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Melissa Cash is the Co-founder and CEO of Pok Pok, a montessori-inspired collection of digital toys that spark creativity and learning through open-ended play. Prior to Pok Pok, Melissa spent a decade working in marketing and design roles, helping Snowman drive 9-digits of downloads across its game portfolio and designing physical products at Disney.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(05:46) Creating a Montessori inspired game
(12:18) Why it's impossible to avoid screen time
(15:35) Designing a non-addictive product
(17:38) Monetizing a non-addictive game
(21:47) How to price a subscription game
(24:18) Using new features to drive retention
(26:04) Marketing a kids game to parents
(30:59) Why Pok Pok waited to launch Android
(34:12) How getting pickpocketed in Germany led to a job designing products at Disney
(39:23) How great products can define a childhood
(43:21) Lessons from having a great idea while working at Disney
(46:03) First coming up with the idea for Pok Pok
(49:00) Advice for starting your first company
(50:10) Fundraising tactics from Pre-Seed to Series A
(54:08) How to build your network from zero
(57:08) Getting the most out of Slack groups
(59:07) Melissa’s hack for in-person events
(01:01:33) Tactics for meeting people at events
(01:03:39) Winning multiple Apple design awards
(01:07:07) How to get press for your startup
(01:13:17) Prioritizing getting women on Pok Pok’s cap table
(01:18:38) Strategies for staying creative
(01:21:58) Melissa’s influencer marketing hacks
(01:24:24) Lessons from failed influencer campaigns
(01:28:19) Growing 5x YoY, adding STEM content
(01:30:28) What surprised her about starting a company
Referenced:
Try Pok Pok for 50% off an annual subscription with code POKPOK50: https://apple.co/3XAGSwT
Snowman Studios: https://www.builtbysnowman.com/
Hampton Private Founder Group: https://joinhampton.com/
VC Backed Mom’s: https://www.vcbackedmoms.com/
The Peel Podcast episode with Eric Newcomer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXH_peQWtnc
More on Pok Pok’s Series A: https://techcrunch.com/2024/06/18/now-a-series-a-startup-kids-app-and-digital-toy-pok-pok-is-coming-to-android/
