Shoelace Learning was founded with the goal of creating educational games for early childhood development.

The company launched their first title in 2014: Squiggle Park, which is a learning platform created for children of all ages to develop pre-reading skills through practice and play. Their learning platform offers bite-sized video games that are designed to be played both in the classroom and at home, providing teachers and educational institutions with an interactive platform where children can learn and develop their skills in a way that makes learning engaging and fun.

In 2019 Shoelace Learning launched their second game: Dreamscape to critical acclaim. Dreamscape, like Squiggle Park is a learning tool, this time aimed at a slightly older demographic (Grade 3-6).

The Company has seen steady growth since it was founded in 2015. Today it has well over 3 million current users, and their products are available in over 160 countries.

Imaginal’s involvement

Imaginal was brought on early in Shoelace Learning’s lifespan to support the company to scale effectively by providing business advisory services.

The Hurdles

Shoelace Learning had a great concept and needed help with creating and documenting their growth strategy and communicating their vision. They knew they wanted to grow but creating a solid plan and prioritising what was needed would be difficult when they had never scaled a company before. They came to Imaginal with the request for support in understanding how to prioritise functional roles and how and when to shift structures, roles and tasks to fit the needs of the business on an ongoing basis.

Processes and systems were implemented, and Imaginal coached Shoelace Learning through their growth plan. Imaginal’s services integrated both the business mechanics and human dynamics to build efficiencies, trust and a shared vision across their entire Company.

Moving Shoelace Learning from a Profit and Loss Model to an Asset Based Model was a major step in being able to scale and leverage their desired impact and give them the tools they needed to amplify their most valuable asset: the people within it.

The Goal and Steps to Achieve Them

Imaginal worked with Shoelace Learning to understand how to create an environment where collective capability, trust and self-responsibility could function in tandem, they were then able to ensure that every decision they made moving forward was a conscious one.

Imaginal helped Shoelace Learning shift their focus from surviving to a place where they were truly thriving. It is within this space where a company has the required space and confidence to put more focus on asset growth.

Working closely with Shoelace Learning, Imaginal’s founder Dorothy Spence guided and supported the Company through the implementation of the Conscious Business Operating System. Shoelace Learning were then able to build their systems and processes to support their rapid growth, while building collective capability and trust amongst their team.

The Results

Shoelace Learning’s Squiggle Park, and their newest release Dreamscape, have doubled the number of users. They have continued to nurture the systems and structures developed with Imaginal and are now able to focus their efforts and resources on new ways to grow and create the impact they set out to achieve.

Want to know more about Shoelace Learning and their educational programs Squiggle Park and Dreamscape? Check out their website here!