Roominate facts for kids
 |
|
| Industry | Toys |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | |
Roominate is a cool construction set toy that lets you build and create! It was first made by a company called Maykah Inc. in 2012. This company was started by two smart women, Alice Brooks and Bettina Chen.
Roominate toys are made for girls, usually aged 6 to 10. They have plastic building pieces that fit together. You can use these pieces to build all sorts of models. The sets also come with special circuits that you can wire up. This lets you add lights or motors to your creations!
The company first got money to start from a website called Kickstarter. Later, Roominate got a big investment from famous investors Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner. This happened when they appeared on the TV show Shark Tank. In 2016, a toy company called PlayMonster bought Roominate.
Contents
How Roominate Began
Founders and Early Ideas
Alice Brooks and Bettina Chen are the people who created Roominate. They met while studying engineering at Stanford University. They were both working on their master's degree there.
They had an idea for a new toy. To get money for their first toy, they used Kickstarter. This is a website where people can donate money to help new projects start. They asked for $25,000 but ended up raising an amazing $85,000!
In 2012, the team joined StartX. This is a special program that helps new businesses started by Stanford students. They also worked with a group called EdForward. This group helped them make learning guides for the Roominate kits. These guides helped kids learn while playing.
Appearing on Shark Tank
Roominate became even more famous when it was on Shark Tank. This was in the first episode of Season 6. On the show, they got a big investment. Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner invested $500,000 in their company. For this money, they got a 5% share of the company. This helped Roominate grow even more!
What Are Roominate Products?
Building and Learning with Roominate
Roominate sells nine different toy sets. These sets have different amounts and types of building pieces. They also have various circuit parts. Tekla Perry, a writer for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, called Roominate a "STEM" toy company. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This means Roominate helps kids learn about these important subjects while they play.
Jenn Choi, writing for Forbes magazine, said that Roominate sets are great. She noted that the design makes it easy to add other materials to your play. This means you can use things from around your house to make your creations even better! This makes Roominate toys even more fun and valuable.
Joshua Gans, also from Forbes, wrote about his family's experience with Roominate. He first thought it might not be very exciting. But then he found that the motor could be used in many different ways. This made the toy much more interesting for his family. Jennifer Alsever from Inc. magazine even put Roominate on a list of top toys. She said they were great for "next-generation inventors."
