In 2012, a group of parents including Dean Brauer & Louise Hill, co-founders of GoHenry, were getting tired of their kids asking for their credit card to pay for things online and overcharging it. Every. Single. Time.
“We were funding our kids’ online habits with our own credit cards, and that meant we were giving out more than their allowances,” Hill said. “And the kids didn’t understand—it was just, ‘Press a button and buy it.’”
The frustrations of surprise charges and random deliveries in the mail led to the creation of GoHenry—to give kids a debit card and app of their own. By helping them gain independence while learning about money, and giving parents a sense of oversight with an app that limits expensive mistakes, families could easily manage their kids’ allowance, all while helping their kids learn about money.
“We knew other parents who had similar issues and we wanted to address the problem for all parents. Kids are like sponges, they can absorb good and bad behaviors quickly. We wanted to teach them good habits at an early age while staying sane ourselves,” Hill said.
GoHenry went on to raise money through an equity crowdfunding campaign from other like-minded parents. They broke equity crowdfunding records, and more importantly, a lot of their own customers now are part owners in GoHenry. Then they raised $40 million Series A in 2020 to get GoHenry into the hands of more parents and kids and continue to inspire kids and teens to build good money habits and be financially confident.
GoHenry now has 2 million members—parents and kids using the GoHenry debit card and financial education app to manage their money (and keep parents sane).
Now GoHenry wants to help other parents who are dealing with similar challenges with their own kids. Try out GoHenry for 30 days and see how you can make the money conversation a little easier for your family.
