Every week we feature a new startup at Fundsup that forces a radical breakthrough. This time we chat with Michiel Kalverda, CEO of Too Much Info.
Read the Dutch version on Emerce.
Too Much Info…, what exactly are you doing, Michiel?
Making people media savvy! Today’s news platforms are no longer regarded as trustworthy and simple facts are more and more disregarded. People live in their own online filter bubbles and get manipulated through algorithms, targeted advertising and rabbit holes. Through education, TMI wants to create awareness of these problems and pose solutions on how individual people can operate in an online environment. We aim to create a level playing field wherein everyone is equipped with a healthy dose of media literacy.
Where do you see the main application of your solution?
For now, we are targeting high school students. They are the most susceptible to online manipulation and essentially derive their self worth from online platforms. This is why they need to be guarded against the potential dangers and opportunities which social digitization brings. Aside from high school students, we are also aiming to widen our target groups and include primary schools and secondary vocational education. However, it is not just students that we would like to focus on. We also see a lot of potential in including parents – to help them understand the online environment where their children spend a lot of time.
“We aspire to equip everyone to be able to sense when something is fake news.”
What is the impact of your business?
Ultimately, our impact is that we provide our youth with a healthy dose of scepticism regarding our institutions, without disregarding them completely. We aspire to equip everyone with the skills to sense when something is fake news or to realise when they are being phished via sketchy emails or texts. Another important aim of ours is to reduce cyberbullying to a minimum. When new technologies, hypes or dangers arise and get into the mainstream we want to be able to distribute “cyber-safety” knowledge as fast as possible.
Where do you stand right now?
Presently we have around 50 schools in our client base, at which we carry out our project weeks on media literacy. Since last year, we have an amazing digital learning platform where our students can do media-related exercises. The platform entails all sorts of fun and educational tools, like exclusive video content (including thrilling storylines) and a game box that is filled with energizer games. Since we went live in August 2020, we had around 2.1k students on our platform. We signed our first few contracts for our digital-only product in February 2021.
When are you planning to go to the market?
As a matter of fact, we already are on the market! As for now, we’ve sold 700 licences, but by the end of 2021, we expect to have sold around 25.000. Via the CJP, which offers a culture budget for schools, we have arranged a starting licence for 10 euros per student.
“Our aim is to reduce cyberbullying to a minimum.”
Who has invested in you and what kind of investors are you looking for?
Ideally, we are looking for investors who either have experience with a SaaS product or are familiar with Edutech companies. Additionally, we would also like to widen our target audience by finding investors who have experience in sales for education.
What would be the ideal investor match?
We would like our match to internalise our collective goal and believe system and to believe in the solutions that TMI provides. Furthermore, our ideal investor is in there for the long run. Not for a quick profit, but for a steady revenue flow or a long term exit. As a company, we are young and driven. We strive for innovation but we know we can also learn a lot from contemporary knowledge. Experienced investors are one of the ways in which we can attain that knowledge so we can innovate but at the same time not make the mistakes of other companies.
Best of luck with everything!
Thanks, check out our pitch deck in the Fundsup app: https://api.fundsup.co/go/VPUrYZO-Z