Erase All Kittens- Equipping Young Women with Digital Skills

Young women worldwide are not learning skills which are now essential for success and independence in today's world. 

Existing tools are only teaching young people the concepts of coding - as opposed to transferable skills - and the vast majority have been designed to appeal to boys, e.g. Code Combat (battles), Code Kingdoms (Minecraft), Hakitzu (fighting robots).

If girls are not interested in coding by the age of 16 - it is highly unlikely that they will ever be interested (WISE).

We need to effectively deliver creative digital skills to women at a key stage in their development - so that they will have the opportunity to access the jobs of today and tomorrow.

Erase All Kittens is the first app designed to inspire girls and young women to code whilst equipping them with transferable, digital skills - via highly gamified, story-driven gameplay.

The global skills gap is now a $13T threat to the global economy (EdtechX).

In 1984, 37% of all computer science graduates were women. Now that number is just 18%. By 2020, there will be 1.4 million jobs available in computing related fields, and graduates are on track to fill 29% of those jobs. Women are on track to fill just 3% (WES). The ratio of boys to girls learning to code is less than 5:1.

Young women worldwide are not learning skills which are essential for success our increasingly digital world.

Gender stereotypes, discrimination and poverty are preventing girls and women from benefiting from digital technologies (Women's Worldwide Web).

Three quarters of girls perceive coding as being 'more for boys' (CHILDWISE). This is because coding is being taught in a way that isn't inspirational for most girls - existing tools and games have been designed by men, to appeal to boys. 

Unfortunately, teaching girls to code has largely been ignored - and if they aren't interested by the age of 16, they are unlikely to ever become interested. 

In less affluent areas of the world, young women don't have access to quality education and/or the internet.

Our goal is to completely transform how girls and young women (8-16 year olds) perceive coding and engineering - and to empower them with 'real-world' digital skills.

We carried out 24 months of research, interviewing hundreds of girls and young women worldwide, and immersing ourselves in their culture - in order to invent an effective, gender-neutral way to inspire and equip them with transferable digital skills. 

As a result, our online prototype has 150,000 players in 170 countries, and 55% are girls (average for other tools is less than 18%). 

Data from our 12,000 feedback forms has shown that 95% of girls aged 8-16 want to learn more about coding after playing. After twelve months of beta-testing with 5 Oasis Academy Schools in the UK, and students in Lebanon and Syria - EAK was shown to inspire girls to become researchers, teachers, problem solvers, writers and designers, as well as coders.

Our solution will a). inspire girls and young women to code via highly gamified, story-driven gameplay, b). equip them with transferable digital skills (HTML, CSS and Javascript - the languages of all websites and web apps) to show them how to create their own simple websites and web apps.

Erase All Kittens (EAK) is the world's first app, built from the ground-up to equip girls and young women with transferable digital skills - to directly address the growing gender digital divide. 

It is an online app therefore easy to access, and provides a real-world context to code education - including introducing the concept of ‘entrepreneurship’, and strongly encouraging creativity, critical thinking and independent learning. 

Technical innovation:

As players progress, they can edit the source code which governs the game environment - building and fixing levels as they play. In this way, children aged 8+ can learn real coding languages (the languages of the technology we use in our everyday lives, e.g. websites and web apps) as well as logical thinking.

The core of EAK is to develop a new environment and business model to teach girls and young women to code and create on the web. We intend for EAK to teach HTML, CSS and Javascript to provide the most advanced coding environment, using real-world tools, for our target audience on the market, all within a single platform game.

Through our existing version of EAK, we have learned that to engage our target audience, practical 'code-teaching' must be integrated in an interactive and appealing manner without reliance on syntax. To achieve this, we intend to mix HTML5, CSS and Javascript code with video gaming, and create a bespoke hybrid of both to provide a seamless experience.

The focus of innovation will be creating new mechanics that show 'instant results' whilst learning practical skills. Technically challenging aspects will include introducing syntax of computer languages and applications in incrementally challenging and highly engaging ways - new mechanics will be integrated with story-driven gameplay and interactive dialogue, designed to appeal to girls without pandering to gender stereotypes.

