Skillmatics plans to grow brand globally, launch innovative products

Most parents today want to move their children away from mindless consumption of content on television or computer screens and, instead, engage them in educational products that are more activity-oriented.

Dhvanil Sheth, who was a consultant with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), saw his sister doing the same with her kids and realised that there was a global need for new and innovative products for children that would help them build core skills for education and social interaction through active play.

Thus was born Skillmatics, which Sheth founded in October 2016. The Mumbai-based company has recently raised about $2 million funding from Sequoia and a few other angel investors.

Skillmatics develops innovative educational products and games designed to instil in children aged between three and 12 years skills ranging from mathematics to language to science and logic — all through systematic play.

“Our products enable parents to build core foundational skills in their children and set them up for future success through the joy of play. Skillmatics products are based on five key design principles — innovative concepts, engaging content, repeat utility, great quality and attractive pricing,” said Sheth.

The company claims that it has a vertically integrated supply chain with in-house manufacturing to rapidly iterate, launch and scale new products while other players source their products from third parties. Skillmatics also works with product designers in the US, integrating best-in-class design expertise in learning aids, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) products and educational games with India’s competitive manufacturing costs and content creation expertise.

Currently, Skillmatics sells its products globally in more than 15 countries through its own website, e-commerce marketplaces and through an international network of more than 3000 retail stores. Incidentally, the company has become the first Indian brand to retail from the Hamleys toy stores all over the world.

With its primary focus on the Indian and the North American markets, Skillmatics has already hit a revenue of $1 million and sold over 500,000 units. “We are a profitable start-up and grew 400 per cent since 2017 year-on-year. Going forward, we are looking to grow our revenue by 10X in the short term,” Sheth said.

“The global market we are going after is $100 billion. The market opportunity is very large and the competition is fragmented,” Sheth added. 

The other global players in this space such as Lego, Learning Resources, Mellisa & Doug, Early Learning Centre as well a host of smaller start-ups have already made their presence felt.

After the infusion of new funds, Skillmatics plans to grow its brand globally, launch innovative products and expand its team.