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Entrepreneur Samantha John took her company, Hopscotch, to the Sharks on ABC’s Shark Tank to see if she could get an investment from one of the entrepreneurs.
According to the episode synopsis, the entrepreneur “presents her fun educational app to help kids learn coding.”
The entrepreneur pitched her innovative product to Sharks Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Daymond John, Lori Greiner and Kevin O’Leary.
Here’s what you should know about Hopscotch on Shark Tank:
1. Hopscotch is an Educational App
Hopscotch is an educational app that teaches children ages 10-16 years old how to code. The app also uses bright, video-game-like sequences to keep children engaged in what they’re learning.
The company website explains that one of the other things that Hopscotch does is allow children to experiment and learn.
“There are no mistakes, just opportunities to explore,” the website reads. “With Hopscotch you’ll discover new questions and answer them yourself. You can’t make a syntax error so you are free to explore your wildest ideas.”
2. Samantha John Attended Columbia University
According to the company website, Samantha John attended Columbia University and fell in love with computer programming while attending college.
“Since then, she’s been on a mission to introduce every kid to this amazing skill,” her biography on the website reads. “She’s been influenced by the likes of John Holt and Ivan Illich and cares deeply about empowering kids to learn on their own.”
The site continues, “She hails from the proud city of Detroit and can probably beat you barefoot in a marathon.”
3. The Company is Run by Parents, Scientists and Educators
According to the Hopscotch website, the team behind Hopscotch is made up of parents, scientists and educators.
The biographies on the website point to each member of the team having plenty of leadership and coding experience.
The team is made up of Samantha John, Ana Handley, Nazarí González, Liz Robuck, Ankita Kundu, Rodrigo Tello and Jocelyn Leavitt.
4. Hopscotch Offers a Way For Educators to Introduce Coding in Just One Hour
Hopscotch offers a program called the Hour of Code, which helps parents, teachers and educators teach children about coding. According to the site, the Hour of Code does not require that parents or educators have any background experience with coding.
“Each easy-to-teach lesson is designed for kids ages 8 and up. K-12 curriculum These fun activities will be sure to capture your student’s imagination, expand their creativity, and teach them key programming concepts,” the website reads.
The first activity offered in the hour of coding allows parents and teachers to get their children engaged in a way that would be funny for them while also allowing students to develop important programming skills.
5. Hopscotch Offers a Seed Developer Program
Hopscotch doesn’t only want to teach children to code, but they also want to ensure that they are rewarding those people for learning new skills. The first seed developer program took place in fall 2020 when 15 children were selected.
According to the website, the group of children received support and guidance from the Hopscotch team for six weeks. They ended up launching 13 games on the platform.
Tune in to Shark Tank to see if Hopscotch is innovative enough to get a deal from one of the investors.
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