Barclays Female Founder Accelerator 2023 member
Teddo Play
Hello, I am Keisha Shah, the founder behind Teddo Play, the home of effective conversation-focused learning resources that inspire a love of learning in children, making an extraordinary positive impact on their intellectual growth & development.
We are a small family team behind our multi award-winning children's educational brand creating a variety of high-quality play-based learning products for children of all ages, all made right here in the UK.
Teddo Play has received a number of mentions in national press and media, heard from the Prime Minister’s office, been live on TV on BBC News, recognised with industry awards, also by Theo Paphitis as one of his small business winners, making our passion project a multi award-winning business in just under 3 years. All our Learning Resources are highly engaging & interactive that naturally encourage free conversations and enriching of vocabulary & knowledge in kids, making them a loved resource across children (and adults!) of all ages.
Why did you apply for the Female Founder Accelerator?
I had heard great things about this programme at various networking events so I decided to explore what the AccelerateHer programme was all about. I think it will be hugely helpful to me both at professional and personal levels to get the right support and expert guidance on various aspects of running a business as we grow and scale in the coming months and years.
Do you think there's a need for programmes like this for Female Founders?
Absolutely! We are lucky in the UK to have a number of programmes and organisations that support entrepreneurs in their start-up journeys. However, one dedicated to Female Founders is a great initiative.
Why did you want to start your business?
It all started when I was on maternity leave expecting our first child. In one of those nervous-first-time-parent-to-be-reading-sprees, I discovered how crucial the first 5 years of children’s lives are.
By the time they turn 3, their brains will have developed up to 80% and up to 90%, i.e. nearly fully developed, by the time they turn 5! It became very important for me & my husband to have a plan & to do our best to make these early years as rich in play, experiences and learning as possible for our new arrival. Following a very colourful corporate career spanning project managing blue-chip clients, teaching, language training & overseeing thought-leadership projects, I decided to use my skills & knowledge into developing effective children's educational resources that will support children to flourish right from their early years and make an extraordinary positive impact on their intellectual growth & development as well as boost confidence & self-esteem in them for their positive mental well-being as they grow up.
Being a small business with zero background in actually running a business, it has been a steep learning curve for me. From endless hours of research and learning along the way, it takes a lot more time to establish yourself and then to scale. Starting out from scratch on our own using our own savings, remaining dedicated to supporting our UK economy, having created something that has received consistent 5* reviews from day 1 from parents, families, teachers and seeing the vast amount of progress children are making right from learning the basics to advanced topics, watching them become confident communicators who are able to express themselves clearly - and all of this contributing hugely to children’s mental well-being as they grow up feeling heard and loved, I feel very humbled by my venture and how far my small business has come. It all started from wanting to create the best resources for my little boy and now these are the most loved in hundreds of households.
I have recently added to our current product line by introducing smaller packs for some of the popular sets to make them more accessible and use that as an opportunity for people to see in real life the high quality & high value in each of our products so then they come back for the bigger packs. This has helped us reach many more people and also gain more exposure with our target audience. I also have a number of other projects in the pipeline and lots of work-in-progress where I am working on introducing a range of activity journals, a kindness clothing range, a range of quiz sets as well as adding tnew learning themes to the current range.
What are you looking to get out of this programme?
Support, guidance, networking and collaborations as well as expert mentoring to help me take our products and business to international markets.
Which entrepreneur inspires you the most and why?
Emma Jones, the founder behind Enterprise Nation, has been a truly inspirational figure for me. The passion and energy with which she gets things done in support of small businesses both at local and national levels, is commendable.
What has been your biggest win in your entrepreneurial journey?
I believe the incredible connections that I have made being an entrepreneur, these wouldn't have been possible otherwise in corporate roles. Our entire growth so far has been organic and also with just me doing everything. The business is still grown so well - if I have the right support now, I feel I can take our business to new heights.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Time! Being a perfectionist, highly ambitious and someone who always goes the extra mile and gives back, I am constantly in this race against time. I would love to learn to strategise and prioritise better. Whilst I manage projects so well for others, when it comes to my own business, I find it surprisingly very hard to do :)
Where did you go for business advice and how did it help you?
