Creating MoBoo has been a long-time dream for me. In the mid-2000s, while working on professional products at CLCD, I often told friends, "We help find great books for children because we know a lot about books". This intrigued many moms, who would then ask where they could find CLCD or how to use it. Unfortunately, I had to respond, "We only make products for professionals and educators", which usually ended the conversation. Sometimes they would say, "But you must have something for parents".
At the same time, I was raising a child and advancing my career as a software development manager. Yet, the idea of creating a product for parents kept resurfacing. In 2009, when I found some free time, I began developing a product called eKitab. I still own the domain name, eKitab, which means "book" in Farsi. The initial concept of eKitab closely mirrors what MoBoo has become today: a tool to encourage children to read more by helping them find great books that match their interests and reading level. Although MoBoo now has many advanced features, the original vision of eKitab is still at its core.
My passion for travel also contributed to MoBoo's creation. When visiting a new city, my family and I enjoy immersing ourselves in the public transport system to experience local life and discover places frequented by residents. I wanted to develop a product around this idea and planned to launch a website called CityTrain. One of the key developers on this project, Kranthi Gajjala, shared my mindset, and working with him was a pleasure. Although CityTrain didn't take off, I found a valuable partner in Kranthi.
I brought the idea of eKitab to Kranthi, and we discussed it for a year. It became clear that we needed to license critical data from CLCD to make MoBoo a reality. I began discussions with CLCD's owners, but when we acquired CLCD in 2011, all the pieces for MoBoo started to fall into place. It took several more years to stabilize CLCD into the successful company it is today.
Very early we decided to use the well-integrated CLCD development team and to boot-strap the MoBoo development. It meant slower progress but still we could create a new product. In 2018, we tested an early version of MoBoo with potential customers and learned from their feedback that it wasn't quite ready. After more updates, we showcased the product at TechCrunch and planned additional improvements. COVID-19 pandemic added a new hurdle required us to refocus and stabilize CLCD. After addressing its effects and adding free books, we now believe we have a complete product.
After all the effort, I am thrilled to tell parents, "We can help YOU help your children improve their reading". MoBoo is everything we hoped it would be, and we are excited to bring this product to families everywhere.
Dr. Ajay Gupte
President, MoBoo