{"id":61093,"date":"2022-08-02T14:19:26","date_gmt":"2022-08-02T18:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/?p=61093"},"modified":"2022-08-02T15:37:13","modified_gmt":"2022-08-02T19:37:13","slug":"melissa-cash-woman-entrepreneur-ed-tech-startup-pok-pok","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thestoryexchange.org\/melissa-cash-woman-entrepreneur-ed-tech-startup-pok-pok\/","title":{"rendered":"Becoming a New Mom Gave This Ed Tech Entrepreneur New Drive"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Melissa Cash’s (right) ed tech startup, Pok Pok, has a digital, guilt-free solution for parents concerned about screen time. (Credit: Pok Pok)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

It\u2019s not every day you give birth to your first child. It\u2019s also not every day you close a multimillion-dollar fundraising round for your ed tech startup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melissa Cash did both \u2013 basically at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Toronto entrepreneur\u2019s venture, Pok Pok<\/a>, recently raised $3 million in seed <\/a>via the VC firms Konvoy and Initial Capital, as well as several angel investors. Cash recalls she was \u201cin the thick of financial diligence with investors while 9 months pregnant,\u201d and formally closed the round mid-May, when she was just 4 days postpartum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But such is her belief in Pok Pok\u2019s award-winning educational company, which has been available to iOS users since May 2021. As a new mom, \u201cI understand the value of 30 minutes to take a shower or cook.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or, in her case, to continue to run a business while tending to and breastfeeding a newborn. \u201cI\u2019m not 100% like I used to be \u2013 sometimes I\u2019m only at 50%, or less,\u201d she says, adding that her son is a frequent guest star on virtual calls, and that she regularly contends with brain fog. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She leans on her team for help, but admits she still doesn\u2019t have it all figured out. It\u2019s given her a new appreciation for the work she does \u2013 for a parent\u2019s ability to hand a child something educational to occupy their attention while grown-ups tend to other matters.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Still, giving a child screen time is a fraught thing for parents, who are so often cautioned against it. So Pok Pok endeavors to be \u201cthe broccoli of the app store\u201d \u2013 because, in her estimation, the problem with screen time is \u201cless about the device, and more about the content.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pok Pok\u2019s open-ended, play-focused teaching model, developed over years of trials with families and consultations with a range of experts, provides content parents can feel good about, Cash says. Others agree \u2013 the company\u2019s app has won an Apple Design Award<\/a>, as well as recognition from several parenting and education organizations<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Personal Cause<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Growing up, Cash was a good student \u2013 until it came time for math class, that is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The numbers regularly confounded her, until one teacher explained the concept of multiplication using clumps of rocks. It was a revelation. \u201cI needed a lot of that \u2013 breaking things down, and seeing things in a more visual way.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon after finishing her education by earning a bachelor\u2019s from York University in communications, Cash landed a job as an infant-and-toddler product designer for Disney, and spent years in Germany with the company, drawing on her own school experiences to inform what she crafted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2017, her older brother, Ryan \u2013 the co-founder of Toronto video game maker Snowman \u2013 called her in to assist with a product launch for his startup. That\u2019s how she met Esther Huybreghts and Mathijs Demaeght, a husband-and-wife duo at Snowman who ultimately became her Pok Pok co-founders.<\/p>\n\n\n

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At the time, the couple had a newborn and a toddler, and understood the need for a few quiet minutes. But the vast majority of on-screen options for their kids, Cash says, were either overstimulating or too advanced, having been designed for older children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So they came up with their own solution \u2013 a new app containing a suite of play-based learning modules that aim to foster cognitive and social development for kids ages 2 to 6, brought to life with hand-drawn animations and accompanied by soft sounds intended to soothe young users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s when Cash came into the picture. From her product-development perspective, she says she saw something unique in their fledgling app, that had the potential for laying a solid foundation for a responsible future relationship with tech. And it\u2019s something her younger, math-confused self would have loved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trio went all in on Pok Pok together, committing to its development full-time in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Screen Time as an Ally<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Concerns over screen time are not unwarranted. Research indicates that too much of it can negatively impact<\/a> language and thought development, and inhibit<\/a> social skills and empathy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the same, it\u2019s basically unavoidable \u2013 especially in a world still navigating a pandemic. During lockdowns, screen time skyrocketed independent of educational use for kids of all ages, research has shown<\/a>. And it hasn\u2019t gone back down<\/a> since the world reopened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This reality has made Pok Pok\u2019s mission that much more pressing for Cash and her co-founders. They figure that \u201ctech will play a role in their children\u2019s lives\u201d in increasing amounts as they get older, and want to offer an empowering way for parents to guide that narrative. Pok Pok turns to a battery of neuroscientists, pediatricians, occupational therapists and other experts to fine-tune the app, while regularly play-testing with families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead, Cash says they plan to use a significant portion of the funds from their latest investment on marketing. She declined to disclose revenue and subscription figures, beyond stating that they have thousands of subscribers located throughout the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than anything, they want to be there for every member of the families they serve — and they hope to serve as many as possible. \u201cSometimes we let [our kids] stare at something \u2013 we\u2019re not above that in any way,\u201d she says. \u201cBut parenting is hard, and you feel like you\u2019re failing all the time.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cash wants to be the solution \u2013 for herself, for her co-founders, for all young families. \u201cWe\u2019re empowering kids while giving parents peace of mind that what they\u2019re doing is awesome and educational.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Melissa Cash\u2019s belief in her product powered her through closing a $3 million seed round for her educational company, Pok Pok, days after the birth of her son.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":61094,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":false,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[187],"tags":[20430,20708,20923],"class_list":["post-61093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-child-development","tag-education-technology","tag-parenting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMelissa Cash, Woman Entrepreneur of Ed Tech Startup Pok Pok<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Melissa Cash powered through closing a $3 million seed round for her ed tech app, Pok Pok, mere days after the birth of her son.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, 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