It's a little less intimidating to be interviewed by a shark when you already have a $25,000 check in hand.
Courtney and Darius Pettway, founders of KidVestors, came face-to-face (virtually, at least) with "Shark Tank" investor and FUBU CEO Daymond John last week as a part of Black Entrepreneurs Day. The Louisville-based K-5 education startup was one of 10 companies awarded $25,000 grants from NAACP, sponsored by JPMorgan Wealth Management.
KidVestors, founded in April 2021, offers an animated investment and finance curriculum that teaches children ages 5-12 how to invest in real estate, stocks, entrepreneurship and money management in a way that they can understand. The Pettways told me they came up with the idea to teach financial literacy to children after finding they won success as investors.
"Before we got married, I was investing in the stock market already," Courtney said. "After we got married, [Darius] introduced me to real estate, and so we went headfirst into real estate in addition to already investing in stocks. We're full-time investors now, and we were like, 'Why didn't we know this stuff in school?'"
Through KidVestors, the Pettways want to expose children of color and those from low income backgrounds to the importance of investing and having assets. Darius said the idea initially started out as a children's book, but it quickly evolved into a full curriculum for elementary-aged kids.
"They really do like rhythm, rhyme and the narrative," he said. "The importance of the narrative is what allows things to stick. In the storyline, for example, DJ's mother and father, 'They're trying to retire, but extra money they will require.' The rhyme adds a little bit more sticky glue to it in the mind."
KidVestors first educational course is "A Quest for Hidden Treasures in Real Estate" which follows along two characters, DJ and Averie, on an adventure that incorporates concepts like property value, appreciation, cash-flow, multiple streams of income, equity, assets versus liabilities, the importance of property ownership. The course offers an activity book, a teacher's guide and animated, interactive modules.
"It was important to us that KidVestors wasn't just a boring worksheet," Courtney said. "We wanted to use fun things like adventure and treasure hunting — similar to 'Blues Clues' and 'Dora the Explorer' — to engage kids in learning about financial literacy and investment."
The startup intends to release a stocks course next, followed by money management and entrepreneurship.
Darius said KidVestors is for both parents and homeschoolers as well as school districts to utilize in their regular teaching or as extra curricular content. The company has recently formed a partnership with Western School in Louisville, which is currently utilizing its curriculum.
The grant dollars from the NAACP will be utilized to hire a team of expert writers, animators, illustrators, voice actors and editors, that will continue to allow KidVestors to produce more quality resources for children. And while John isn't an investor in the company — yet — he did offer words of encouragement to the Louisville entrepreneurs.
“You’ve got a customer here too,” John said during the Black Entrepreneurs Day event. “I’m going to get this product as well for my little girl. Thank you so much for what you’re doing.”
