Tappity raises $1.3M for its interactive and educational video library for kids
When kids today want to#nbsp;learn about a#nbsp;new topic they’re interested in, they’ll often turn to#nbsp;YouTube. But the quality of#nbsp;the educational content on#nbsp;the platform can be#nbsp;hit or#nbsp;miss, depending on#nbsp;what specific videos kids happen to#nbsp;come across. Tappity, a#nbsp;digital educational startup now backed by $#nbsp;1.3 million in#nbsp;seed funding, aims to#nbsp;offer an#nbsp;alternative. Its video library offers entertaining and interactive live-action videos kids enjoy, while also ensuring the content itself is#nbsp;aligned with current educational standards.
The two-year-old startup was co-founded by#nbsp;CEO Chad Swenson, his brother and CTO Tanner Swenson, and CPO Lawrence Tran.
As#nbsp;Chad explains, the idea for Tappity emerged from his interest in#nbsp;designing interactive learning experiences, which resulted in#nbsp;a#nbsp;senior project eight years ago where he#nbsp;created an#nbsp;interactive experience to#nbsp;help students learn about evolution. Over the years that followed, he#nbsp;began to#nbsp;experiment with different concepts in#nbsp;this area, but never planned for anything of#nbsp;venture scale.
However, Chad says he#nbsp;later realized there could be#nbsp;an#nbsp;opportunity to#nbsp;develop content based around the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)#nbsp;— the set of#nbsp;K-12 science content standards that were developed by#nbsp;a#nbsp;consortium of#nbsp;multiple U.S. states#nbsp;— whose adoption across the U.S. is#nbsp;now growing.
"A lot of#nbsp;parents were looking for healthier alternatives to#nbsp;YouTube," Chad says. "And I#nbsp;really started to#nbsp;believe this is#nbsp;something that could be#nbsp;much bigger."
He#nbsp;found also that the science-based topics kids are generally interested in#nbsp;are often those that are aligned with what the NGSS aims to#nbsp;teach#nbsp;— like space, dinosaurs, geology and others.
"A big inspiration was just looking at#nbsp;the most popular books on#nbsp;Amazon for kids," Chad adds, noting that a#nbsp;large number of#nbsp;these books are focused on#nbsp;STEM-related subjects.
Chad met his co-founder Lawrence Tran when consulting for fintech startup Bill.com, and convinced him and his brother Tanner to#nbsp;work on#nbsp;the startup.
Over the course of#nbsp;a#nbsp;couple of#nbsp;years, Tappity has developed tools that make it#nbsp;easier and efficient to#nbsp;produce interactive, educational video content. Today, the library includes over 200 science lessons for kids ages 4 to#nbsp;10, across thousands of#nbsp;videos.
While the video clips themselves are pre-recorded, they give the kids the feeling of#nbsp;having a#nbsp;one-on-one interaction with the character on#nbsp;the screen. For example, if#nbsp;the teacher is#nbsp;building something and needs a#nbsp;screwdriver, the kids can pass it#nbsp;to#nbsp;her in#nbsp;the app when she asks. But they’ll also have a#nbsp;lot of#nbsp;other fun options they can do#nbsp;instead, like passing her tape or#nbsp;even throwing pizza at#nbsp;her#nbsp;— and she’ll react. The teacher may also engage with kids in#nbsp;other ways, too, like responding to#nbsp;what they drew in#nbsp;the app, among other things.
Currently, Tappity’s teacher Haley the Science Gal (Haley McHugh), a#nbsp;childhood entertainment expert with over 10 years of#nbsp;experience, is#nbsp;leading the lessons, which span topics like space, life science, earth science and physical science.
In#nbsp;addition to#nbsp;the video lessons, kids are engaged with an#nbsp;in-app points system for completing activities. The app also offers follow-up emails for parents so#nbsp;they can track what kids are learning and further engage them.
Due to#nbsp;the COVID pandemic, and the resulting screen fatigue that comes from virtual schooling, Tappity adapted some lessons to#nbsp;include offline activities#nbsp;— like drawing with paper and pens, for instance. And on#nbsp;Sundays, Tappity offers more involved activities parents and kids can do#nbsp;together#nbsp;— like baking cookies that you turn into Pangea or#nbsp;making a#nbsp;volcano.
Tappity expects to#nbsp;have over 1,000 hours of#nbsp;video content by#nbsp;the end of#nbsp;next year, and over 4,000 hours by#nbsp;the year after, Chad notes.
When the team of#nbsp;three applied to#nbsp;startup accelerator Y#nbsp;Combinator, Tappity was small but profitable, thanks to#nbsp;its in-app subscription tiers that average around $#nbsp;9 per month. Today, the company has over 5,000 paying customers and over 20,000 weekly active users who have collectively completed 30 million lessons to#nbsp;date.
In#nbsp;the near term, Tappity is#nbsp;working to#nbsp;expand its team and bring its lessons#nbsp;— that today are only available on iOS#nbsp;— to#nbsp;the web. Over time, the company’s goal is#nbsp;to#nbsp;create a#nbsp;large library of#nbsp;interactive educational content.
While the COVID pandemic has inspired VCs to#nbsp;invest in#nbsp;more edtech startups, the longevity of#nbsp;some of#nbsp;these businesses in#nbsp;the post-COVID world remains to#nbsp;be#nbsp;seen. Where Tappity is#nbsp;different from many of#nbsp;these remote learning startups or#nbsp;those designed for the classroom, is#nbsp;that its focus is#nbsp;not on#nbsp;selling into the school system.
"Teachers have picked it#nbsp;up#nbsp;organically#nbsp;— we#nbsp;give it#nbsp;away free to#nbsp;schools right now," Chad explains. "But we’re not dedicating any resources to#nbsp;it#nbsp;because we’re focused on#nbsp;the parents' and kids' needs, which are quite a#nbsp;bit different," he#nbsp;says.
Tappity’s app is#nbsp;available for iOS and includes some free content outside of#nbsp;the subscription.
Published by Techcrunch#nbsp;— on#nbsp;December 28, 2020