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Tag: ThinkerPlace

  • ThinkerPlace Director Deepti Sharma on Shaping the Future of STEM Education

    StartupTalky presents Recap’23, a series of in-depth interviews where we engage with founders and industry leaders to explore their growth in 2023 and their predictions for the future.

    The STEM industry, comprising Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, fuels innovation and progress in our ever-evolving world. With a growing demand for skilled professionals, STEM fosters critical thinking and creativity, shaping the forefront of technological advancements. It stands as a key pillar, addressing global challenges and propelling us toward a brighter, more interconnected future.

    STEM job growth is rising, with an 8% increase expected between 2017 and 2029. Since 1990, STEM employment has seen a remarkable 79% surge, and the momentum continues with a projected 10.8% growth from 2021 to 2031. This emphasizes the persistent demand for skilled STEM professionals, shaping the future workforce landscape.

    In our recent interview for Recap’23, we connected with Deepti Sharma, Director of ThinkerPlace. We explored ThinkerPlace’s influence in the STEM industry, diving into its challenges, approaches to customer expansion, future aspirations, and beyond.

    StartupTalky: What does ThinkerPlace do? What was the motivation/vision with which you started?

    Deepti Sharma: Our company aims to nurture intelligent minds who can extend their learning abilities and knowledge scope beyond the PURVIEW of their textbooks. Our vision is to equip students with tools to learn from real-world experiences, delving into new-age skills through our S.T.E.M-based Educational DIY Toys. These toys teach coding, automation, robotics, and more, empowering kids to learn beyond books.

    What Is the Potential of AI and Tech Startups to Transform the STEM Industry?
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    StartupTalkyMuskaan Kapoor

    StartupTalky: What is/are the USP/s of ThinkerPlace?

    Deepti Sharma: Our DIY Kits offer access to a Learning Management System, enabling kids to explore innovative skills like robotics, coding, automation, and IoT. These kits are much more than toys, allowing children to create gadgets, learn from interactive videos and 3D animations, and receive guidance from STEM experts.

    StartupTalky: How has the STEM industry you are in changed in recent years, and how has ThinkerPlace adapted to these changes?

    Deepti Sharma: STEM education is becoming increasingly important in India as the country seeks to become a leader in technology and innovation. We believe that there is a growing awareness of the need for STEM education, and we expect to see more schools and parents prioritizing this type of learning in the coming years. ThinkerPlace can play an important role in shaping the future of STEM-based education in India by creating high-quality products that are accessible to all children. We are committed to working closely with schools and educators to ensure that our products align with their curriculum and learning objectives, and we are constantly looking for ways to improve and innovate our products to meet the changing needs of students and educators. We believe that by providing children with engaging and effective STEM learning experiences, we can help prepare them for success in the digital age and contribute to the growth and development of India’s innovation ecosystem.

    Deepti Sharma: Our research team tracks new toy launches, conducts rigorous tests, and analyzes market trends to understand what resonates with children. This helps us understand our competition and plan our product roadmap and business strategy.

    StartupTalky: What key metrics do you track to check the company’s growth and performance?

    Deepti Sharma: We track metrics like website traffic, conversion rates, social media engagement, repeat customers, and sales performance.

    StartupTalky: What were the most significant challenges your company faced in the past year, and how did you overcome them?

    Deepti Sharma: Adaptation to the changing educational landscape has been a major challenge. We’ve navigated this by innovating our products to align with the evolving needs of schools and educators.

    StartupTalky: What are the different strategies you use for marketing? Tell us about any growth hack that you pulled off.

    Deepti Sharma: Our marketing activities span across digital channels, workshops with schools to boost STEM awareness, and participation in events and school activities for direct audience interaction.

    Director Deepti Sharma Highlights ThinkerPlace’s Focus on Independent Toy Making in India.
    Developing STEM DIY is a necessary thing for a child’s overall development. Here the director of ThinkerPlace shares the growth aspects of the industry.
    StartupTalkyAkash Kushwaha

    StartupTalky: What are the important tools and software you use to run your business smoothly?

