The Spark

In an era dominated by mindless screen time and short-form dopamine hits, Varun Duggirala and Pooja Jauhar noticed a widening gap in early childhood development: Emotional Intelligence (EQ). While traditional edtech focused on STEM, the “soft skills” of empathy, resilience, and self-awareness were being left to chance.

Leveraging their backgrounds in content and brand building, the duo founded Emomee. Their thesis was contrarian: don’t fight the screen; transform it into a “micro-story universe” where storytelling serves as the delivery mechanism for mental well-being. They weren’t just building another content app; they were building a structured curriculum for the “internal world” of a child.

The Climb

The transition from content creators to platform builders was the ultimate “Hard Thing.” Scaling a content-heavy business requires balancing high production quality with the unit economics of a subscription app.

The breakthrough came with their pitch on Shark Tank India Season 5. While many kid-focused brands struggle with parental trust and high CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost), Emomee’s narrative-driven approach resonated as a “need-to-have” rather than a “nice-to-have.” They successfully secured ₹2 crore in funding, validating their model of storytelling-based micro-learning. This capital injection marked their shift from a bootstrapped vision to a venture-backed scaling machine, aiming to capture the massive but fragmented Indian parenting market.

The Model

Emomee operates on a content-as-a-service model, specifically optimized for high retention through episodic engagement.

  • The Wedge: Free “Micro-Stories” that address immediate parental pain points (e.g., handling a tantrum).
  • The Hook: A gamified “Story Universe” where children earn rewards for completing emotional exercises, turning EQ development into a habit.
  • The Moat: Proprietary IP. Unlike generic educational apps, Emomee owns its characters and narrative arcs, making the experience non-commoditized and difficult to replicate.

The Future

Post-Shark Tank, Emomee is expanding its reach beyond direct-to-consumer app sales. The goal is to become the operating system for emotional health in schools and homes across India. By integrating AI-driven insights, they plan to provide parents with real-time data on their child’s emotional progress, moving from subjective storytelling to objective developmental tracking. The screen is no longer the enemy; it’s the bridge to a more mindful generation.