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It might seem like a new monthly box subscription launches every other week - and that might be true. But one of the latest box subscriptions, CubbyCase, is bringing parents a monthly selection of edtech innovations and corresponding activities curated by folks at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Kelvin Woon and Fred Ge, co-founders of CubbyCase, were both studying at the Harvard School of Education when they stumbled upon a business opportunity. Woon explained they were taking a series of classes in entrepreneurship and education when they noticed they were reviewing a different edtech entrepreneur and product every week in class. It was then that they realized there’s a growing number of educational technologies and toys available for children, and yet schools were still struggling to fill skills gaps.
Woon and Ge were overwhelmed as students, so they couldn’t even imagine how this dilemma must make parents feel. They brainstormed ways they could solve this information gap problem, and Birchbox, which was born out of Harvard Business School, served as inspiration.
“We asked ourselves, ‘What would Birchbox for education look like?’ That’s when CubbyCase came about,” Woon told us. “We wanted to latch on to what entrepreneurs have been making and testing, putting their creations in a box and sending them around the world. It would help them, while giving parents exposure to more tools they can use to engage with their children.”
Each month, CubbyCase will deliver a curated collection of educational toys, books, products and experiences to families’ doors. All of the activities and products included in CubbyCase boxes are meant for children ages five through nine and their parents.
“We talked to a lot of CEOs of edtech companies, toy companies and book companies to see what the real value add was,” Woon said. “We realized it would come in the form of curation, but also in coming up with ideas and activities that parents could do with their children. We came up with the Cubby Curriculum with the help of colleagues from Harvard’s School of Education. Our curriculum team creates activities for families to do with the items in each box.”
For example, Woon said CubbyCase has partnered with K’NEX. So if they include a K’NEX helicopter within a box, there will also be a list of activities that will be along the lines of asking parents to sort the pieces by color before building it and to time themselves, providing fun facts and sharing helicopter-related vocabulary. “It brings a flavor of teaching from people with a background at Harvard’s School of Education,” Woon said.
While CubbyCase is meant to be fun and inspire creativity for children, the co-founders emphasized its importance as an education as well as engagement tool. “In general, our game plan is to appeal to the parents,” Woon explained. “Intentionally, we’re more of a box subscription for parents than for kids. We want to engage parents in their kids’ development… to be a part of their education.”
Ge echoed these sentiments. He told us, “The focus of the box is the parents… They’re often too busy to spend quality time with their kids. We found that true in theory and also from the focus group we held. Electronic media is increasingly used to babysit kids and keep them away from parents as they’re busy. We want to take it back and have tools and toys that make it easier for parents to play with their kids and be involved in their education.”
With CubbyCase’s recent launch, they are pushing to sell its first 300 subscriptions. The box subscription costs $34.95 per month, with $10 off the purchase of users’ first month.
The company has been bootstrapping so far, bringing on product partners like InRoad Toys, K’NEX, Kahootz Toys and Arbordale Publishing. The Ge and Woon are hoping to reach certain milestones, such as reaching 1,000 subscriptions, before pursuing funding.