    Deepti Sharma: We use tools like CRM software, accounting software, and Adobe Suite.

    StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in your industry in India and the world? What kind of difference in market behavior have you seen within states in India?

    Deepti Sharma: The future of STEM is bright. It is an in-demand stream in our country, and even the government is pushing STEM Learning for children with its new guidelines in the NEP 2020 (National Education Policy 2020). The new guidelines say schools and educational institutes must have a learning system that is more goal-oriented and practical. This will nurture the children toward concept-building and practical thinking. ThinkerPlace has been successful in implementing the same in several schools across the country.

    StartupTalky extends its gratitude to Mrs. Deepti Sharma for dedicating her valuable time and generously sharing her insights with all of us.

    Explore more Recap’23 Interviews here.

  • Driving Growth: How Branding and Marketing Can Transform a Kids Toy Brand

    This article has been contributed by Deepti Sharma, Director, ThinkerPlace.

    Today’s digital world makes having a strong online presence essential for any business to succeed. This is especially true for ThinkerPlace. The brand encourages kids to learn beyond books, and in this exciting journey, they learn to make their own gadgets and implement theoretical concepts in real life. ThinkerPlace tries to tell this story to its target audience with effective branding and marketing strategies. Such strategies are crucial for connecting with the target audience and sustaining success and customer loyalty.

    Strategies for Transforming Your Brand

    It’s important to understand the role branding and marketing play in business growth. Here’s a look at the strategies ThinkerPlace implements to grow its online presence, which can help you transform a kids toy brand:

    Defining the Brand Identity

    At the heart of every successful business is a well-defined brand identity. To establish a toy brand, defining a brand identity involves much more than just a logo and color palette. It’s about crafting a unique story and setting that resonates with the values and interests of parents, educators, and most of all, children. The name, slogan, and objective of the brand should promote a love of learning and curiosity in kids.

    Connecting with the Target Audience

    To target a wide range of ages, it’s essential to understand the target audience’s needs and preferences. Market research gives valuable insights into what parents and children want, allowing for the tailoring of products and messages accordingly. Surveys, polls, and social media interactions help build a connection with our audience and create a community around the brand.

    Building an Engaging Online Presence

    In today’s digital world, it’s not enough to just have a website. To reach potential customers, one must leverage different channels and platforms. Popular social media sites, like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, showcase the brand, from eye-catching visuals, tutorials, and interactive games to happy customer testimonies. Plus, maintaining an active blog on the website can help establish the brand as a leader in STEM education and foster better connections with the audience.

    Content Marketing for Education and Entertainment

    ThinkerPlace’s goal as a STEM DIY toy brand is to provide value to its customers beyond just advertising its products. Content marketing enables the brand to offer informative, entertaining content related to STEM, DIY, and educational tips for parents and educators. This approach helps a brand position itself as a reliable source and maintains the audience’s interest, driving organic traffic and potentially increasing sales.

    Leveraging Influencer Marketing

    Influencer marketing with mom bloggers and parent influencers who share a zeal for STEM learning helps boost the brand’s reach and credibility. These influencers, with their massive following among kids and their parents, introduce the brand to new audiences and create a sense of excitement and buzz about the products. Such collaborations bring a variety of user-generated content that enhances the brand’s credibility and impact.

    Implementing SEO Strategies

    Many online businesses are using SEO to grow their online businesses, and it is very effective at driving traffic organically.

    “We also optimize our website with relevant keywords, meta tags, and backlinks from credible sources to increase our visibility online and attract organic traffic,” said Deepti, Director, ThinkerPlace.

    This strategy helps achieve higher rankings in Google search results and drives overall growth by organically reaching potential customers.

    Email Marketing Campaigns

    Email marketing is a great way to stay in touch with existing customers and attract new ones. By categorizing the email list, personalized content and offers are sent to both existing and potential customers by ThinkerPlace, increasing the chance of conversion. Sending regular special offers, newsletters, and new product launch information helps with brand recall and building a loyal customer base.

