10 minutes with... MarcoPolo Learning

1minutes with… MarcoPolo Learning

Educational media provider MarcoPolo Learning developed a product that reaches some 500 million households across the world. Patrick Dumas, an investor and the company’s head of business development, sets out its strategy as it looks to cap off a $15 million funding round amid a crisis that catalysed an unprecedented shift to home learning

To begin with, give us the elevator pitch for MarcoPolo and run us through the company’s origins MarcoPolo Learning is a rapidly growing educational media company for children aged 0-8.

The company was started by two regular dads who realised that there weren’t any interactive tools out there to help their own children to explore the world. So, they brought together a team of PhD early childhood education specialists and children’s media experts to help create these products for families all over the world. Around 90% of the brain develops before the age of seven and there are estimates that some 80% of children entering school today will work in jobs which currently do not exist, so it is super-important to prepare children for the 21st century and give them the necessary skills to succeed whatever the future may hold.

MarcoPolo is well on the way to realising its mission of helping provide high-quality, interactive learning content to millions of children at an age when it matters most. The current Covid-19 situation is very supportive for online learning and has expedited the necessity for at home-learning resources. MarcoPolo is exceptionally well positioned to benefit from this surge in home learning demand.

Tell us about your funding rounds to date and what you have accomplished with deployed capital To date, MarcoPolo has raised approximately $26 million, the majority of which has been invested into developing technology, intellectual property (IP) and content. Some accomplishments: 10 million organic downloads in over 100 countries Reached number one in over 70 countries and won numerous awards Nominated for an Emmy and also won one of the most prestigious awards in the children’s space – Best Learning App 2019 - Original Preschool – at one of the main events for children’s media globally, Kidscreen, in Miami Launched 52-episode TV series called ‘The Polos’. This was produced by the anchor investor of our Series A, Boat Rocker Media. Licensing deals closed worldwide, including with Discovery Family (US), Nat Geo (LatAm) and Viacom (India). The show now has a reach to some 500 million households globally, and recently launched at number one in the kids’ section on Alibaba-owned Youku in China.

You’re in the middle of fresh funding round. Can you tell us about that – what you’ve raised so far, how much left to go, what the money will be spent on, and so on? We are currently raising a $15 million round and have already closed approximately $9 million. The lead investor of the round is New Oriental, which is one of the largest education companies in the world, based in China and listed in New York. Now that MarcoPolo has reached a critical mass of IP, our core focus is on distribution and sales, so we plan to use this capital for building the growth, marketing and sales side of the business.

What do you look for in a partner/ investor? MarcoPolo is lucky to have many strong strategic investors who are very helpful as we grow and expand globally. Some of these investors have access to large audiences. Whether an investor can add strategic benefits or not, we are always looking for investors who understand and are supportive of our mission and vision.

The company has gained significant traction in international markets.

Can you tell us about what you’ve accomplished so far in terms of your international ambitions, and what the next step is? Patrick Dumas, MarcoPolo Learning We have had around 10 million downloads of our products in over 100 countries so far, of which around a third come from the US, another third from China, and the remainder What portion of users gained since the from rest of the world. Key markets for us in the next 12 pandemic began does MarcoPolo expect months are the US and China. We are already starting to to retain once it subsides? collaborate with many education companies in the US and It looks like Covid-19 will continue to drive demand for homein China the lead investor of this current funding round is learning content in the short and long term, as it has caused one of the largest education companies a market shift towards home learning there with four million students. being an important part of the education We are planning to launch a coecosystem. MarcoPolo is forecasting developed product with New Oriental continued rapid growth in its numbers. before the end of 2020, for distribution MarcoPolo is very to its mass audience. well positioned to Talk to us about the Have you seen an increase in demand for MarcoPolo’s benefit from this short- and longercompetition in the educational media market and why MarcoPolo’s offering since the Covid-19 term demand shift offering is unique pandemic began to unfold in Most media companies sell entertainment January? and most ed tech companies sell education; Covid-19 has definitely caused a significant MarcoPolo blends education and media. increase in demand for home-learning Most educational content is low-quality products and it has also expedited schools’ requirements for online design, whereas MarcoPolo is bringing mainstream media-style and home-learning capabilities. MarcoPolo is very well positioned quality to educational content and developing a strong brand to benefit from this short- and longer-term demand shift. that families can trust and want in their homes across the world. We have experienced a 50% increase in trials and subscribers to our flagship early learning platform during the outbreak. What do you consider to be the company’s weak area(s) – and how will you work to improve this/them? Due to the fact that we have developed a significant amount of versatile educational IP and products, the opportunities are endless. However, we need to be careful not to try too many things in the short term. We need to focus on our core products and make sure they continue to thrive – and then we can broaden the offering, channels etc.

What can our readers expect to see from MarcoPolo throughout the rest of this year? What does the firm’s 2020 roadmap look like? The focus areas for this year are to complete the second close of our funding round, close more partnerships, build out our marketing and sales team, drive growth in subscriptions and revenues and launch our China product. n