Azoomee: an online platform where primary school children can explore, learn, play and watch safely

Azoomee

Introduction

Azoomee is a new online platform for primary school children that aims to give them everything they want in one place. It’s also password protected so once they are logged in they can’t access other sites / apps until an adult enters their password.

The prototype works on any iOS or Android device and the actual product is scheduled for launch in January 2016.

All the content on Azoomee is curated by our in-house team of industry experts (not computer algorithms). On Azoomee, children can play computer games, watch videos, get creative on our cool art app and then share their artwork with family and friends (with a parent’s approval). It will also include: educational tools (calculator, dictionary); cooking, art and science tutorials; and cartoons explaining how to stay safe online.

Every child has its own Azoomee experience: children watch content that matches their age; they can design their own avatar and customise their homepage.

Intended impact

The internet wasn’t designed for children. Parents can’t track what their children watch and inappropriate content is easy to access. Today there is also very little formal digital education for young children.

As parents of three young children we care what they do online. We founded Azoomee with three clear objectives in mind:

1. We wanted to help young children understand how to be safe online. We believe online safety education needs to be curated for children and not just focus on adults.

We are working with the NSPCC in order to achieve this. Our digital curriculum is called Search It Up! and is available on Azoomee through a mixture of games, videos and activities. This gives children the tools to navigate the online world safely and to make the right decisions. Search It Up! can also be used by the NSPCC as educational material when their ChildLine representatives visit schools across the country to discuss this issue.

2. We wanted to create a place where young children could engage with a wide variety of content online in one place safely without adult supervision.

The content we have curated and the functionality is designed to do this. Both evolve as a child gets older. Everything on Azoomee is age appropriate so a 6 year old has a different experience to a 9 year old.

3. We wanted to develop a product that parents can trust. That’s why we are collaborating with the NSPCC. Our aim is for Azoomee to be the go-to place for parents who want their children to get the best out of the internet safely.

Substantial accomplishments to date

1. We signed a 5 year legal agreement with the NSPCC (March 2015). This lets us use their logo and includes direct introductions to corporate partners as requested. The more successful we are the larger our annual donation to the NSPCC so they really want us to succeed. We are also collaborating on a dedicated marketing campaign (emails, social media etc.).

2. We have assembled a very talented team. The founders have previously founded, funded and sold a business (vbresearch.com) and a new Head of Content joined in late November from a FTSE 100 company.

3. We have a working prototype that works on any iOS or Android device. This has been developed to work at scale so there is no limit to the number of children’s accounts we can open.

4. To date we have raised c.£1.1 million in SEIS and EIS funding from HNWIs and a convertible loan from one institution. Funding has principally been used to build the prototype (75%).

Use of proceeds

Azoomee intends to use the proceeds to:

1. Complete the prototype:

Additional investment is required to refine the prototype for an expected launch in early Q1 2016. This includes improving the interface, adding some further functionality and making improvements based on user testing.

2. Construct a marketing campaign for launch:

– raise awareness of Azoomee in the national press.
– build support among parent groups and local associations.
– raise interest among high profile individuals who might be interested in endorsing what we do.
– recruit a digital marketing team to raise Azoomee’s profile on social media.
– fund events and marketing literature as required.

Source: ICNW