ED 47: January-February 2013

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48 ma r k E t in t E l l i gE n C E It all started with a DVD. What began as a mother’s passion for imparting bilingualism to her children is now a fullyfledged educational system used by parents as interactive materials to teach Mandarin. With a growing emphasis on the Chinese language both locally and abroad, MandarinaKids aims to help parents build and maintain a bilingual environment at home while allowing children to pick up the language in a fun and interactive way. The brainchild of Ms Lelia Lim-Loges, MandarinaKids’ establishment can be traced back to a mother’s passion for her children’s education. Like most parents in Singapore, Lelia wanted her children to be fluent in both their native and mother tongues, and while she could handle English quite well, Mandarin had to be left to the local school system and enrichment courses. However, Lelia soon realised that the definition of ‘mother tongue’ was analogous to its etymology: children tend to more readily pick up the language from their mothers, especially during the initial formative years of their development. “My children ignited the spark in me to start Ja n | FE b <strong>2013</strong> En t r E p r E n E u r s’ Di g E s t From mother to entrePreneur How a mother’s passion for imparting bilingualism to her children became a successful enterprise MandarinaKids,” Lelia recounted, “I wanted them to see courage, resilience and motivation that only my actions could show. I could not do that if I spent only one hour a day being part of their lives.” With this in mind, Lelia left her perch in the corporate world and dived headfirst into the realm of entrepreneurship, creating the first Mandarin-teaching DVD in October 2010 for her children to learn the language, and the rest as they say, is history. Based on a flexi-work model, Lelia essentially became a “mom-preneur” which gave her more time and flexibility in caring for her children. She can put in 14 hours at work per day but is still able to be with her children during important periods: sending them to school, personally bringing them for classes and being home during dinner and bedtimes. As with all businesses, MandarinaKids has had its fair share of trials and tribulations to surmount during the startup phase. One of the biggest challenges that Lelia faced was securing funding for her new company. Although there are many organisations available to grant assistance, the application processes were – to her – tedious, and there was little help for start-ups with MandarinaKids’ business model, specifically the spreading of bilingualism to children. “I have funded my own business,” Lelia said on her funding challenges, “but not many people will have that choice and the lack of funding can curtail one from being creative, hold back from expanding into other markets and finally have enough marketing might to get your brand out there into the market.” What started out as a single DVD is today a comprehensive educational system, a library of resources that is utilised by parents and children alike. With an emphasis on the Early Learning Years
(infant to toddler) of a child’s growth, MandarinaKids’ products and learning tools are created with consideration for a child’s developing motor skills, spatial development, colour recognition and attention span. Apart from the engaging DVDs, MandarinaKids’ repertoire includes toys, books, an iPhone application as well as excursions that teach the language outside of an academic setting. As her children grow, Lelia will continue to grow MandarinaKids as well. It is preparing for the next leap of growth in making it a necessary library for every parent who wants their child to learn the Chinese language. Lelia also wishes to target the second generation or even third generation Chinese who have pursued a Western education and want to rejuvenate their Asian roots, as China continues on its meteoric rise on the international arena. In the pipeline, Lelia plans to expand her current range of products and services: the existing DVDs can diversify to include different themes, the books can be used to engage kids in early reasoning in the language and interactive games like bilingual readers and physical board games will allow the children learn ma r k E t in t E l l i gE n C E Mandarin in an even more conducive and interesting manner. In addition, plans are also in the works to broaden MandarinaKid’s reach, like working with education channels as valueadded platforms. She is also keeping pace with the changing times, creating and maintaining a Facebook page for MandarinaKids along with a dedicated application designed for Apple mobile devices. Indeed, the app is loaded with interactivity and content that engage the child’s senses of sight and sound, allowing parent and child alike to learn Mandarin in a setting that is becoming increasingly familiar in today’s digital age. With a successful business while still having valuable time to spend with her children, Lelia is content: “The journey has been a tiring but happy one to date. It’s been almost two years and the thing that pleases me most is when parents or kids tell me that they’ve benefitted greatly from MandarinaKids’ products and services.” Ja n | FE b <strong>2013</strong> En t r E p r E n E u r s’ Di g E s t 49
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