Unlike other tools, EAK will not just teach 'computational thinking'; users will learn the languages of all websites and web apps, and practical applications of these - learning the practical skills required for them to create their own simple websites and web apps. It is being designed to appeal to girls and young women; less instructional, more story-driven.

We are combining expertise from different disciplines - code education, game design and storytelling - to create a compelling and rewarding platform for girls and young women to learn digital skills which they can apply creatively, in the same way as a professional developer.

Our solution involves a new application of existing technology to serve a new population.

The core of Erase All Kittens is to develop a new environment and business model to teach girls to code and create on the web. We intend for EAK to teach HTML, CSS and Javascript to provide the most advanced coding environment, using real-world tools, for our target audience on the market, all within a single platform game.

Through our existing prototype we have learned that to engage our target audience, practical 'code-teaching' must be integrated in an interactive and appealing manner without reliance on syntax. To achieve this, we intend to mix HTML5, CSS and Javascript code with video gaming and storytelling - and create a bespoke hybrid of both to provide a seamless experience.

The focus of innovation will be creating new mechanics that show 'instant results' whilst learning practical skills. Technically challenging aspects will include introducing syntax of computer languages and applications in incrementally challenging and highly engaging ways - new mechanics will be integrated with story-driven gameplay and interactive dialogue, designed to appeal to girls and young women without pandering to gender stereotypes.

Unlike other tools, EAK will not just teach 'computational thinking'; students will learn the languages of all websites and web apps, and practical applications of these. It will be designed to appeal to girls and young women; less instructional, more story-driven.

Our solution will also introduce the concept of entrepreneurism via interactive dialogue with  creatures in the 'Internet Universe'.

We carried out 24 months research - interviewing hundreds of students and immersing ourselves in their culture; analysing the most popular cartoons, games and books, which don't pander to gender stereotypes - in order to invent a tool which effectively teaches girls and young women transferable digital skills, which can be applied to create on the web.

We aim to be the 'Pixar of digital skills education' - appealing to the vast majority of our target audience, through quirky characters, humorous dialogue and engaging gameplay within a magical world.

As a result of this creative process - solely through word-of-mouth, Erase All Kittens has 150,000 players in 170 countries, and 55% are girls (avg. for other tools is less than 18%).

Data from our 12,000 feedback forms at the end of our online game, has shown that 95% of girls and young women want to learn more about coding after playing - as opposed to only 10% before playing. 

After twelve months of beta-testing with students aged 8-16 in the UK, Lebanon and Syria (see links below), EAK was shown to inspire girls and young women to become researchers, teachers, problem solvers, writers and designers, as well as coders.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv75sKN3tKc&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuRmPqJ7Njo

https://vimeo.com/339348104

We are continuing to carry out regular one-to-one beta-testing sessions with girls aged 8-16 in schools to ensure that EAK effectively teaches transferable digital skills, in incrementally challenging steps. The app also gives an introduction to "entrepreneurism" via interactive dialogue, to inspire more girls to become entrepreneurs.

We are currently serving 82,500 girls and young women (aged 8-16) with our solution and 67,500 boys - 150,000 users in total in 170 countries.

Our highest traction is in the US, UK and Canada.

1950 schools in the US and UK are using the Erase All Kittens app, along with our creative coding lesson plans which fully support the UK computing curriculum (3 hours of creative coding content).

We aim to serve: 

500,000 girls and young women by Dec 2021 

5M by Dec 2023 

20M by Dec 2025 

Our goal within the next year is to build and launch the full version of Erase All Kittens (6-8 hours of gameplay content) which we have spent the past 12 months designing, with world-renowned code education specialists, and game designers.

January 2021 - Launch the full version of Erase All Kittens (online PC app) After this initial launch, new coding puzzles teaching further programming skills will be released, every 2-3 weeks.

June 2021 - Launch the tablet version of Erase All Kittens (AppStore + Google Play to reach more users, globally)

January 2022 - Launch level and web creation tools - showing girls and young women how to create their own simple websites and web apps.

