About Us
In a nutshell, we’re in business to provide screen-free family entertainment.
As parents ourselves, we are determined to help parents empower their children to develop their creativity and emotional awareness by giving them access to a wide range of songs, music, and stories.
It’s magic at their fingertips!
Way back when in 2014,
a dad named Theo felt music was a key ingredient in the life of his kids but he was getting frustrated with DJing all the time. All of his music was online, but he didn't want to hand over his smartphone and increase his young childrens' exposure to screens. So, Theo teamed up with friends Will and Pieter, and after some serious labor, Jooki was born.
In summer 2016
they presented their idea to the world through Kickstarter. After launching a successful campaign, the trio started production. In November 2017, the shipping to their backers on Kickstarter began... just in time for Christmas. A few months later the long-awaited Spotify integration was announced and Jooki became the go-to for parents keen to share music and stories with their kids!
After winning a few prestigious awards and following Jooki's initial success,
the father trio decided to improve their design. Always striving for the best, the dads wanted to improve on their first design. This meant creating a faster, lighter, more accessible Jooki, which retained all of its initial magic: ToyTouch® technology with the popular figurines, new colorful tokens, and an improved app for parents.
Early 2021,
Christine Brendle joined Jooki as CEO to contribute her experience in media brands management and international growth. The team has been busy with the release of the second generation as well as developing the next series of Jooki products and services.
MEET THE TEAM!
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Will Moffat
“I love sharing experiences with my son, but I never felt comfortable letting him use my phone. So when Theo suggested starting a company to create the Jooki, I jumped at the chance. I’ve already been through the startup experience in San Francisco and after a fun stint at Google, I was ready to dive back in.”
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Christine Brendle
LinkedIn ProfileJooki’s CEO, Christine Brendle, joined in early 2021, bringing a wealth of expertise in digital content production and monetization. Christine has experience as managing director in media B2B and B2C in Europe, the US and Asia Pacific. She held senior management positions with Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal and Hachette Filipacchi, before turning to Ed-tech start-ups and assuming board positions in Europe and Asia.
All along, Christine has taken a particular interest in promoting diversity and gender balance in business. She was a mentor of the Women’s Foundation and the Women Media Networks in Asia. As a working mom herself, she well understands feeling time-poor and the demand for products and services that nurture children’s seeds of potentiality.
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MICHEL TOMBROFF
LinkedIn ProfileChairman of the board, Michel was previously CEO of Softkinetic from 2007 to 2016 and is currently Venture Partner at SPDG Ventures as well as a board member of several European startups. Michel’s 30-year experience took him to Silicon Valley, London, Paris and Brussels. He managed start-ups, pre-IPO and public companies in the technology sector and is familiar with all aspects of companies operations. As CEO from 2007 to 2016, Michel led the acquisition of Softkinetic (3D camera technology) by Sony Corporation. He grew Softkinetic revenue to EUR 40+ million, raised EUR 25+ million, managed 100+ staff in the US, Europe and Asia. He established several strategic partnerships in particular with Intel, Texas Instruments and Sony.
Michel is also a celebrated abstract and conceptual artist, inspired by mathematics, philosophy and logic.
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Pieter Palmers
“When I saw the first Jooki prototype, I knew that this is not only a fun project for a maker, but it’s also a great answer to a personal need. At home we speak Dutch and I want my daughters to listen to stories and music in our language. That content exists, but it’s not easy to find and is actually quite expensive. We’re on a mission to help parents to easily access their traditional treasures.”
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Theodore Marescaux
“I got the idea for the Jooki when I had to take my phone out for the fifth time to play the same song over again for my three-year-old daughter. At home all our music is digital and I saw that our kids had lost the ability to independently explore music and stories. When I was their age, I could just put on a CD or cassette. That freedom and charm of physical interaction with media has largely disappeared.”