Boddle dials into another $100K from AT&T to boost gamified learning at home
April 15, 2020 | Tommy Felts
Editor’s note: The following is part of Startland News’ ongoing coverage of the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Kansas City’s entrepreneur community, as well as how innovation is helping to drive a new normal in the ecosystem. Click here to follow related stories as they develop.
Homebound students taking advantage of Boddle’s gamified edtech platform have helped the Kansas City startup level up its user base by more than 1,665 percent, Edna Martinson said Tuesday, announcing $100,000 in additional funding from AT&T to support the distance learning offering.
Clarence Tan and Edna Martinson, Boddle
“Over the past few weeks we saw a surge in our user-base — 1,700 to 30,000-plus in a matter of weeks — and have had the opportunity to talk with over a thousand educators and parents on our site,” said Martinson, co-founder of Boddle with husband Clarence Tan. “It was clear that, with school closures, they needed tools to help them keep track of their students’ academic progress remotely while keeping them engaged (and the game interface seems to be really helping to keep kid’s attention).”
Boddle provides adaptive math practice and assessments through a fun game — critical to families facing Stay at Home orders and school shutdowns. Click here to learn more about its free offering during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A member of the 2019 AT&T Aspire accelerator cohort, the Kansas City-based startup was among seven alumni of the accelerator to be awarded a share of $1.2 million in contributions from AT&T’s Distance Learning and Family Connections fund.
“With this investment, Boddle will be free for teachers and parents through the end of the school year,” Martinson said. “The funding also allows Boddle to adapt our platform to support parents as they take on the role of educators at home. We’re also expanding features that make the platform accessible to ESL learners.”
Edna Martinson and Clarence Tan, Boddle; Startland News’ Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2020 celebration
Click here to learn more about why Boddle was selected for Startland News’ list of Kansas City Startups to Watch in 2020.
The fresh $100,000 award brings Boddle’s total funding from AT&T to $250,000 to date — $475,000 in overall funding. Other former accelerator companies earning awards from the fund include CareerVillage, CommonLit, LiftEd, ListenWise, LitLab and TalkingPoints.
Boddle is continuing to look for schools and parents researching online tools, especially in Kansas City, Martinson said. The startup is currently running its platform on the web (laptops and chromebooks), but is working on developing its app version for mobile and ipad users.
Click here to sign up for Boddle’s free platform.
“This need extends to parents as well, as they search for something to not only entertain their kids during quarantine but also educate them,” Martinson said. “Lots of parents are new to homeschooling, so being able to support them as they transition to the role of at-home educator is something we are happy to do.”
This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.
For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn
Featured Business
2020 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Google’s $100K ‘stamp of approval’ for PlaBook reads like validation for KC-built edtech startup
Kansas City expatriate PlaBook is set to receive $100,000 from Google’s initiative to provide funding to Black-led startups. But for Philip Hickman, it’s not just about the funding, he said. It’s also a credibility boost. “We were happy to receive an investment from Google,” the edtech startup founder said. “It’s a stamp of approval to…
KC’s first Hispanic beer company craft-brews conversations beyond stereotypes
Defining his own cultural identity has been a lifelong struggle for Damon Arredondo, the longtime brewer said. Coming from a mixed-cultural background, Arredondo often felt as if there was “a checklist” that decided whether or not he was able to identify with his heritage, he shared. “Only recently in the last five year have I…
Veteran entrepreneur finds security in pizza, opening new Rosati’s in south Overland Park
Bob Ring sold his homegrown company of 25 years — then got a job delivering pizzas. All part of the recipe for the longtime Kansas City businessman who — despite his decades of experience — initially found banks hesitant to lend to him during the pandemic as he worked to open his own pizzeria in…
Camel Culture tastes like home: How a Missouri dairy’s milk fills a void when everything else seems foreign
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which leads a collaborative, nationwide effort to identify and remove large and small barriers to new business creation. MILLER,…