The Zoy Story: Who Are We?
We are so excited that you’re here and that you want to know more about us. This article tells our story – the Zoy story! Keep reading to discover who we are, the problems we are solving, our epic solution, our innovative team, and our approach.
Who is Zoy?
Zoy started with this simple equation: Story time + a little bit of research + 1 epiphany = Zoy!
Let’s dive into this “who we are” equation!
Our founders Afshin and Sahar are the proud parents of 2 boys. The importance of developing social and emotional skills has been right in front of them – there’s no getting around it. As many parents and caregivers do, Afshin and Sahar read stories to their sons before bed each night.
One evening, Afshin was reading a story to his sons before bedtime. He was taking a moment to appreciate that quality time he had with his kids. He realized that this time of day – reading stories – was his absolute favorite part of the day.
That night, instead of going to sleep a reasonable hour, Afshin stayed up to do some research. What he found started a snowball of ideas. He found out that a bunch of other caregivers felt the same way. Storytime was a unanimous favorite. He shared this discovery with Sahar, and she added a critical piece to the puzzle (or snowman, if you want to keep going with that image).
She mentioned the positive psychological impact that stories can have on children as they grow and develop. Together, Afshin and Sahar had an epiphany – what if they could create a resource where kids and caregivers can learn important social and emotional skills through stories?
Zoy was born.
They created Zoy to make learning social and emotional skills more accessible. Reading fun stories is the key. Social and emotional skills are closely linked with mental health. Zoy was created to build a fun platform that supports the social-emotional skills and mental health of both children and caregivers.
Zoy was created by caregivers, for caregivers. Afshin and Sahar have teamed up with a wide range of professionals and really talented authors to bring Zoy to life. We’ll tell you more about our awesome team in just a bit.
The problems
What problems are we trying to solve at Zoy? Both children and caregivers have unique struggles. We want to help make the journey of life easier to navigate.
It’s hard being a kid. They have to experience difficult emotions, handle under-stimulation and overstimulation, create relationships with others, and much more.
These struggles can be directly linked to social-emotional skills. What are those skills? In short, it’s how to manage emotions, be aware of yourself, make responsible decisions, and maintain relationships with others.
They are important skills that caregivers can teach kids. But that responsibility can be overwhelming. And caregivers have their own struggles too.
As a caregiver, you might deal with a lack of resources in some way – think time, money, or educational materials. You have your own difficult emotions to work through too. And you may battle the fear and uncertainty that comes with caring for a child.
We want to help with all of this. We really believe in the power of fun stories that build social and emotional skills. We want to support caregivers with resources so that they can support the kids they care for.
Our vision at Zoy is to be the leading resource to empower every child and guardian with the socioemotional skills to confidently navigate the journey of life.
Our solution
So what exactly is our solution?
We designed a fun, easy-to-use, and inclusive platform.
Our epic stories will live inside the Zoy Stories app. We are still working on these stories (you can’t rush fun!), and they will be available soon. We can’t wait to share them with you! You can join the waitlist on our homepage to get early access, discounts, and cool prizes.
Our Education Center is easily accessible from the app. It gives caregivers a place to learn at their own pace through articles, bite-sized blogs, and much more.
Zoy is a child-centered platform that supports the needs of caregivers. If you’ve ever been on a plane, you’ve heard a flight attendant say that if the oxygen masks come down, you need to put your own mask on before helping others. It’s hard to support a child when you don’t feel supported – so we made the first platform that does both.
Our Team
Our team is like a kaleidoscope of expertise. Here’s a quick list of what would be on our team’s professional name tags – if we had them.
Parent (yes – this is a professional role!)
Child Psychologist
Cognitive Scientist, Fellow at Association for Psychological Science, Yale Faculty
Early Childhood Teacher
Occupational Therapist
Outdoor Play-Based Educator
Social Worker
Best-Selling Author
Award-Winning Comedic Writer
Technology Professional
Our team members also have advanced degrees like PhDs in Developmental Psychology, and Master’s degrees in Human Behavior, Psychology, and Social Work. They are seriously smart cookies.
What’s our approach?
You could think of our approach like going on the best safari in the world. You need a safe and reliable expedition truck (and a great guide!) to see the incredible animals! The Zoy platform is that truck and we are your guide. Everyone is welcome on this safari, and the truck is accessible to all. The truck and tour have options for all abilities, schedules, and needs. It’s easy to join, and we’re here to guide you.
Zoy is inclusive, fun, and simple to use. Our approach is based on our company values.
We value inclusion and diversity. We value connection and fun. We value community and creativity. We celebrate that each family is different. We value open-mindedness and communication.
Let’s wrap it up!
We want to thank you for taking the valuable time to get to know more about us. We hope you giggled a few times while reading this too.
We would love to support you and the children in your life with powerfully fun stories and easy-to-use resources.
Join us in our mission to build a fun, child-centered, and inclusive platform to help caregivers raise the next generation of children with emotional intelligence and healthy minds.
