the time to research and develop their idea and with that launched their product on 7th January 2021.
The said product is a box with two different types of cards, 40 flash cards with explained financial terms in Bulgarian and English, with an addition of 12 cards with home chores that kids can do and the parent can reward them in some way after that. The idea is to create a dialog between the kid and the parent/teacher connected to building their financial and economical adequacy, encouraging them to take responsibility and feel as if they have contributed in a way.
There is another set of smaller cards for a game called ‘Avoid Bankruptcy’. It’s to help parents and children interact and have fun together while learning and developing new skills. The good part is that the kids can also play alone, amongst each other.
By chance, they came to Networking for one of the volumes of our monthly startup event, Pitch2Pitch. They won one-month of free usage of the space and have been proud members since August. When asked why they stayed, they share it’s because of the environment - where they can easily get help, a piece of advice when they need it, the opportunity they have to be part of a community that is also like your second family.
Their goals for this new year are to create more products, cover younger audiences (kids aged 3-7 years), create and develop their web and mobile version of the Monety app. In the future, they wish to make different courses in partnership with professional personal consultants to help kids and parents understand and manage their money better. Another goal is to reach the foreign market, with the main focus towards German, Spanish, and English speaking natives.