FamilyMint, a financial literacy startup, is gearing up to take its workbook for middle school kids national next year.
The 4-year-old company launched in Ann Arbor with a web tool that helps parents teach their children about the values of saving and financial planning. The company, which is a client of Ann Arbor SPARK, has evolved overtime, taking on clients in the credit union space. Those clients encouraged
FamilyMint to make a workbook for its curriculum, which has taken off over the last year.
"That went over well," says
Bob Masterson, president of
FamilyMint. "It has been very well received in schools."
Bank of Ann Arbor and
Ann Arbor State Bank sponsored the rollout of the workbook in
Ann Arbor Public Schools last summer. The
Youth Financial Literacy Foundation also came on as a client and are looking at sponsoring a much bigger roll out in 2014.
"They are introducing it to schools across the country," Masterson says. "They're testing it right now and plan to do a national rollout next year."
Oddly, the workbook is proving to be a more effective tool in reaching kids. It is easy to used and there is a low barrier of entry because it can be held. Compare that to families that might have limited access to the Internet or don’t excel at keeping up with technology trends.
"It's more in-line with what the kids are doing and how they are learning," Masterson says. He adds that FamilyMint is looking at creating similar workbooks for elementary and high school students next year.
Source: Bob Masterson, president of FamilyMint
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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