Banjo Robinson secures £1m pre-seed funding from Collab+Sesame to develop children's learning platform.
The pre-seed round was led by Collab+Sesame with participation from Techstars London.
Banjo Robinson operates a subscription service delivering personalised physical letters and creative activities from a fictional feline character to children. The service aims to encourage reading, writing and global geography through regular postal correspondence.
London based children's literacy startup Banjo Robinson has secured £1m in pre-seed funding. The investment round was led by Collab+Sesame, a joint fund comprising Sesame Ventures and the Collaborative Fund, alongside participation from existing backer Techstars London. The capital will be directed towards product development and expanding the reach of the company's subscription offering.
Founded by former creative executive Kate Boyle in 2018, the business has grown from initial backing via the Government's New Enterprise scheme and the Techstars London accelerator programme. The company uses traditional postal correspondence to engage children aged five to eight with geography and creative writing through the adventures of a globetrotting cat.
From the founder
"I was a huge fan of Sesame Street as a child, and couldn't imagine a more perfect lead investor than Collab+Sesame, who share our values of kindness, communication, learning through play, and humour. We're looking forward to working closely with Sesame Workshop to help us develop Banjo Robinson into an even more valuable experience for children and families."
Kate Boyle
CEO and founder at Banjo Robinson
Investor perspective
"I walked away from the very first meeting I had with Kate knowing that I was definitely going to invest. I'm delighted that we're able to continue to support Banjo Robinson and the team in this round. The reaction from kids and parents to the product speak volumes about how much those core values of kindness, communication and fun translate in Banjo's letters. This new funding will allow them to bring that to a whole new generation of kids, and I'm excited to be a part of that."
Eamonn Carey
MD of Techstars London Accelerator, Techstars
Use of funds
- 01Continue product development
Investors
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About the company
Banjo Robinson
Banjo Robinson delivers personalised educational letters to children via a postal subscription model.