We started with a pretend shop and a room full of second graders.
Coinsprout Inc. builds Coinsprout, an AI-run set of money missions for kids 6 to 13. We are a small team in Columbus, Ohio, and we think the kindest way to teach money is to let kids practice it where mistakes are free.
Kids who get money, one mission at a time
Most adults learned about money the expensive way: a first credit card, a first overdraft, a first car that cost more than it was worth. We think kids can learn the same lessons at six, with pretend coins, in a story where the shopkeeper is friendly and the mistake costs nothing but a moment of "huh."
Coinsprout exists to make that practice easy for busy families. A mission takes a few minutes. The AI improvises a scene, reacts to what your kid actually chose, and explains the why in words they can repeat. You get one good question a week to ask at dinner. That is the whole product, and we intend to keep it that simple.
How it started
In the spring of 2024, Hannah volunteered to teach a two-week money unit to a second-grade class in Columbus. The worksheets did not land. Then she set up a pretend shop on a folding table, handed out paper coins, and played a shopkeeper who sometimes offered a deal that was not quite fair. The room changed. Kids argued about prices, saved for the "good" sticker, and asked to play again the next day.
The trouble with a pretend shop is that it needs a grown-up with time and a knack for improvising. Devin, who had spent years building language-model systems for a Midwest fintech, thought a model could play the shopkeeper if the frame around it was strict enough to be safe for kids. He wrote the first mission engine over winter break. The folding table became Coinsprout.
We incorporated in June 2024, raised a small pre-seed round from people who had sat through our demo with their own kids, and have been building full time since.
The facts
Delaware C-Corp, Pre-Seed under $1,000,000, building AI full time, team of 9 people, founded June 2024.
- EntityDelaware C-Corp
- StagePre-Seed, under $1,000,000 raised
- FocusBuilding AI full time
- Team9 people
- FoundedJune 2024
- HeadquartersColumbus, OH
Two people who still answer the support inbox
Hannah Castellano
Co-founder and CEO
Hannah spent eight years building family products at a Columbus edtech studio, then taught a second-grade money unit as a volunteer and watched kids light up at a pretend shop. Coinsprout started as that shop.
Devin Okafor
Co-founder and CTO
Devin led applied language-model work at a Midwest fintech before Coinsprout. He wrote the first mission engine over one winter break and still reviews every child-safety rule himself.
Four things we will not trade away
Kind by default
Every word a kid reads is warm. A wrong choice is the lesson, never a verdict. We would rather a mission be a little too gentle than a little too sharp.
Parents first
The parent owns the account, the data, and the off switch. If a feature makes a kid want to play more but a parent trust us less, we do not ship it.
The why over the what
A kid who memorizes save 20 percent has a rule. A kid who can explain why waiting was worth it has a skill. We teach the second one.
No dark patterns
No streaks that punish a missed day, no loot, no countdown timers, no nagging. Cancel is two clicks. Delete is permanent and in Settings.
Press and partnerships
Writing about kids, money, or AI in family products? Reach us at press@coinsprout.tech or call (614) 555-0142, Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 Eastern.