NORTHAMPTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tinkergarten, the leader in outdoor play-based learning, announced today that it has closed a $21M investment from WndrCo, a holding company that invests in, acquires, develops, and operates consumer technology businesses for the long term. Tinkergarten’s vibrant community and research-based curriculum is designed to help children develop the social and emotional, physical and cognitive skills they need to be ready to learn throughout their lives and to help parents learn to support their child’s development. Tinkergarten’s technology platform enables families to connect with certified, local teachers who bring the curriculum’s unique, play-based lessons to life in natural learning environments.
The investment comes from WndrCo, founded by media and technology veterans Ann Daly, Sujay Jaswa, and Jeffrey Katzenberg who have built brands like Disney, DreamWorks, and Dropbox. Tinkergarten will leverage both capital and expertise to scale the company’s offerings for long-term growth, with an immediate focus on launching Tinkergarten in more cities and to further develop Tinkergarten as a trusted global brand in early education. WndrCo partners Daly, Anthony Saleh, and Andrew Chang will join the board.
Tinkergarten was founded in 2012 by Meghan and Brian Fitzgerald with a mission to elevate childhood. Meghan brings deep experience in education to Tinkergarten as a former teacher, curriculum developer and school leader in both public and private sectors. By blending her skills with those of her husband Brian, who has developed high-growth online consumer businesses for companies like Yahoo and Audible (an Amazon company), the pair developed the educational program and technology tools that make it possible to help children develop a range of critical life skills. Today, Tinkergarten programs are offered in all 50 U.S. states, and Tinkergarten boasts a tech-enabled network of nearly 2,000 leaders trained to deliver healthy, social, and engaging learning experiences to families with kids ages six months to eight years.
“Children today have greater access to technology yet spend half as much time outside than their parents and have fewer opportunities to play,” said Brian Fitzgerald, co-founder and CEO. “Tinkergarten has grown an active, diverse community of families who connect with our incredible leaders in the real-world and leverage our curriculum to learn through joyful play. The team at WndrCo brings tremendous experience, access and strategic guidance in delivering high quality experiences that will help us achieve great scale while positively impacting the lives of children and families.”
“Tinkergarten provides a unique and thoughtful way to engage with children in their early learning that is different from anything we’ve seen,” said Daly. “We share Tinkergarten’s vision to positively impact the way in which children learn and grow across the world and look forward to accelerating the organization’s growth.”
Tinkergarten continues to be supported by its early investors Omidyar Network, Owl Ventures, and Reach Capital.
About Tinkergarten
Tinkergarten®, the leader in outdoor, play-based learning, is on a mission to elevate childhood. We’re growing a technology-enabled network of leaders that bring families together in a local greenspace for classes in which kids learn through play. Tinkergarten lessons are engineered to help kids develop a range of essential physical, cognitive and social-emotional skills, helping them become ready to learn, ready to thrive and ready for anything. Tinkergarten classes are led by certified leaders who are trained to bring this healthy, social, and engaging learning experience to families of kids ages six months to eight years old. A rapidly expanding movement, Tinkergarten classes are now offered in over 1800 locations across 50 states. Tinkergarten is making high quality early childhood accessible to all. Learn more or nominate a leader today in your community at http://www.tinkergarten.com, and follow @tinkergarten.
About WndrCo
WndrCo is a holding company that invests in, acquires, develops and operates consumer technology businesses for the long term. Founded by media and technology veterans Ann Daly, Sujay Jaswa, and Jeffrey Katzenberg, WndrCo is co-headquartered in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Please visit www.wndrco.com for more information.
