Get All Access for $5/mo

Teen-focussed Fintech Startup Pencilton Raises $330,000 In Pre-Seed Round Funds to be utilized for product enhancement and initial growth

By Prabhjeet Bhatla

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Pencilton

Pencilton, a teen-focused fintech startup, announced on Tuesday to have raised $330,000 in a pre-Seed round led by Jupiter (registered as Amica Financial Technologies Pvt. Ltd). The round also saw participation from many successful founders such as Nilesh Patel and Prashant Singh (LeadSquared), Ashish Sharma (Innoven Capital), Abhishek Goyal (Tracxn), Himanshu Sharma (Aspiring Minds), Kunal Sinha (GlowRoad), Vignesh Ramanujam (Spoonfeed) and angel investor Tirumalareddy Karri.

Pencilton offers a first-of-its-kind debit card, PencilCard, to teenagers and students to help them manage their expenses while teaching them the basics of money management. A major upgrade is expected to its debit card in a few weeks that works with the Pencilton app to enable financial inclusion and digital financial literacy for teenagers.

With the new funding, Pencilton aims at product enhancement by building industry-leading backend systems for card issuance, management, and further launching of upgraded products. The startup was founded by VishwajitPureti, Ashish Singh, Pallavi Tipparaju, and Viraj Gadde in 2020.

"This round is predominantly of great strategic importance as it serves as a vehicle for us to have some of the best minds from the fintech, as well as the startup ecosystem, join us on our mission. It gives us access to stellar expertise across fintech, fundraising, GTM, user acquisition and more to help navigate the next steps as we scale up. We are incredibly excited for the journey ahead where we are going to announce many industry-leading initiatives that will help bring the best of fintech tools as well as digital financial literacy to teens and students across India," said Vishwajit Pureti, co-founder and chief executive officer, Pencilton.

Pencilton has recently introduced the PencilCard, a RuPay debit card for teens across India that can be activated and managed via the Pencilton app. The app is built to be the epicenter of not just the finances of teens but also their understanding of money. Teens can use the debit card to manage, receive and spend their pocket money through the help of the Pencilton app. In addition, parents can also use the app to give pocket money, setting parental controls such as the spend limits, approval of money requests, etc.

"Jupiter is very excited to invest in Pencilton. The teen/pre-teen banking segment is nascent and growing rapidly. We believe that the Pencilton team understands the space well and is passionately solving both kids' and parents' needs. At Jupiter, we will continue to invest or partner with teams which are solving problems adjacent to our own and help make our ecosystem stronger," added Rahool Gadkari, director of product, Jupiter.

As part of its larger goal, Pencilton aspires to educate the younger generation on financial literacy and management and become the most innovative and prominent player in this space.

Prabhjeet Bhatla

Former Staff

Business News

Alexis Ohanian Says This Is His Best Investment So Far: $10,000 Turned Into More Than $17 Million

Ohanian has backed 40 unicorns, but one investment stands out the most.

Leadership

How to Master the Art of Delegation — Lessons From Andrew Carnegie's Legacy

Here's what Andrew Carnegie can teach today's entrepreneurs about leadership, teamwork and effective delegation.

Growing a Business

How to Prepare Your Small Business for Impactful Investor Partnerships That Go Beyond Funding

Here's how investorpreneurs transform startups with mentorship and strategic investments.

Money & Finance

Your Pointless Micromanaging Is Costing Your Business Millions – Here Are 5 Ways to Fix It

Micromanagement in businesses emphasizes the need for entrepreneurs to delegate effectively and build strong teams. It outlines strategies to empower employees and foster independence, which can help drive business growth and success.

Management

AI is the Coworker of the Future — 3 Ways Employers Can Get Ready

Companies are eager to embrace AI, but many employees are not fully prepared for it. To turn their AI aspirations into reality, businesses must first foster a company culture where employees feel comfortable with the new technology.