*hihilulu is the first streaming platform for Chinese learning in early childhood. It creates a Chinese language environment with rich content and a personalized learning experience.

What traction do you have so far?
We just launched and are quickly gaining traction with over 2K registered early adopters.

Why did you found hihilulu?
As we wanted to create a new way of Chinese learning to young kids everywhere

Story or moment of inspiration to start hihilulu?
I am a native Chinese but living in Europe for decades already. As a mother of twin girls, from the day one on when they were born I was determined to provide them a Chinese language environment even in a foreign country – France.

I discovered another world as a Chinese-native mother abroad.  There are almost no appropriately designed Chinese language materials (books, DVDs, CDs, picture books, toys etc.) for small kids abroad. There are very limited book offers online from some bookstores or videos on site like Amazon, YouTube or Youku, but it is rare to find books or audio-video materials in coherent series. A new resource is the kid education apps on App store and Google play, but still, you have to search by yourselves, try to think out the right topics for your kids, try to find some reviews, and evaluate whether the apps are suitable ones, download the ones you feel ok but randomly, however in fact you would only know whether it is the right one or not after installing or even having paid the apps.  

Alternatively you have to ask family or friends to bring or post books or audio-video products from China. However, it is very tough to transport and those materials from China are very different to western standard. The content is much less creative. To the parent who is not native Chinese speaker, most of those materials are in Chinese only, so there is no second language to help him or her to use it with the kids alone.

As a native Chinese mother, I surely have advantages to overcome those problems. However, very often I am just wondering, how could other parents give their kids Chinese as a second language easily? And how could I help them from my own experience? We all know China is becoming a super power and Chinese will be the most spoken and useful language to the next generation. How could we prepare kids outside of China well to cope with this change?

So the idea to have an digital innovation with aggregated content for kids in Chinese has emerged, through an interactive application of an online platform, that parents and children could access it ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, that it is so personally customized and approachable, that it is imaginative and full of fun for parents and kids to select the right content, right topics at different ages with different demands.

What’s a memorable moment in your entrepreneurial journey?
The moments when we received prizes, grants and recognitions, such as in August 2016 when we received Ali Cloud Competition Europe for USD10, 000; in Nov. 2017 when we received French innovation grant PIA Euro 30,000 by BPI France, and this summer the enrolment to LLA Boost program etc.

What is the biggest challenge you anticipate facing over the next 6-12 months?
Scalability, with limited financing. But we’ll get there with right strategy and effective execution.

Why did you choose LearnLaunch?
To open up to new strategic resources, from capital to market entrance in US.