Networking with the right groups has been crucial. It’s easy to get carried away when starting out on your own but surrounding yourself with the right people will play a huge role in your growth – at both professional and personal levels.
Being an entrepreneur can become quite a lonely journey but thanks to the great initiatives by organisations such as Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Enterprise Nation, Small Business Britain and the Great British Entrepreneur Awards website, it becomes easier to network with a community of like-minded individuals, learn from experts through relevant webinars, virtual and in-person meet-ups and so on.
Enterprise Nation is my go-to place for all things small business support. It’s such a fab community of ambitious individuals and businesses. What Emma Jones, the founder, and the entire Enterprise Nation team do for small businesses is really commendable.
Small Business Britain led by Michelle Owens is another firm favourite!
Holly Tucker, former founder of Not On The High Street, gives back so much to the small business community. Holly always has so much warmth and this genuine desire to make sure small business owners not only survive but also thrive, that she always does her very best to help and support small businesses in every way she can.
I am also thrilled to be joining the Be the Business and Digital Boost programmes this year to take Teddo Play to new heights.
What drives you to make your business a success?
I am very passionate about all things learning and knowledge and the importance of equipping our children with the right skills and resources as well as providing them with accurate information as opposed to misleading cartoons from the early on. Following a colourful teaching and corporate career, I decided to use my skills & knowledge into creating a range of fun & tactile resources that promote knowledge, laying a robust foundation for children whilst also nurturing a lifelong love of learning in them.
Our products are excellent quality, made in the UK, include a significant amount of learning cards in each gift-able set covering a given topic/subject in great detail, the innovative portable boards that are so educational but also engaging, all of this in an attempt to encourage more tactile learning in children instead of firing up devices.
With an increasingly challenging business environment, I will be very grateful to tap into that guidance and expertise of experts on the AccelerateHer programme that will help me take my business forward both nationally and internationally. I want to reach children far and wide and educate parents on what a world of difference it can make to spend that quality play and learn time with their children in their early years. The benefits it will have on the child's intellectual development as well as on their mental well-being will be remarkable, not forgetting the love and strong bond they will develop with their adults in the process. I also want to grow my business to be able to support more and more children from low-income communities through our initiatives with Room to Read.
What advice would you give other founders thinking about starting their own business?
Love what you’re doing and don’t give up – running a business is no mean feat. There are lots of ups and downs, twists and turns and an incredible amount of learning to do as you go along. It’s even more challenging when you’re balancing work life and bringing up a family. Having led a full-on corporate life for over 12 years, running a business was very new to me but I am very passionate about it all, our brand, our products, the adrenaline it gives me when I see our educational products making a significant difference in children’s development and most importantly all the contributions we are able to make to our charity partner Room to Read by supporting them in their mission to create a world free of illiteracy and gender inequality, all this brings a great level of excitement and a sense of accomplishment.
Tip number 2: Self-care and being in the present! I have always been such a hard-worker that reminiscing now, although I feel really happy with my success and achievements and how far I have come, I would have loved to lighten up a little bit back then and enjoy some nights out with friends or simply just have some chill time. I am always juggling a million things and it’s just become my second nature now to continually make sure that my plate is not only full but also overflowing, this does get overwhelming and a bit of self-care and downtime is really (and frequently!) required.
Burnout is almost inevitable in an entrepreneur’s life. You need to find your coping mechanisms – for me it’s surrounding myself with like-minded people and most importantly, writing my thoughts down so I can tick things off the list! My brain’s always in overdrive thinking about new learning themes I can develop to cater to different subject needs, what new marketing ideas I can implement, finding content for social media, newsletters, creating artwork, emails, admin, customer service, keeping on top of communication with existing and potential customers, reaching out to new retailers, educational institutions, filing taxes and returns, the list is endless.
Celebrating both small and big successes is not only important but really vital to keep your sanity and motivation levels up!