    Analyzing Customer Insights

    It is important to analyze what you have already worked on to boost a brand’s online marketing. A brand must regularly analyze data and monitor KPIs. One can use Google Analytics, social media analytics, and sales data to gain customer insights into their shopping patterns, preferences, and much more. This analysis helps to optimize ad campaigns and strategies and make decisions on what other strategies to look forward to.

    Conclusion

    Wrapping it all up- An awesome brand and strategy is important for taking the online business to the next level. Creating a brand that aligns with the interests and preferences of the target audience and staying ahead of the game with compelling content, influencer marketing, SEO optimization, and email marketing are some of the important strategies. These strategies help create a unique story that resonates with the target audience. Like ThinkerPlace, in this dynamic world of education, it’s essential to stay committed to enhancing problem-solving skills, critical thinking, creativity, and imagination in kids and introducing them to futuristic skills like robotics, coding, automation, electronics, IoT, and much more.

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  • What Is the Potential of AI and Tech Startups to Transform the STEM Industry?

    This article has been contributed by Deepti Sharma, Director, ThinkerPlace.

    Artificial intelligence has fundamentally changed how we do our jobs. Our reliance on AI has made life easier and more ingrained in our culture as a whole.

    We used to rely solely on Google to provide us with information, but now we ask AI to do our work for us. The question that we must all ask is: How will it affect the next generation?

    In the STEM sector, entrepreneurs in AI and technology are quickly changing how we study and approach STEM subjects. STEM education is a crucial part of education systems worldwide as it prepares students for a rapidly evolving workforce.

    Artificial Intelligence’s impact on STEM learning and education, in general, has been up for debate and discussion for quite a long time now.

    Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are the four key academic areas that are highlighted. Historically, lectures, books, and experiments have been used to teach these subjects. STEM education is evolving, though, with the rise of AI and digital businesses. Innovative tools and methods are being used by AI and tech businesses to improve STEM education and make it more open to all students.

    To improve instruction and learning quality, several AI technologies are applied in STEM education. Because of its complexity, it is currently difficult for AI technology to make STEM learning simpler for students. To accomplish high-quality STEM learning, one must carefully take into account these complicated elements because there are many important concepts involved.

    AI technologies can help students develop crucial skills like cognitive thinking, problem-solving skills, creativity, and more. Many articles and statistics report good efficiency and algorithm accuracy when AI is used in STEM learning.

    Statistics on How AI Will Transform the STEM Industry

    Now let’s take a look at how AI will transform the entire STEM industry with some statistics:

    1. The International Federation of Robotics estimates that the number of industrial robots installed worldwide will reach around 3.1 million units by 2025, driven in part by advancements in AI and machine learning.
    2. GitHub’s “2022 State of the Octoverse” report states that the use of machine learning and AI on the platform grew by 200% in 2022, indicating a rising trend of AI adoption in software development.
    3. A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) suggests that AI technologies can contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, with the largest impact expected in the manufacturing and engineering sectors.

