Fresh from winning a place at the Wayra Academy in
London, the creators of Night Zookeeper tell the story behind the
children's entertainment and education website.
0-5 seconds: Sum your business up in
a sentence
Night Zookeeper is an educational and
entertainment website for children, aged 5-12, that is
designed to set creativity free.
5-10 seconds: What's the
business model?
Our core product is free for schools and we
offer home subscription for additional features.
10-15 seconds: Who are your
competitors?
Children's online entertainment is dominated
by large US brands like Club Penguin by Disney. These are pure
entertainment propositions with little educational value.
15-20 seconds: What's your
USP?
Night Zookeeper is all about creativity.
Children are very rarely the creators of digital entertainment and
this is a real danger for their future. They should be free to
imagine their own games, stories and possibilities.
20-25 seconds: How have you
funded it so far?
We all care passionately about the idea so we
used our lifesavings to start the company. We also managed to
secure a small bank loan to help get us started.
25-30 seconds: What were you
doing before?
I worked as a digital consultant for an
international marketing agency, planning social media campaigns for
large fast moving consumer goods brands and children's
media properties. I also helped develop a number of educational
games for large organisations in the US and UK.
30-35 seconds: Where did the
idea come from?
I developed the idea during my MA in Digital
Art at Norwich University of the Arts.
35-40 seconds: What's the
smartest thing you've done so far?
I think having the confidence in the idea to
quit our day jobs has made a real difference to the business. We
have been able to follow up on lots more opportunities and we have
had the time to really think about the product.
40-45 seconds: What's the
stupidest?
When we first created the prototype website
we gave ourselves an incredibly tight timescale and sadly we didn't
end up with the website we hoped. However, this has
helped us prove our concept and get into schools.
45-50 seconds: If your business
was a biscuit, what would it be?
It would be one that hasn't been created yet and it
would look like the type of biscuit children dream about and taste
nourishing and wholesome.
50-55 seconds: Which idea are you a bit jealous
of?
Dave Eggers is amazing. His initiative 826 Valencia
championed the idea of setting up fake shop fronts such as
Pirate Supply Stores that concealed a place for children
to come and learn and improve their English.
55-60 seconds: Where are you going to be in 12
months' time?
Our product will have evolved substantially and will be enjoyed
by many more children, parents and teachers around the world.
For more information about The Night Zookeeper click here, www.nightzookeeper.com.