Finding a new way for Education to Elevate

Written by: Sharlene Guiriba and Fabiola Salazaar

Edutainment is not new. The fusion of education and entertainment has been around for ages from Legos to Schoolhouse Rock! However, we have entered a new age with the increasing software made available to children and adults alike. Edutainment now lives outside of the classroom. COVID-19 has especially increased the amount of engagement with edutainment products. The question is whether this interest will be sustained once we exit the pandemic.

Trends and Shifts in Edutainment

The pandemic has generated buzz around the edtech (education technology) space, especially edutainment. In a recent survey by Giraffe Analytics, 32% of parents said their kids have been watching more education/learning content since lockdowns began, and 72% said that even when kids are back in school, they plan on continuing to supplement their learning with educational shows (Kidscreen).​ Parents are concerned about addressing their children’s learning gap due to COVID, so they are more willing to ensure their child is on track.

Moreover, it’s not just children who have expressed interest in edutainment. MasterClass has reported that it is doing 10x what it did last year in revenue during the pandemic (Forbes). It has further tripled in valuation ($2.5B) over the past year based on its latest fundraising round ($225MM). DuoLingo additionally saw a huge uptick in its user engagement in 2020, with a 101% jump in learners (Forbes). The company currently has a valuation of $2.4B.

While these are all exciting new developments for the edutainment space, it is unclear how sustainable these trends will last especially as the world opens up again. What is certain is that the pandemic has demonstrated the power of digital learning.

Chingona’s Take on Edutainment

Chingona is optimistic about the future of edutainment. Chingona is not new to the edutainment space with its previous investment in Encantos. Encantos is an edutainment company focused on creating family brands using both technology and consumer products for kids 14 & under. It has done a fantastic job creating content for diverse audiences and building its brand. According to Mintel market studies, the Emerging Generation (kids under 12) is the most racially diverse yet in the US. Encantos helps fill this demand.

Chingona continues to look at startups that are rethinking what education and engagement are for various demographics. There is room for both pioneers and disruptors. Chingona is excited to explore these opportunities.

Why We Invested in ELEVATE

Elevate is our newest addition of industry disruptors founded by Michael Haddix Jr. and Cindy Zeng. Elevate rethinks how financial literacy can be taught to Gen Zs and Millennials by utilizing short-form videos similar to MasterClass. Elevate is building on the FinTok craze except it will share validated advice through well-known speakers. Its initial customer focus is NCAA athletes. Consequently, popular athletes will share financial and business insights to help collegiate athletes as they start to monetize their fame.

• People — Dream Team: Michael, the co-founder & CEO, brings robust experience from the sports and financial services industry; first as an athlete and later as an investment banker as well as financial advisor to professional athletes. As a financial advisor, Michael built relationships with sports agencies and athletes. Michael also brings firsthand experience as the son of a former NFL Player. Cindy, co-founder & CTO, held a variety of roles across multiple startups; at the center of everything Cindy built was a human-centered experience. Cindy holds experience in product engineering, web engineering, and testing to optimize business models. We believe the combination of Michael’s subject matter expertise in financial advisory, industry relationships, and personal insight alongside Cindy’s robust technical experience building people-centric products, is a winning one. Because financial literacy is a competitive space, we like to see founders that bring a unique insight that is not mainstream and this team encapsulates this.
• Product — Engaging Learning Experience: Elevate has a closed alpha and will be launching the beta later this summer. Despite being so early, the team built a robust mobile app that engages users through personalized content. Users start by answering a series of questions designed to gauge where in the financial literacy journey a user may be alongside questions of people or investors that this person admires. Armed with this key information, Elevate serves users high-quality videos featuring individuals aligning with the users’ interests. One of the videos is a session by a professional athlete providing an overview of venture capital and investing in private markets. Along with each lesson are quizzes to check for understanding. The product roadmap includes plans to integrate the lessons with goal setting exercises. Elevate aims to engage users, provide interesting lessons and drive user action. This multi-faceted approach for driving stickiness is one that we like to see when evaluating opportunities in this sector.
• Profit — Upcoming Pilots: Elevate will initially partner with universities; this upcoming summer Elevate will launch multiple pilots with universities across the country. The pilots will be crucial for getting user feedback, engaging more potential partners and driving market awareness across campuses. The excitement universities demonstrated at the opportunity to partner with Elevate validates early demand for this product in the market. There are multiple opportunities for monetization and the Company will be evaluating them closely in the upcoming quarters.
• Potential — Key Partnerships: Elevate’s edge is its ability to share interesting, relevant, and high-quality content to teach concepts that are intimidating for many people. Despite being in its early phase, Elevate already has interested sports talent like Chris Paul, Vernon Davis, Elena Delle Donne, Travis Kelce, Jaylon Smith, and CJ Mccollum willing to participate on the platform. Although Elevate is starting with sports athletes because of the overarching need due to recent changes allowing college athletes to monetize their name, likeness, and image, Elevate’s value proposition is a lot bigger — this is a tool for Gen Zs and Millennials looking to learn about difficult topics from individuals that they admire or can relate to. Elevate is building a solution for a new generation of consumers — as investors, we like to see companies building in undercapitalized or underserved markets.
• Portfolio — Edutainment: Chingona Ventures invested in SUMA, another platform in the edutainment space, and is excited about the impact these platforms can have to make difficult concepts accessible for a generation of tech-first individuals looking for content that is equal parts educational and entertaining. Elevate fits right into our edutainment thesis as it rethinks how to present financial literacy in a consumable fashion.