    Potential of AI in the STEM Industry

    • AI offers enormous potential for automating routine, repetitive jobs, freeing scientists, engineers, and researchers to concentrate more on innovative work. Another way AI and tech entrepreneurs are changing the STEM sector is by developing new tools and technology that are fundamentally altering how research and development are carried out. To analyze enormous datasets and spot patterns and trends that would be challenging for people to spot on their own, AI-powered techniques are now being deployed. This is causing discoveries in industries like healthcare, where artificial intelligence is being used to create novel cures and treatments for illnesses.
    • In sectors like manufacturing, where robots can complete jobs quickly and accurately, AI-powered automation also increases productivity.
    • AI assists in analyzing and gaining useful insights from enormous datasets as a result of the growing amount of data being generated. As a result, predictions and decisions can be made with more accuracy. Machine learning algorithms can spot patterns, correlations, and trends in data that humans might overlook.
    • In addition to revolutionizing the STEM sector, AI and IT entrepreneurs are also generating new career prospects. There is a rising demand for individuals with the skills necessary to create and manage these systems as more businesses adopt AI and other cutting-edge technologies. As a result, there are more positions available in disciplines like data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
    • Personalized Learning: AI can revolutionize STEM education by providing personalized learning experiences. Intelligent tutoring systems can adapt to individual students’ needs, pacing, and learning styles, offering tailored instruction and feedback. This personalized approach enhances students’ understanding and engagement with STEM subjects.
    • AI and technology startups are also supporting emerging technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) that make STEM learning more immersive and engaging. With VR and AR, students can experience complex concepts and scenarios that would otherwise be an impossible task. For instance, students can explore the human body, the solar system, or even the intricacies of a molecular structure in a virtual environment. This approach to learning makes it easier for students to comprehend complex concepts, leading to better learning outcomes. “Even at ThinkerPlace, we are bringing in innovative AI-driven toys for kids, through which they get a rich and fun experience of STEM learning,” says Deepti Sharma.
    • AI and technology are also working towards gender equality and bridging the gaps in STEM education. Historically, STEM subjects have been a male-dominated field, and the industry has struggled to attract women and people from diverse backgrounds. However, AI and technology startups are leveraging their innovative approaches to make STEM education more inclusive.

    Conclusion

    Overall, AI has the potential to revolutionize the STEM industry by automating tasks, personalizing learning, enhancing data analysis, advancing research capabilities, transforming healthcare, improving engineering processes, and addressing complex challenges. It empowers scientists, engineers, and researchers to push the boundaries of knowledge and innovation. The potential of AI to improve STEM is seamless. It can help the industry go beyond and excel in innovations that no one had ever thought of.

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  • Director Deepti Sharma Highlights ThinkerPlace’s Focus on Independent Toy Making in India

    StartupTalky presents Recap’22. This is a series of interviews in which we conduct in-depth discussions with founders & industry leaders to understand their growth in 2022 and their predictions for the future.

    STEM DIY projects for children can help to develop their critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity skills. These projects also allow children to discover and explore their interests in STEM fields. Additionally, some STEM DIY (do-it-yourself) projects can help children develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

    It’s important to note that it’s not necessary to have advanced knowledge or skills in STEM fields to conduct STEM DIY projects with children. There are many resources and tutorials available online, and most of the projects can be done with household materials or inexpensive materials that can be found at craft stores.

    Developing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) skills in children is important because it can help to prepare them for the future and for the increasing number of jobs in STEM fields.

    The Ed-tech industry has seen significant growth in recent years, as technology continues to play an increasingly important role in education. According to a report by Grand View Research, the global ed-tech market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 7.5% from 2020 to 2027.

    For this Interview, we invited Deepti Sharma, Director of ThinkerPlace, and we talked about the growth, challenges, insights, and future opportunities in the e-learning industry.

    StartupTalky: Deepti, what does your company do? What was the motivation/vision with which you started?

    Deepti Sharma: ThinkerPlace aims to create a dynamic STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) universe for kids. We make educational STEM DIY (do-it-yourself) toys that introduce various futuristic skills to them like robotics, coding, automation, IoT, and more.

    Presently, with technology being constantly updated and innovations every day, there is a high demand in the STEM industry for skilled and professional individuals. To fill in this increasing demand, a base in STEM from an early age and a career-focused education is very important. This is where ThinkerPlace comes in. We want to be the first point of contact for children and parents when
    it comes to the introduction of S.T.E.M and its infinite possibilities through our DIY educational toys.

    StartupTalky: What is/are the USP/s of your products?

    Deepti Sharma: ThinkerPlace offers a 360 Degree STEM learning experience along with DIY Toys. All our STEM DIY (do-it-yourself) Kits come with the Learning Management System which is a fun-learning platform where kids can learn many innovative skills like robotics, coding, automation, IoT, and more. With various instructional videos and 3D animations, kids can understand the various aspects of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) easily and also have a lot of fun while making the toy. Children also get expert guidance from our STEM experts when they face any problems during the learning process.

