What started off as a school project has now turned into a side business for Bradford native Danielle Baxter.
Baxter and her two classmates Jess Dassanayake and Sydney Terry recently launched BinoBooks, customizable e-books for children to help them learn about complex topics such as body image, consent and COVID-19.
The idea for the business came about in spring 2020 when the Queen's University classmates had to come up with a business idea as part of the Queen's Innovation Centre Summer Initiative program. The program brings together teams of entrepreneurs to help develop ideas, hone skills and refine business plans. At the end of the program, the teams compete for a chance at winning the grand prize funding to help launch their business.
The name BinoBooks comes from the word 'binoculars' and the idea of taking a closer look at important issues affecting children.
For the project, the women wrote and illustrated a book about COVID-19 to help teach children about the complexities surrounding the virus. At the end of the program in August 2020, the three classmates were pleasantly surprised when their business idea won the competition, receiving $20,000 in funding to officially launch.
Over the past year, the women have been working on their first digital book, 'Humans Can't Fly, But They Can', which will focus on body image and what bodies can do, instead of what they look like.
"Body image felt like a good one because we could relate from when we were children, and talking to parents it seemed pretty relevant still," said Baxter. "I still haven't digested it (the topic of body image) myself as an adult."
This is the first of many books the women have planned to publish. Baxter says the books will be a good way for parents to engage in discussions on important topics with their children.
"When you're a kid, you're learning it through your parents and relationships, but it's not always the easiest to sit down and talk about," said Baxter. "I think the big thing for us is to think of it as a tool to build those soft skills and empathy in kids."
What makes BinoBooks different than other customized books on the market is that theirs are all digital with greater character customization options.
Customers can build the main character by giving them their own name, pronoun and unique look. Baxter says it's important for children to be able to recognize themselves in the stories to make them more relatable.
With the $20,000 funding received from the school competition, the women were able to hire a professional illustrator, Devika Oza from Toronto, who has created the book's illustrations and will be creating the customized characters in each copy.
We are building technology so you can build it like a BitMoji to represent your kid," explained Baxter. "She (Oza) nailed it! We learned a lot from her because we aren't illustrators."
When working on the project in summer 2020, the women had discussions with parents and teachers to find out what topics they find most difficult to talk about with their kids. Some of the ideas included things like serious illness and death.
From these conversations, the women have been able to build up a bank of ideas for their next few projects. One of the next books will be about the loss of a pet.
Customers are able to pre-order a copy of the book, but won't be able to receive it until the women reach their Kickstarter crowdfunding goal of $5,000.
The women were inspired by the Kickstarter campaign for the e-books, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, featuring 100 bedtime stories about the life of 100 extraordinary women from the past and the present, illustrated by 60 female artists from all over the world.
"We wanted to kind of draw on that and see if we could build some community and traction through doing a Kickstarter," explained Baxter. "Our goal afterwards is to have everything available (to purchase) on our website."
The Kickstarter campaign runs from Dec. 4 to Jan. 4.
"If we hit our $5,000 goal, then people who backed us on Kickstarter will get their rewards which will be the book," explained Baxter.
Baxter attended W.H. Day School and Bradford District High School. Her first time away from home was in 2015 when she went away to Queen's University to study environmental science.
Baxter currently works full-time in the financial industry at a company that helps with the accounting for small businesses. BinoBooks is her side hustle, that she works on in her spare time.
To learn more, visit the BinoBooks website here.
To sign up to get a copy through the Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, click here.
