The journey of a kids book startup that tackles topics like racism, cancer and divorce
HMTA Portfolio company, A Kids Book About, has been a major success during 2020 because it speaks precisely to our times. We made the investment long before there was a pandemic or a recession or a powerful Black Lives Matter movement. We invested because we believed in Jelani Memory, a great entrepreneur and a wonderful human being. The premise of was simple, create a structured way for people (who often aren’t really authors) to create powerful books by speaking from the heart.
The first book, A Kids Book About Racism, was rooted in Jelani’s own conversation with his six own six kids. The insight was that there are many topics that parents need to discuss with their kids–often because the kids ask about them–but the parents are unprepared for the conversation. AKBA helps those conversations. The other books have covered death, divorce, bullying and COVID19.
The manufacturing process has been re-imagined to be efficient and fast. AKBA’s sales have exceeded all of our expectations and have attracted a solid base of funding. We are thrilled to be part of the AKBA team