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From a young age, I have been an idealist. I have always felt that the world is unfairly divided. Not everyone gets the same opportunities, so I have always wanted to help others where I could.
I have always loved children and animals because they are so pure and innocent.
When Carolina, the founder of Jungle the Bungle, told me about the concept she created to teach children new languages and give them all equal opportunities, I was excited.
I have always traveled a lot and am interested in different cultures. Jungle the Bungle is all about animals and the world and is made for children. So, for me, everything comes together.
For every product/subscription sold, we also donate one. We keep subscription prices low (starting from 4.16 euros a month, allowing three children per household to learn a new language). We want to be accessible to everyone!
Carolina and I rely heavily on intuition in our decision-making process, which has proven very effective. When we needed funding to develop our app, we thoroughly researched all the available options. Having knowledgeable people around us who were willing to support our business was incredibly helpful.
Crowdfunding was the best way to raise funds for our app, so we launched a campaign on CrowdaboutNow. By offering equity in return, we successfully raised over 110,000 euros.
Crowdfunding had the major benefit of creating a community of early supporters who believed in our vision and helped spread the word. Many had children who loved the Jungle the Bungle app and played it regularly.
Selling a product in its early stages can be challenging. Although we strongly believed in our idea and saw great potential, at that point, it was still just an idea. Without a product and revenue in place, it was a challenge to secure funding.
Fortunately, our friends and family had faith in us, and became part of the Jungle the Bungle family.
We used to have trouble focusing and deciding on priorities. In the past, we tried to do many things at once, but it affected the quality of our work. We have decided to prioritize quality, so we are entirely focusing on developing the app and reducing our focus on merchandising and books. Because there are only two of us, we have to make sacrifices. As women, we tend to be overly cautious when seeking new funding or demonstrating the potential of our business idea.
A friend who is an investor advised us to think differently. Instead of calculating how much money we need to ‘survive,’ we should think about our ambitions. If our goal is ‘world domination’ or to become the biggest in Europe, we must present a plan demonstrating how we will achieve that. This change in perspective resulted in our needing a different amount of funding than we initially expected, but it has enabled us to grow faster.
Launching the language app! It took over two years to make our idea a reality. It was a challenge to raise enough funding and find the right party to help us develop the app. When there is already a product, it is so much easier to get fans and raise money. I’m super proud we achieved it.
Carolina and I believed in the idea and concept from the start. Our belief and willingness to achieve helped us get there.
Because I believed in it so much from the beginning, people around me also believed in it. It was a beautiful compliment when almost all my friends invested. I didn’t want to ask them, but they wanted to invest to help because they believed in it, too.
That’s how I could borrow money from my family to buy a share in the company. The concept’s purpose intrinsically motivated me to make it happen, and motivation is necessary to create the best product.
Carolina and I also challenge each other. We are always open to discussing anything and considering each other’s perspectives. That’s essential: putting your own ‘ego’ or plan aside to make changes.
Open communication, flexibility, and striving for the best product are all key to me.
I never realized how big of a commitment it is to have your own company. When I joined Jungle the Bungle, I was only 23 years old. I believed in it, so I went with it. If I knew beforehand how much dedication it requires, I might never have done it. But I never regretted it.
Also, you never have to listen to advice; follow your heart. Some people give advice based on their own fears or failures. Take the advice you need, be open to changing your plan, and be flexible. Know who you should ask for which advice 😉
Exciting next moves for Jungle the Bungle
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