In this week’s member interview we talk with Amanda Duncan of Scribeasy.
In their own words Scribeasy offers a creative writing method in a visually inspiring platform to help young and hungry brains fill up with new words and ideas. The platform truly encourages creative thinking, helping children to unlock their imagination through the medium of creative writing. Amanda has been a Decksender start-up community member for over a year so we were excited to learn more.
How did Scribeasy start?
Like a lot of start-ups Scribeasy started from a very personal story. Amanda developed the ideas that became Scribeasy through creative writing with her family. The technology became a way to scale the method. It’s been a long journey for Scribeasy but the passion Amanda has for creativity and working with children is infectious and this has fuelled the business.
The funding journey
Scribeasy have raised series of pre-seed friends and family investments and are now embarking on their next raise of £500,000 through Seedrs. Despite the tumultuous market the raise has been going well and they are on track to hit their target. You can find out more about the raise in the details below and grab a look at their deck.
A unique story of creativity leading the way
The commitment of the team at Scribeasy to develop creative writing as a platform for children to learn and enjoy has led the team all over the UK. Ever present at education events, working closely with schools, mental health organisations and commercial businesses as well as families. The features of the app allow users to customise to their needs, using creativity as a jumping off point for a host of outcomes.
For example the platform caters well to children with dyslexia and SEN needs. The inbuilt thesaurus helps children expand vocabulary and encourages them to write down what they’re thinking. Most importantly the data available to teachers and adult users can help shape sessions to the exact needs of the children.
Here’s a great video to explain more.
The lockdown journey
Lockdown has been an interesting time for Scribeasy. On the one hand schools and businesses have mainly been shut. On the other parents and children have been at home with little to do. The team themselves have not been significantly affected, in fact they’ve been running their raise through lockdown and are still on target. Parents have been flocking to the platform to keep their kids busy, a real silver lining.
The future?
With their next raise on track and users coming onto the platform regularly the future looks good for the Scribeasy team. Certainly lockdown has provided the impetus for parents to seek out online tools that challenge and excite their children as well as providing a stimulating learning experience. I personally think we may also see movement at the higher echelons of education, primed with new funding for school aged children. The risk of course is that this simply bolsters the status quo. Which ever way things go I think Scribeasy will be here for the long haul, certainly if the passion of the team is anything to go by.
The details
Learn more about Scribeasy and sign-up here.
Scribeasy crowdfunding page here.
Amanda on Linkedin
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