By 2025: Our goal is to inspire 20 million girls and young women to code, whilst  teaching transferable digital skills (HTML, CSS and Javascript), using the EAK app by Dec 2025.

One-for-one Scheme

For every school that purchases EAK, free accounts will be distributed to underserved schools worldwide - via partnerships with STEM organisations and NGOs.

We will distribute -

10,000 free E.A.K. accounts to disadvantaged girls by December 2021 

50,000 free E.A.K. accounts to disadvantaged girls by December 2025

Measurement plan for long-term impact:

 Focus groups and national surveys, in selected countries

We aim to achieve:

An increase in girls taking Computer Science for GCSEs / A-levels in the UK (by 2026)

An increase in female graduates entering computing-related degrees and careers (by 2030) 

Financial barriers - 

We're creating a product in a new market - an innovative coding tool, primarily designed to inspire girls and young women to code, whilst equipping them with transferable digital skills. Despite there being an urgent need to close the gender digital divide - this has always been a niche and risky area for investors. When it comes to funding competitions, already well-established coding giants win over small, comparatively unknown startups. Consequently we have found it very challenging to raise the funding required in order to solve this problem.

Technical Barriers -

EAK demonstrates a unique way to teach girls aged 8-13 to code using basic HTML and CSS syntax. We aim to teach more of these skills and basic Javascript syntax, in order to show them how to create their own simple websites. This will involve inventing a way to successfully teach the basics of Javascript to children - something which has not yet been achieved by other coding tools. 

Cultural Barriers - 

Although we don't see this as a barrier since many animations, games and books have had great success across different cultures - it is something we always keep in mind. So far, we have successfully trialled our product with young women in many countries around the world, including the US, Lebanon, Syria and India.

Market Barriers - 

Marketing and selling to schools is difficult - since there is no 'top down' approach in the UK and US.

Financial barriers - 

This has been the most difficult barrier, being a female-founded team, creating a product to equip girls and young women with digital skills. After ten months of fundraising, we recently received a term sheet for £500K from a VC investor based in London, and we now have £200K left to raise by June/July.

Technical Barriers -

We spent 12 months designing the full version of EAK, and we found several extremely talented HTML5/Javascript games developers who are keen to join our team once we have raised funds. They will work closely with us in order to develop the most effective solution - constantly testing new coding mechanics and gameplay features, with girls and young women aged 8-16 in schools in the UK, and workshops carried out with our partners, abroad. We were recently one of ten teams selected for Google's Accelerator, where we will have a dedicated mentor who will support us with development and hiring.

Cultural Barriers - 

The founders of EAK come from creative backgrounds - in advertising, storytelling, illustration and animation. They carried out extensive R&D in order to design and seamlessly blend innovative coding mechanics, gameplay features and storytelling to create a coding tool that will appeal to girls and young women worldwide.

Market Barriers - 

We have spoken with several profit-making edtech startups in order to gain a deep understanding and knowledge of how to lower this barrier, and we will be focusing on B2C sales in the UK and US.

Erase All Kittens is currently a 60 minute online game, consisting of gameplay which teaches players basic HTML syntax and how to create URLs. 

The vast majority of our users come from the US (62,608), the UK (46,780) and Canada (5175), and all of our traction has occurred organically with no money spent on marketing.

EAK is also being used in Australia (5280 users), France (3135 users), Germany (1350 users), Netherlands (1035 users) and Japan (251 users).

Most players complete the online game and 18% come back to play it again. Given that EAK consists of only 1 hour of gameplay content so far, this is a very high retention rate. 

We're collecting data in these markets to better understand the needs of our users - questions in our feedback form include 'have you done any coding before (1-10)?' / 'what tools or games have you used?' / 'what did you think of them?' / 'what did you learn from EAK? '/ 'what were your favourite parts of the game?' / 'how do you think we can improve EAK ' etc.

