Blooming with Birdie Wins Geekdom's $25K Community Fund with Koasis Media

Funds New Digital Learning Experience About Bees

Blooming with Birdie began their  journey at Techstars in November 2020. The new tech-ed startup takes on the children's edutainment industry with an approach inspired by Montessori and Mister Rogers, now coined by Blooming with Birdie as The Three E's. The budding venture focuses on "bringing digital learning to life,” Blooming with Birdie's company slogan, by meeting children where they are–in front of screens. In order to increase accessibility and refine their digital products, Blooming with Birdie pitched at the Geekdom's Q4 Community Fund for funding to produce two new series, after demonstrating profitable traction with their first series, Caterpillar Condos.

Founder and CEO Ashley Bird, begins the in-person pitch by asking "How many hours a day do you think adolescents [between 10-14] spend in front of a screen?" To the judges' surprise, Bird shares that the average amount of screen time for adolescents is 7 hours. Bird continues by saying "...of 1,000 surveyed parents, it was found that screen time is the number one source of conflict between parents and children," and advocates "in [this] digital age, [screen-time] is something we cannot change...but what we can change is the intention and quality of the content on the screen."

Blooming with Birdie's Geekdom finalist pitch explains how the company's approach solves this problem. By using the hands-on, self-paced learning principles of Montessori with the social emotional and socially responsible approach of Mister Rogers, Blooming with Birdie teaches children between the ages of 4-10 to use technology as a tool for learning, "...a skill children need before entering adolescence," Ashley explains.

According to the rest of the pitch, not only does Blooming with Birdie teach children a valuable skill, but the company also gives parents peace of mind that the programming their children are watching is enhancing their lives. The impact doesn't stop there. "The feedback [we received] for Blooming with Birdie has been incredibly positive," Founder and CEO Ashley Bird, explains, "so much so that other organizations began reaching out that were in need of educational digital content". Opening up a whole new market for the company, Blooming with Birdie started receiving opportunities to collaborate with brands looking to reactivate their missions using The Three E's and customized curriculum with content. Koasis Media assists Blooming with Birdie with these said ventures.

"We've worked with Ashley since October 2020, right before she realized the impact her approach could have on the community as [Blooming with Birdie]," co-founder of Koasis Media, Christie Kaye explains. "To [Koasis Media], everything we do for Ashley is an investment into the lives of younger generations," Kaye continues, "and we are honored to have a client, now friend, who is just as passionate about what they do as we are."

To guarantee a smooth transition into the next series' development, Blooming with Birdie has worked diligently with Koasis Media to establish a cohesive brand image, receive creative thought partnership, and find ways to streamline production costs and processes. "There's really nothing we haven't tackled together: graphic design, videography, photography, rebranding, website, social media..." Kaye shares, "...and after a year of development, [Blooming with Birdie] is finally coming to fruition."

On December 22, 2021, Blooming with Birdie was awarded Geekdom's Q4 Community Fund of $25K. "When Christie called to share the news," co-founder of Koasis Media, Noel Hernandez, shares, "it was just as good of news to [Koasis Media] as it was for [Blooming with Birdie]". Hernandez continues on to say, "...it really validated the work that we all have invested, and goes to show that with drive, passion, and good ideas–with a great team–anything can happen."

Blooming with Birdie continues to work with Koasis Media in the development of their new series "You, Me, & The Bees", as Koasis Media continues to seek other organizations looking to enact positive change through purposeful media.

###

Credentials: Blooming with Birdie, Geekdom, Koasis Media