BEGIN/SPEAKABOOS Investment Thesis

Reading proficiency at 3rd grade is the biggest determinant of a child’s future academic success, yet even in highly literate countries like the U.S., two thirds of all children cannot read at grade level at this age. Begin is a reading motivation platform featuring engaging educational interactive books delivered across web, mobile and tablet via subscription that connects school and home usage. Begin motivates children from PreK to 3rd grade to read, read more an read independently on any device in schools and homes. 

49% of parents don’t believe their children read enough, however, 80% believe that digital books motivate their children to read more and more proficiently. Educators also agree. Additionally, 56% of schools are moving to digital textbooks. 

The addressable market for digital reading includes 1.8M+ schools, 250M+ students and 140M+ households in the U.S./BRIC/Korea/Japan/Middle East along with total annual spend of $25B+ on literacy and reading motivation.

Begin is one of the strongest companies in Elevate portfolio with consistent revenue and subscriber growth YoY. The company has a strong management team who has savvy experience working in SaaS sector. Its unique position and clear vision in digital reading and education sector attracted strategic partners globally, such as PBS, Naver, Babytree, and investors including Wellington Management and Interlock Partners. 

The management team of Begin consists of employees that have had multi-billion dollar exits. Neal Shenoy, the founder and CEO, was the co-founder of Saavn, a music subscription service that sold to Reliance for $1.2 billion. He was also a Director of Liftmetrix (an existing Elevate portfolio company) which sold to Hootsuite. The Director of Learning for Begin was the former Head of Content for Nickelodeon. The CFO helped lead Zynga and Spotify to IPOs.

Begin is the combination of a mission-driven, focused, metrics-oriented company that has domain leaders and a management team capable of building companies to scale.