EAK and its lesson plans (4 hours content in total) are being used in 1950 schools in the US and UK, and we regularly carry out one-to-one beta-testing with students in schools there. We are also holding EAK coding workshops for girls in the UK, US, Lebanon (Codi), Syria (Techfugees), Australia (GenAlpha Project) and France (Institut Francais), with the help of volunteers and partner organisations. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zv75sKN3tKc&feature=youtu.be

US 

9/10 parents in the US now want their children to learn to code (Google Gallup Poll). There is an enormous demand for quality code education, and this can be seen by the success of for-profit coding tools such as Tynker and codeSpark Academy. Once our product is fully developed, we will partner with organisations such as Code.org (350M users) so that EAK will be on their platform, with the first hour being free - Girls Who Code, K12 resellers such as Newsela who have already approached us, and US tech companies who work with schools. We will also partner with Edtech Team who promote the best resources to hundreds of thousands of teachers in the US.

Canada 

Canada will soon be adding code education to its computing curriculum after political leaders have increasingly championed the digital economy and the importance of inspiring children to code. We'll work with education leaders of districts in Canada to promote EAK as the tool designed to inspire girls and young women to code whilst teaching transferable digital skills.

Australia 

Coding is now compulsory for students in Australia - we will partner with Australian-based tech companies such as Atlassian to distribute EAK to schools in their network.

France 

Teaching coding to students is set to become compulsory in schools in France

Netherlands

Teaching coding to kids is set to become compulsory in schools in the Netherlands

Japan 

Coding will be mandatory in Japan's primary schools from 2020.

N/A

The 2 founders of Erase All Kittens work full-time on their solution.

They are working with 4 part-time contractors - two of whom will join the team as full-time employees, once the founders have raised the required funding.

Erase All Kittens was created because the female founders strongly believe that something needs to be done about the fact that not enough children are being inspired by Computer Science - particularly girls. 

Dee Saigal - CEO and Creative Director

Multi-award-winning, international creative and writer, with six years experience in the ad industry, working at agencies including JWT London and TBWA Paris. Dee has a life-long passion for gaming and education, and her skills include game design and development, product strategy, storytelling, business development and digital marketing. 

Leonie Van Der Linde - Chief Design Officer

Graduated from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, specialising in illustration, graphic design and animation. Leonie designs all of EAK’s original illustrations, artwork and animations in her own unique and quirky style. 

Brian Rodway - Senior Javascript Games Developer

Brian has over 20 years experience developing games and managing teams - working at organisations including Sony and Gamesys. He has managed the release of over 30 digital titles, worked on award-winning learning games, and has exceptional knowledge of the development, management and publishing of online games. 

Sean McManus - Code Education Specialist and Author

Sean is a senior copywriter, digital learning expert and bestselling computer book author for children. He has written several books on code education including Coder Academy, an interactive book for 7-10 year olds to build games and simple websites in HTML. Sean works on EAK’s bespoke curriculum, code teaching and lesson plans, used by teachers worldwide.

We are currently partnering with these organisations:

Accenture - Accenture have selected EAK as the main coding tool for their TechSheCan initiative - they will be holding EAK coding workshops for girls, in schools across the UK.

Microsoft - The MS Education team promoted our initial prototype and are keen to work with us to distribute the full version of EAK to schools globally, once it has been fully developed. 

Codi - We partnered with Codi Tech to hold coding workshops for students aged 8-16 in Lebanon, with great success - https://vimeo.com/339348104

CoderDojo - We've been working with CoderDojo to distribute EAK to children in their code clubs (2000 in over 90 countries), and to also distribute our lesson plans, designed by the leader of CoderDojo Scotland.

Finastra - Their CSR team are currently piloting EAK in schools across the UK, and will be piloting our solution in schools in India, the Philippines and Bangalore, this year. 

Techfugees - We partnered with Techfugees, founded by Mike Butcher (TechCrunch), to hold our first workshop for refugee girls and young women in Homs. This was a huge success and attracted a lot of positive press -https://www.newsweek.com/video-game-teaches-girls-code-war-torn-syria-749232

Our app will be sold to parents (focusing initially on the US and UK) and to schools (rest of the world).

Key beneficiaries will be girls aged 8-16.

