“Education without boundaries” might sound like a “fantasy.” In recent years, many internet startup companies have failed in the early childhood education sector. In 2020, can the early childhood education industry “give rise to” new platform-based internet companies?
Moremom was established in 2018 and received 5 million US dollars in Pre-A round financing in 2019. This year, it launched the innovative “Teachers to Your Home” service. To date, Moremom has employed over a thousand early childhood education teachers in cities like Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Chengdu. In Beijing alone, hundreds of families have used its personalized education services. Recently, Na Yao, the founder and CEO of Moremom, stated in an interview with West China Metropolis Daily that “Moremom deeply integrates into the early childhood education industry supply chain and the internet platform for home education services, demonstrating its value to the early childhood education industry.”
Applying Core Elements of Teachers and Teaching Plans to Various Scenarios
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted various industries, and the education sector for children aged 0-6 has been particularly affected. In response, Moremom conducted a survey and found that nearly half of early childhood education institutions in Beijing had closed or were about to close by the end of June.
Amid these challenges, Na Yao began to contemplate, “What is the core of education?” Both the teacher resources and parent demands in the education industry desire more flexible and innovative new education products. Na Yao further explained, “The education industry is beginning to rethink whether investing heavily in offline institutions and renting large venues is worthwhile. Should we seek lighter operational models? Can traditional classrooms be more flexibly transformed into family living rooms, community parks, etc.?”
The pandemic has accelerated the rise of online childcare services, but is this just a short-term need? How can Moremom address the challenges brought about by the recovery of the early childhood education industry in the post-pandemic era? According to Na Yao, as long as the core elements of teachers and teaching plans are applied to various scenarios, many new types of education products can be generated. For example, in living rooms, combining “teachers, teaching plans, and home settings” can create small, intimate classes. In communities, using “teachers, teaching plans, and local resources” can offer community childcare and private tutoring. In parks, inns, and scenic spots, integrating “teachers, teaching plans, and outdoor settings” can lead to outdoor activities and weekend camps. Additionally, educational and recruitment resources can be integrated to enhance learning experiences.
Standardization is the Basis for Personalized Education
Based on successful cases in ride-hailing and food delivery platforms, many internet companies entering the education industry have directly copied these development models. However, ride-hailing and food delivery are high-frequency, low-cost services, while education is viewed by many as low-frequency, high-cost services, hence the idea of “education without boundaries.”
Na Yao explained, “When all production elements (teachers, teaching plans, recruitment, guidance, and venues) are placed on the platform, education services become ‘high-frequency, low-cost.’” She gave an example of personalized education: while parents’ orders might be low-frequency, the daily usage of educational products is high-frequency. Parents can schedule teachers and pay for classes as needed, making education services more frequent and affordable.
Will Personalized Education Lead to Repetitive Homogeneity?
From its inception, Moremom positioned itself as an industry internet platform in education, not just an information and transaction platform. By deeply engaging with the supply chain, Moremom standardized and modularized each production element. Just like stacking standardized blocks, parents can “assemble” online education products tailored to their children’s needs.
Na Yao believes that “personalized education is built on the standardization of educational modules, allowing for greater flexibility.”
During the interview, Na Yao reiterated the concept of “scenarios.” The internet’s development is heading in two directions: one is extreme AI and intelligentization, making human interactions more distant; the other is scenario-based, enhancing human emotional interactions. She prefers the latter.
Talking about Moremom’s vision, Na Yao stated, “The core of education is combining excellent service with quality content.” The Moremom platform provides teachers and core educational elements, allowing users to combine various modules and tailor education products according to their needs. We hope every child can enjoy personalized education, creating a diverse offline school using internet methods.”