From app idea to board game hit

Fintr, a Pretoria-based financial education startup, pivoted from building a pocket-money app to creating FinMaster, a physical board game teaching financial literacy to children. Inspired by Paul Graham's 'Do Things that Don't Scale', the founders ran in-person sessions before writing any code, iterating through 27 hand-built prototypes. The game uses a fictional currency called Finters and includes distinctly South African mechanics like load-shedding and government tender cards. The first 150 hand-built copies sold out on launch day. FinMaster is now stocked nationwide at Exclusive Books and with a US retailer. AI features are being added, including a rules assistant and a net-worth calculator from photos, while a full digital edition remains unbuilt.