REWARDS OF DREAMING BIG FROM AN EARLY AGE

WHAT if your dreams of becoming an astronaut or professional cricketer weren't quashed at a young age, and rather given direct funding and encouragement by all your family and friends?

This was the question that launched Australian startup SetToGrow.com, which is based around the idea of giving kids an online platform to create a personalised vision board that can also earn them money.

One of the Big Four banks has already partnered with the startup, and an ASX-listed childcare company is also currently assessing a partnership opportunity.

Co-founder Johnny Flammea says at its core, SetToGrow.com teaches children goal-setting behaviour, the concept of ecommerce and financial literacy three things he believes tomorrow's leaders should be skilled in.

"The platform gives parents and children the opportunity to become active participants in the creation of their future, educating them on the importance of goal-setting behaviour and showing them how to take ownership of their online identity," says Flammea.

"We want each profile created to be a visual representation and expression of their life in a safe and secure digital environment. This is a gift I really wish I had when I was younger."

Using a drag and drop format, parents and children can securely share key milestones in the child's life with family and friends on SetToGrow.com.

Parents and friends can choose to financially reward or gift the child when they celebrate a birthday, make good grades or lose their first tooth, providing a fund for their future. The platform costs $97 for a one-year vision board subscription and the set-up of an interest earning bank account.

Flammea knows his proprietry technology isn't innovative in that it encourages users to upload, pin or tag their dreams and inspirations, but he believes the need for a child-friendly social networking site is undisputed.

He draws on a 2013 Newspoll report revealing that 23 per cent of eight to nine year olds and 45 per cent of 10 to 11 year olds have already used social networking sites, despite the leading social networking site, Facebook, requiring users to be 13 years and over.

Flammea says SetToGrow.com is the missing and critical link in social networking, making best use of young peoples' impressionability, while scaling up their goals globally. 

"If you're a kid in classroom of 20 and say you want to be an astronaut, no one believes in you, and then you likely change who you are and want to be to please those around you. Your parents are busy and primary school isn't really focused on goal-setting behaviour, so they have little to answer for," says Flammea.

"Set To Grow aims to stop kids from curbing their dreams by connecting them to others who share the same goals from all over the world, to make the reality of achieving them more possible."

This global connectivity also looks set to benefit the team, who are already delivering the platform in seven languages and sparking interest among Chinese and Indian investors, with a view of taking the idea to the US in the next few months.

"There is so much potential for partnerships and collaborations with businesses from all sorts of industries when you consider there will be clusters of kids all hoping to go down similar career paths," says Flammea.

"Everyone we have spoken to agrees there really is no better feeling than writing down a goal and achieving it, and it's exciting to be facilitating this for one of the biggest global markets that hasn't been encouraged to do it before."