Interview with Afsoun Yazdian of GoGoLingo.com

Recently I was lucky enough to catch up with Afsoun Yazdian for an interview. Afsoun is the founder and CEO of GoGoLingo.com. GoGo Lingo is an online site offering second language teaching to children.

Adam: You began GoGo Lingo.com as a school project. How did the project develop into the business it is today?

Afsoun: I was getting my MBA and MA of Education at Stanford while I was developing GoGo Lingo. For the Education degree, I focused on using technology and interactivity to maximize learning and on teaching young kids foreign languages. Meanwhile, across the street at the business school, I was taking a lot of Entrepreneur classes and realizing that there is huge market potential and a large need for something like GoGo Lingo. I basically became obsessed. My friends would try to make plans with me and all I wanted to do was go to the library to work on GoGo Lingo. I was also fortunate enough to have wonderful mentors and an amazingly supportive fiancé who encouraged me to follow my dream. By the time we graduated, there wasn’t even a question that I would continue to develop GoGo Lingo into a business.

Adam: Where did the funding/capital for GoGo Lingo come from and how did you go about obtaining it?

Afsoun: I was able to raise private funding from several angel investors. Fundraising is never fun, especially as the economy was in late 2008 when I was fundraising. I didn’t go to raise money right away, which I think is why I was able to raise it. I wanted to make sure I knew exactly what I was going to do with the money before taking it. There were several friends and family members who took an interest in what I was doing. I would ask them for advice and keep them updated on my progress. By the time I reached the point when I needed to fundraise, many of these advisors had already decided that they wanted to invest in GoGo Lingo and me. For me developing relationships prior to fundraising allowed me to be much more successful.

Adam: You grew up speaking Farsi and English and studied Latin, Hebrew, Spanish and Portuguese. How much of your own experience of learning languages helped in developing the Playful Immersion™ technique?

Afsoun: My own experience of learning languages has been incredibly helpful in developing the Playful Immersion technique. We started with a lot research and theory on how kids learn languages but I was also able to put myself in the shoes of a learner to make sure that the way we were applying the knowledge actually works.

Adam: How many subscribers does GoGo Lingo currently have and what is your marketing strategy?

Afsoun: We are currently at the proof of concept phase with GoGo Lingo. We have built a wonderful tool that teaches Spanish to kids and want to continue testing to improve it. We are currently allowing for organic growth through partnerships with schools and word of mouth promotions through our loyal customer base. We also published a music CD that is available on Amazonand CD Baby. Having a physical product has allowed us to reach parents and kids who may not yet be online.

Adam: Do you think that e-learning has more to offer than traditional ways of teaching?

Afsoun: I definitely think there are a lot of benefits to e-learning but wouldn’t want to replace traditional ways of teaching. I see it as another tool in the arsenal to help prepare kids with 21st century skills. One of the benefits of e-learning is that you can create a more individualized program for kids vs. teaching to the average as you may have to do in a more traditional classroom setting. This was one of the focuses of GoGo Lingo. Our program and curriculum are adaptive, constantly tracking the child’s interactions to understand what they’ve learned and trouble areas so that we can present a tailor made curriculum. It’s incredibly effective in keeping the child engaged and challenged at the same time.

Adam: GoGo Lingo has a team of educators, gamers and researchers behind it. How did you go about bringing the team together and how easy has it been to ensure you all share the same ideals?

Afsoun: I’ve been incredibly fortunate to recruit a phenomenal team of experts to create GoGo Lingo. Everyone that has joined has been passionate about our goals of creating quality, fun educational entertainment that helps make the world a better place. We all can see the benefits that come when you teach Spanish to kids. Communication is key in helping to ensure that we all share the same ideals. I find that you can never over-communicate.

Adam: Previously you spent 7 years working in film development. What concepts did you learn from that experience that you have been able to apply to your own business?

Afsoun: GoGo Lingo is a story based game that kids get to play through and learn Spanish through the process. Unlike most other things out there for kids below the age of 7, GoGo Lingo is an experience somewhat like an interactive television show, which allows for a deeper level of engagement. My film development experience definitely taught me how to construct a great story. Also all of the project and people management skills that I picked up producing movies apply in producing games and music.

Adam: You enjoy travelling all over the world. Do you see GoGo Lingo expanding to offer different languages to diverse cultures across the globe?

Afsoun: Absolutely. That’s the goal. We have started with Spanish as proof of concept but will expand to other languages and countries soon. My vision is to foster compassion through communication and create a forum for kids around the world to be able to play with each other, speak to each other, and learn from each other.

Adam: You are clearly passionate about language and culture. How important do you think being passionate about a subject is in order to make a successful career from it?

Afsoun: I think when you aren’t passionate, it will just feel like work. However, I also think there are different aspects that you can get passionate about not just the specific field or subject matter. I happen to be passionate about teaching kids about the world. But I am also passionate about bringing an idea from a thought in my head to something tangible that people can experience. I think that you can get just as passionate about a process or experience as a specific subject matter.

Adam: What three pieces of advice would you give college students wishing to set up their own business?

Afsoun: Don’t give up. It’s an incredibly hard journey with a lot of ups and downs but if you believe in what you are doing then stick with it. If it was easy, then everyone would do it.
Surround yourself with great people, including a mentor. Having people that you trust help you is invaluable. It can be a very lonely experience so developing a good support group is key.
Be wary if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. People may try to take advantage of you, especially if you are young.