Amy Norman and Stella Ma wanted to create an educational toy that would teach kids about world geography that they would send via snail mail. After brainstorming about what they thought kids would consider fun, they came up with kits that included cardboard mini-suitcases, stickers, and souvenirs from imaginary child travelers named Sam and Sofia.
The Little Passports would be a monthly subscription based product that would serve 6-to-10-year-olds for $10.95 a month. They tested the product with 50 families on Craigslist and discovered that kids still get excited about receiving packages in the mail and wanted to continue receiving them. However when they went to an investor conference to pitch their start up, they were shut down by 50 possible funders. The feedback they received was harsh, one commenting “One of the founders is pregnant with a second child, and the other has a child already, there is no way these two can do this”
After all the rejections, they scraped together $25,000 each of their own money. Eight years later, Norman and Ma have build Little Passports into a business beloved by all of it’s customers. It’s 2016 revenue was $3o million, double what is grossed in 2015.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2016/11/02/little-passports-founders-desperately-wanted-vc-cash-luckily-they-got-zero/#33d5e2a12590
This story is very inspiring. I liked it how they persevered and followed through with their idea even though 50 funders told them that they would not be able to make it into a successful business. Their idea was also very innovative because they turned learning geography into a fun thing for kids.
Like the potential investors in this story, I too was at first skeptical of this business idea. However, Amy Norman and Stella Ma have seemed to have discovered a market niche that I could not see at first.
I love that at first they failed, but they didn’t give up. Don’t say no too quickly as Professor Sweet would say. I also love the idea of educating more younger kids about geography. So many people who went though the American educational system know so little about world geography, especially compared to students in other countries. So I especially appreciate the goal of the business.
I absolutely love this idea. Not only are they teaching kids at a young age the importance of geography, but they are also reigniting the excitement that comes with receiving a package. Two aspects of society that have slowly decreased over the years. In addition, I admire their drive in their pursuit to expand their ideas and how they did not give up despite the harsh feedback.
I like the way this reaches out to young families and supports children. I think our society has lost a lot or respect for traditional families.
I enjoyed reading about this post, definitely an underdog story and pursuing a belief all the way through because they knew how much of an impact it could make. I think marketing to children can be very rewarding in the sense of providing something to impact their lives and also how with the right product can be very successful because of the loving parents that are marketed to.