In today’s episode, we are joined by Rashi Bahri – the CEO and Founder of Shoonya. Rashi has been working in the world of media for more than 20 years. She has an MSA in filmmaking and she has always been drawn to education. In 2017, she started her own company, Shoonya, which focuses on helping children learn different languages and cultures through gamification. We talk about what inspired Rashi to start Shoonya and how it’s different from other competitors. Tune in as we discuss how to increase the lifetime value of a product and expansion challenges.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [08:31] Rashi shares more about her company Shoonya.
• [10:12] How is Shoonya different from its competitors?
• [16:09] The concept behind Shoonya and why children love it so much.
• [19:23] How Rashi is planning to expand her business model.
• [24:45] Rashi shares the strategy behind 60 000 app downloads.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Children need to learn 500 words in order to speak a language. Shoonya breaks the words into bite-size learning activities which makes it easier to learn the language.
• The best age to learn a second language for a child is the age of 10.
• Most language learning apps are structured for adults. They teach you one sentence and then ask you to translate it into another sentence. But that’s not how children learn. Children need the gamification aspect in the learning process.

LINKS MENTIONED:

Rashi’s LinkedIn Profile

Soonya Website

BIO:

Rashi Bahri

Rashi Bahri Chitnis, a Hollywood media executive is the visionary behind Shoonya, an ed-tech company based out of Santa Barbara with a mission to foster the next generation of global citizens by exposing them to cultural diversity and world languages. She is the winner of the 2021 Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award, in Science and Technology and her team is well known for their outstanding stellar execution.

Rashi has a background in media, having worked in film and television in both Hollywood and India. She has produced and managed various television content, production, post-production, commercials, music videos, broadcast design, and corporate communication. Her direct clients were Discovery, ABC, Warner Bros, and Lifetime Television. Her other television stints are story-producing reality shows like Mark Brunett’s “The Restaurant” and FOX’s “Trading Spouses”.

Her directional short films, “Secret Ingredient” and “Sarah” have premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in 2009 & 2012.

She holds an MFA Degree from the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts where her thesis film as a sound-designer won the Student OSCAR in 2004. During her Masters, she won various scholarships including the well-known AAUW (American Association of University Women) International grant.