From their Atlanta Tech Village office, entrepreneurs Ifrah Khan and Connor Ford are rethinking virtual learning.
Clubba, the live virtual after-school club for kids, brings small groups of kids together with creative college students to teach new skills in a social and fun way.
Classes, or ‘clubs’, range from video editing, creative writing, and dancing, to coding, entrepreneurship, and robotics…and even a class for those looking to master Tik Tok. Clubs are capped at five, ensuring that kids can interact during the weekly meetups.
While exposing kids to the creative economy is an important part of the platform, it also connects kids with “relatable mentors have been lacking in the space for kids,” said Khan.
“Even our counselors have come from all over the world, so kids get exposed to different cultures as well,” added Ford, who serves as Clubba’s CTO.
All counselors are vetted and are either current or recent college graduates who build out a creative-based curriculum during the application process.
“Obviously, people aren’t okay with 8 hours of virtual school time for their kids,” said Khan. “But they are okay with one or two-hour meetup sessions,” Khan added that she sees opportunity in the e-learning space even after the pandemic, as parents realize they can bring quality, creative-focused opportunities to their kids without having to drive around town.
Each session also includes a movement component along with a creative component, helping to ensure kids aren’t just staring at a screen the entire time.
Khan and Ford, Emory and Georgia Tech graduates respectively, met through the Atlanta Tech Village.
The platform has pivoted into afterschool-style clubs after providing virtual camp programs over the summer. But Clubba ultimately pulls on Khan’s background building Usit, a babysitting platform, and Ford’s work as co-founder of Spirit, a engagement strategy platform.
Hypepotamus asked if there was a fan-favorite class was among kids. Khan didn’t waste any time in answering: YouTuber Masterclub, which she sees as part of the growing edutainment trend. “It’s educational, but also entertainment for the kids and they are learning something to entertain their own YouTube audience.”
The Clubba team went through the Blue Startups accelerator out of Hawaii and also received funding from Google for Startups this last fall. The team said they are looking to wrap up their current seed round.