We are pricing EAK so that it is very accessible - £29.99 per year for parents, via schools (in the UK and US), and £800 per year for primary schools / £1500 per year for secondary schools (ROW).

Our product offering will include the full 6-8 hour game (in Dec 2020) with additional coding puzzles being added every 2-3 weeks, along with 10 hours of creative coding lesson plans for schools. We will hire a senior business developer in June 2020 to form global partnerships with resellers and educational organisations.

Partnerships with STEM organisations, K12 Resellers (globally), education and edutainment platforms, parents groups and tech companies with an education arm, will enable us to drive marketing in schools and homes, with a FREE 60 min version. Schools worldwide are approaching us via cross-over marketing from use in code clubs, attended by 8-16 year old boys and girls. 

Marketing EAK to parents via schools - Schools promoting EAK to parents with the message “Your child can be one step ahead by learning real-world digital skills” will receive free lesson plans (10 hours of content), and we will distribute free EAK accounts to underserved schools worldwide via a one-for-one scheme - promoting this initiative. 

We'll also create YouTube, Twitter and Facebook campaigns, use SEO optimisation and newsletters, and partner with 'influencer' groups online.

We will bring money in to fund our work, initially via investment and then via grants, funding competitions, revenue from our solution, and potentially a crowdfunding campaign further down the line.

We are currently raising £700K and have secured £500K from an investor based in the UK, and have a further £50K committed from angel investors. 

We will continue to apply for grants, e.g. Innovate UK, Horizon2020, and funding competitions once we have raised our initial round of investment.

In the longer term, our revenue streams (selling our solution to parents in the UK and US, and to schools worldwide) will cover our future expenses. We are planning to hire two senior business developers - one based in the UK and the other based in the US - to create partnerships with resellers and educational organisations and institutions, in order to sell our product.

Revenue Model

B2C (UK, US) - social media and marketing to parents via schools — £29.99 / child / yr (approx. 200 students in Years 4,5,6,7) 

B2B (ROW) - Sold to schools via resellers, sales team and partnerships — £800 - £1500 / school / yr (e.g. districts in Canada) 

Financial Projections

ServiceNow can help us overcome our financial and market barriers.

Being selected would advance our work as we are looking to raise a further $117,000 in order to develop and launch the full version of Erase All Kittens - to inspire girls and young women to code whilst equipping them with transferable digital skills - the languages of all websites and web apps.

Being selected would also help us to overcome market barriers - the PR and media opportunities we would receive would make it easier for us - as an edtech startup working on an innovation to disrupt the code education space - to form partnerships with other tech and educational companies and institutions in the US.

If we were selected, we would have access to networks of schools in the US which would be of enormous support to us when we launch and sell our solution in January 2021. Our greatest traction has always been from the US despite us having no connections there - aside from MIT Solve - so we see this as being an important opportunity for us.

We would also greatly benefit from mentorship - particularly in the areas of development and distribution of our product. 

Girls Who Code

We are perfectly aligned with Girls Who Code, who have set up 1500 free after-school clubs/programs in the US, to get girls aged 11-18 excited about coding. We would love to partner with them to distribute our solution to students in their network and equip more girls and young women in the US with transferable digital skills.

MIT Media Lab

MIT Media Lab invented Scratch which teaches young children computational thinking - and has 200M users. Many teachers who have used our solution have said that Erase All Kittens works very well alongside Scratch - it would be great to have a software engineer at MIT Media Lab as one of our advisors.

Amazon

We would love to partner with Amazon who are currently doing a lot of work on 'coding for kids'. We use AWS and we'd like to speak with them about a joint campaign or sponsorship opportunity to encourage more girls and young women to code globally.

Salesforce

Salesforce are doing a lot of work around inspiring girls in STEM, and we would like to speak with them about a potential partnership where we could distribute free Erase All Kittens accounts to underserved girls and young women, worldwide, with their support.

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

We would like to speak with relevant individuals at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation about a potential partnership where we could distribute free Erase All Kittens accounts to underserved girls and young women, worldwide, with their support.