Financial education is a life skill – and money habits start as early as primary school. So, in a world where ‘money talk’ feels taboo, Think Pieces is making it a topic for kids to get their head around. Founder Christina Lartey has taken her finance background to design puzzles, school workshops and an upcoming app, to help young minds build confidence and curiosity around money.

What is Think Pieces: what do you sell and what’s your mission?

Think Pieces is all about making financial education fun, creative, and accessible for primary school children. We teach key money skills through money-themed jigsaw puzzles, interactive school workshops, and our soon-to-launch gamified financial literacy app.

Our mission is to build a financially confident generation by making learning about money engaging and relatable. We want to transform how children think about money from an early age, helping them see it not as something intimidating, but as a tool they can understand, manage, and use wisely throughout life.

What can someone expect when they buy your puzzles?

Our puzzles are designed for children aged seven and up and cover essential money concepts like saving, budgeting, and even income, taxes.

Each puzzle takes a complex money topic and turns it into a colourful, visual story that children can build piece by piece. As they complete the picture, they begin to understand the concept in a fun and memorable way, while developing curiosity and confidence around money.

Parents often tell us the puzzles spark great conversations at home, making ‘money talk’ something natural and positive rather than stressful or taboo.

Why is teaching children financial literacy so important?

Financial literacy is one of the most important life skills, yet most people enter adulthood without it. When children don’t learn how money works, they grow into adults who may feel anxious about finances, fall into debt, or struggle to plan for the future.

Research shows that money habits start forming around the age of seven, so that’s the best time to start building healthy attitudes toward saving, spending, and investing. Without that foundation, people are more likely to make costly mistakes and feel excluded from opportunities later in life.

Financial confidence isn’t just about avoiding debt; it’s about empowerment. It gives young people the skills to make informed choices, build independence, and contribute to a more financially resilient society.

What’s your professional background and how did this lead you to create Think Pieces?

I studied Finance at university, then spent several years as a private maths tutor, alongside working in children’s services for local government. Later, I joined a financial education charity, where I saw first-hand the difference early learning could make, but also how traditional methods often failed to connect with young children.

I wanted to bring creativity and playfulness to financial education, because that’s how children learn best. Combining my background in finance, teaching, and child development, I founded Think Pieces to help children start learning about money early, in ways that are fun, hands-on, and memorable.

How do you work with schools to encourage children’s financial literacy?

We partner with schools to deliver continuous, game-based financial education workshops throughout the academic year for pupils in Years 4 to 6.

Each workshop focuses on a different topic drawn from the PSHE Curriculum and the Young Money Financial Education Framework, from budgeting and saving to earning and investing. Every activity is interactive and fun, so children learn by doing.

Our partner schools also gain access to our gamified financial education app, where children can play money-themed games, take quizzes, and earn virtual money to save, invest, or spend in a simulated ‘marketplace’.

We’re also connecting classroom learning to the real world by partnering with corporate organisations in the financial services industry, giving children opportunities to experience workshops in real offices, showing them what money management looks like in action.

What’s a finance topic you wish you’d known about growing up?

I wish I’d learned more about investing earlier. Even though it’s never too late to start, understanding the power of compound interest and long-term investing from a young age can make a huge difference.

What has been your biggest win so far?

Our proudest achievement has been being named a Runner-Up in the AXA Startup Angel competition, a major national initiative recognising the UK’s most promising new startups.

Winning that award gave us incredible exposure, including a feature in the Evening Standard. It also opened doors to new mentors, partnerships, and supporters. It has been a huge validation of our mission to make financial education fun and accessible for all children.

What’s been your biggest challenge?

Like many startups, the biggest challenge has been balancing growth with limited resources. I’m currently the only full-time team member, so managing everything, from operations to partnerships to creative development, can be overwhelming at times.

But it’s also incredibly rewarding. Every new workshop, puzzle, or positive comment from a teacher or parent reminds me why I started Think Pieces in the first place.

“I wanted to bring creativity and playfulness to financial education”

Where do you want Think Pieces to be in five years?

In five years, we want Think Pieces to be the go-to provider of financial education for primary school children across the UK.

We aim to expand our product range beyond puzzles into board games, activity books, and stories, while scaling our school workshops and fully launching our financial literacy app nationwide.

Ultimately, our goal is for every child, regardless of background, to have access to fun, high-quality financial education that equips them for life.

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