We were lucky to catch up with Alexander F.L. Newberry recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alexander , appreciate you joining us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea
My background is private tuition. When I started I had no training or experience, so I was led by what I felt the student needed. Around 2012 I had a student with severe pressure sensitivity. She was later diagnosed as ASD, but at the time no one realised and I was desperately looking for ways to keep her happy and engaged during class. At one point we were throwing tennis balls off the wall to each other and counting! Anyway, almost in desperation one day I decided to try and connect dice rolling – which I’d always found fun – with math questions. Spontaneously, I tore up some paper, wrote questions on each piece, folded them, wrote numbers on the back, and then asked my student to roll. Whatever number she rolled, that would be the piece of paper she opened. This simple layer of gamification really changed the dynamic, and I realised I was on to something.
Alexander , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Alexander F.L. Newberry. I’m the founder of Numberella World, a learning universe based around stories and games. I got into teaching because having been blessed with a wonderful education, I felt like I had something to give back. I was drawn to one to one tutoring as I believe it to be the ideal way to teach, having experienced it myself at Oxford University.
I have taught around 16,000 hours over 14 years. From early on in my career I have been guided by the principle that a student who is enjoying themselves will learn more quickly and efficiently. I have developed products which facilitate that, such as Numberella Deluxe, and the Numberella Mathematics book range.
The problem Numberella solves is engagement. If you offer kids learning math at school the chance to ‘work’ (think do sums on a worksheet) or play, they will almost always choose play. At that point, you need a game which delivers the same, or greater, amount of math as the worksheet, but without the students feeling that they’re working.
AND WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE SETS NUMBERELLA APART FROM OTHER COMPANIES?
What sets us apart from other companies is that Numberella Deluxe delivers a ton of math, and has genuine educational value. It has complex gamification mechanisms which create an immersive play environment, which requiring almost constant math. No other game in the market place offers that. There are plenty that require math, but none that disguise it so it feels like a pure game.
Another unique thing about Numberella Deluxe is that it levels the playing field by leveraging luck. In all other math games, the best mathematician wins. In Numberella Deluxe, you also need to be lucky to win – so often, the best mathematician doesn’t win as luck is arbitrary. This means that kids of different abilities all enjoy playing Numberella Deluxe, and a whole class can enjoy the game. That changes the way they think about the subject.
Once kids change the way they feel about math, they try harder at it – and as soon as that happens, they do better. I’m proud of that. Math is so important in life, and not enough kids get good at it – leaving them disadvantaged for their whole lives.
It really sounds like a game changing product. But tell us, how did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
At the time I was developing Numberella Deluxe, one of my students did very well in her exams. Her Dad was very grateful and took me out for lunch with the family. Whilst I was there I showed him an early prototype of Numberella Deluxe and he was intrigued. He told me to call him if I ever wanted advice. A few months later we had lunch, and he became a mentor, and eventual angel investor in the business. My other angel investor is one of my oldest and best friends. He invested in the business because he believed in the game, but also because he is an incredible person who will do amazing things for his friends.
Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?
My first trade show was BETT, in London, in 2017. I took a tiny little booth through BESA (British Educational Suppliers Association.) With almost no real estate and about 30 other micro businesses in the same area, I wondered how to get noticed. I had the idea of using helium balloons. I got my logo printed on them put them on my stand. Back then, no one else had thought of doing this (it later became so commonplace that helium balloons were banned at many shows). It worked a treat! I lost count of how many people said, “I saw the balloons.” I did 114 pitches in 3 days (I counted the business cards I received) and one of the people I spoke to was Susan Wells of Tech Terra, who invited me to present at ISTE in San Antonio Texas. That was where I had my big break, getting into a school in Georgia – and the whole Numberella story kicked off as a result.
Contact Info:
- Website: numberella.club
- Instagram: @numberellaworld
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/numberella.club
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-f-l-newberry/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/numberellaworld
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9x0_wEdWelyb0KZfF7IflQ