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    StartupTalky: How has the e-learning industry changed in recent years, and how has your company adapted to these changes?

    Deepti Sharma: In the past few years, the government had increased import duties on Chinese toys. We are associated with different vendors across India. We always aimed to Make in India and independently make and manufacture toys in India.

    Deepti Sharma: Our research team rigorously keeps tabs on the latest toys that are launched in the market. After thorough research, they do various product tests in terms of its function and design and analyze what is working in the market and what kids will love to play with.

    StartupTalky: What key metrics do you track to check the company’s growth and performance?

    Deepti Sharma: We use various key metrics like website visitors, conversion ratios, social media engagement, repeat customer rates, sales engagement, etc.

    StartupTalky: What were the most significant challenges your company faced in the past year and how did you overcome them?

    Deepti Sharma: We are very stern about the ideology of “Make in India”. From conceptualizing to physically producing all parts of the toys and their dispatch nationally and internationally – everything is done in India. To achieve this at a national level, we have faced a lot of challenges but the results have been great.

    StartupTalky: What are the different strategies you use for marketing? Tell us about any growth the hack you pulled off.

    Deepti Sharma: We use various channels for marketing like Digital Marketing which is one of the most popular and effective channels to reach your target audience. Apart from that we regularly host workshops with different schools to enhance STEM Awareness. We also set up stalls and kiosks for various events and
    schools to reach our target audience and analyze what they like and what they don’t. We recently collaborated with Jio TV and Padhega Bharat to spread the roots of STEM Learning to about 50 Lakh households.

    StartupTalky: What are the essential tools and software you use to run ThinkerPlace smoothly?

    Deepti Sharma: We use tools like CRM software, accounting software, and Adobe Suite.

    StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in the e-learning industry in India and the world? What kind of difference in market behavior have you seen within states in India?

    Deepti Sharma: The future of STEM is bright. It is an in-demand stream in our country and even the government is pushing STEM Learning for children with its new guidelines in the NEP 2020 (National Education Policy 2020) The new guidelines say it is necessary for schools and educational institutes to have a learning system that is more goal-oriented and practical. This will nurture the children toward concept-building and practical thinking. ThinkerPlace has been successful in implementing the same in several schools across the country.

    StartupTalky: What lessons did your team learn in the past year and how will these inform your plans and strategies?

    Deepti Sharma: We faced a few challenges when we started like researching and developing unique products that the target audience will like and launching a product line that will do well in the market. Another challenge that we faced was scaling up & optimizing various digital channels to reach our target group.

    StartupTalky: How do you plan to expand the Customers, product, and team base in the future?

    Deepti Sharma: Currently, ThinkerPlace is working on expanding its client base to reach the level of preschools. We have developed unique products that are well-received by children belonging to the preschool age. The launch has been pretty successful so far. ThinkerPlace has become the only company in India that provides S.T.E.M-based educational DIY (do-it-yourself) toys for preschoolers. We are also working on developing new and innovative toys to cater to a wide age group of 3 years to 14 years.

    We recently collaborated in Nigeria to set up The Rehla Academy Makerspace (TRAM), a STEM Innovation hub at The Rehla Academy, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria in partnership with TechGen Africa. We are planning to expand to other countries like the UAE and the USA to set up STEM Innovation Labs for kids. We are also working on setting up STEM labs in different schools across India. The concept behind STEM Labs is to introduce children to the complex concepts of science technology, engineering, and mathematics in a fun and exciting way.

    StartupTalky: One tip that you would like to share with people reading this article who want to get into entrepreneurship.

    Deepti Sharma: I have always believed in learning from shortcomings. My mantra is ‘Learn Fast, Fail Fast, Move Fast’. If you fail at one thing, move on to your next solution. Never stop even if you fail, there is always a chance to start from the beginning.

    We thank Deepti Sharma for spending her valuable time and sharing her learnings with all of us.

    You can read other Recap’22 Interviews here.