Our first team spotlight of the summer is STEMpowerkids, which provides early STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering and Math) education via monthly activity kits with integrated media and gamified learning apps.
STEMpowerkids was created by Addisah Sherwood-Ajiboye and Dr. Bolu Ajiboye, a neural-engineer Dad and a former teacher/Fulbright scholar Mom, to introduce early math and science skills to their 3-year-old son. “We’re passionate about STEM education and early childhood development, so launching a company merging the two disciplines has been ideal for us,” said Addisah.
We spoke with Addisah and Bolu, proud parents and co-founders, to learn more about their team and experience thus far.
What attracted you to the Flashstarts accelerator?
Initially, we came to Flashstarts for guidance on taking on an investor who wanted a third of the company (for better or worse, that deal didn’t happen). Then, we recognized the wealth of knowledge and experience available– as well as the super cool office space we could have– and thought, “We should try to be an official Flashstarts company, rather than just dropping in for emergency assistance all the time.” Out of all the accelerators and options for entrepreneurs looking for assistance and connections, Flashstarts has one of the best reputations in town. We were looking for the real deal, and that’s Flashstarts!
What has been the biggest challenge?
Time– or lack thereof– has been our biggest challenge. Both of us had pretty good (and demanding) day jobs, and our startup wasn’t getting the attention it needed. It took a bit of time to get our ducks in a row so that one of us could really make the leap into entrepreneurial-ship [that’s a word?] and give this startup a good shove out of the gates. To quote Frozen, “It’s time to see what [we] can do!”
How do you like working and living in Cleveland?
Cleveland is one of the best-kept secrets in the U.S. Both of us are transplants, one from California, the other from North Carolina. We say, “Cleveland: it’s worth all the flippin’ snow!” There’s no traffic, parking is cheap, housing is affordable, there’s a great theatre district, nice museums, and a beautiful lake, and people really like to drink beer and eat good food here.
How do you like working with interns?
The interns are FANTASTIC! We love that their work productivity is extremely high-level; they take ownership of projects, and lend a tremendous amount of talent, expertise, and energy to the STEMpowerkids team.
Any advice for future interns?
The founders of the startups are managing about 28 different tasks and projects at once. If you can take it upon yourself to really own a project and keep the lines of communication open, while not popping in every 3 minutes, that is extremely helpful. Do what you can on a project. Save up your questions until you have a few that can be discussed at one time. Also, I imagine different teams have different communication styles. We’re big on email and Basecamp. Others may prefer text messages or Face Time. I would ask the preferred means of communication.
What has surprised you about your experience at Flashstarts?
It moves even faster than we expected.
What are some things you’ve learned this summer, so far?
The idea of selling something before it has been perfected is a bit (EXTREMELY) uncomfortable for us. We’re learning how to pivot frequently, and really zero in on the problem that our potential customers have, whether they’re parents or preschools. We’re also learning a lot about what makes a company attractive to outside investors and we needed that, because we have a social mission, but we also want to make money!
Learn more about STEMpowerkids by visiting them at STEMpowerkids.com, and stay updated by following them on Facebook and Twitter.
