“Build, Test, Learn, Repeat”; Interview with Charlie Rosier, Founder at Babbu
This is part of the EdTech Female Founder (#EFF) interview series brought to you by SuperCharger Ventures.
What inspired you to start your EdTech Founder journey?
The simple answer is becoming a mother. My daughter is my inspiration in so many ways, but it was only once she was born did I even start to comprehend what it meant to be a parent. The cost of childcare, the concerns about whether you are doing the right thing, the constant guilt and the loneliness. The birth of my daughter led me into the world of Early Years Education. I was hungry to learn everything I could about child development; and the sad realities around the UK’s current childcare system led me to launching London’s first flexible nursery and COVID, a time where everyone was forced to run a nursery from home and parental loneliness rocketed, led me to Babbu. It’s been a 5 year journey to this point!
Describe your company in one sentence.
A Digital Nursery — an early years ecosystem empowering parents to better support their child’s development in the first five years.
What should an aspiring EdTech founder know before initiating their startup journey?
My advice to anyone would be to take time to really understand your product and market, and don’t be afraid to ask for help.
What has been the most difficult moment as a founder and how did you overcome it?
We are still in our infancy, but I guess for me personally, the biggest difficulty is dealing with Imposter Syndrome. This is my first foray into the world of tech, and I don’t like not knowing all the answers! It’s been a steep learning curve, but I have been amazed by the amount of support out there, especially for female or underrepresented founders.
What can the EdTech industry do to improve the gender gap?
I believe we have a unique window to embed gender parity into the future of work. A recent study from LinkedIn found that women are under-represented in six of the eight fastest growing professions of the future. Women form only 26% among those with data and AI skills, 15% among those with engineering skills and 12% among those with cloud computing skills. With the enormous demand for talent in these roles, we have a unique window today to focus on education, reskilling and upskilling to get more women trained for these fast-growing roles and at the same time addressing the biases that prevent women with the right skillsets from being hired, promoted and retained. The Ed-Tech industry having more female founders than most tech sectors, should be leading the way in this.
Can you tell us about a role model of yours?
I’m currently manifesting Whitney Wolfe Herd (from Bumble). I love her fierce determination and tenacity, I love her product and of course, I would love to emulate her success.
Can you tell us an example of when you had to pivot?
I feel like we are constantly pivoting — maybe that’s the wrong word; but definitely iterating all the time. Build <> Test <> Learn <> Repeat.
What will you consider as success in 5 years from now?
Yikes! I guess getting my daughter to the age of 10 years and her still being a kind and independent young girl. Plus of course, getting Babbu out to the world, and really having an impact. Our aim is to democratize early years education, so that all children are afforded the same opportunities and in doing so, help to close the attainment gap both here in the UK and globally.
Looking back, what advice would you have liked to have received before starting your company?
Thankfully, this isn’t my first rodeo. I have learnt an incredible amount over the past decade having run and scaled several businesses. I’ve also supported this learning through an MBA. This time around, I am aware of my weaknesses and have surrounded myself with smarter, wiser individuals.
To know more about Charlie Rosier or Babbu, visit their company site:
Or you can follow their social media accounts: @my.babbu
