Welcome back to LaunchVT’s monthly content series where we shine the spotlight on past participants, coaches, and community partners from the LaunchVT family. This month, we heard from Akshata Nayak, the founder of 2022’s Audience Choice Award winning business, Little Patakha. Little Patakha is a childrens’ book, toy, and media company that aims to “spark curiosity and introduce kids to diverse worlds.” We asked Akshata to answer some questions about her experience participating in last year’s accelerator and what the future holds for her startup. LaunchVT Coach Nicci Micco also weighed in on what it was like being involved in the program last year.
How did you come up with the idea for your business?
It started with a small idea.
I wanted my daughter, Ava, to learn my native south Indian language of Konkani. I decided to make a book for her since she loved to read. While customizing the book so both Ava and my husband could learn the language together, I realized I could use these ideas to create Indian language and cultural resources making them accessible to anyone who might be interested and so, the seed of Little Patakha was sown in 2020.
However, as the year wore on, the summer ushered in an incredible racial justice movement. It had its origins in horrific situations and the message was powerful and inspiring. Combined with a growing us-versus-them ideology that was spreading across the country, it made me think of my own experience as an immigrant and the mother of a little biracial girl. And I understood that Little Patakha had to be about more than just my own identity or culture.
If I was going to create media for children, I wanted Ava and others to accept the often differing and intersecting identities of those around them so they can be rooted in confidence while seeing others for their true selves. I looked for books, games, and other age-appropriate media that promote this and while I found a few wonderful books and toys, I didn’t find any that would grow with them and their abilities while staying focused on these ideals.
The research I came across stunned me!
Five years old. That is the age by when biases about race, gender and culture set in. If left unaddressed, these social biases can last into adulthood. But research also shows that inclusive messaging can change these attitudes in under a few weeks.
This information has been in the public forums for decades, and still we have more children’s books with animals as the main characters than all the minorities combined. And boys are twice as likely to be the heroes while girls are twice as likely to use magic to solve problems rather than their knowledge or physical abilities.
Having witnessed how deeply children search for characters and stories to identify with, I saw what was missing. And that is how Little Patakha became what it is today — a children’s brand that offers books, games, toys and other media to spark curiosity, celebrate differences and shatter stereotypes through diverse representation. We highlight shared experiences that exist no matter what you look like, where you come from, or who you are to create a deep sense of belonging and community, which is authentic inclusion.
What year did you participate in LaunchVT and how has your business changed since then?
Little Patakha was part of the 2022 LaunchVT cohort among a host of other wonderful businesses.
At the time, we had launched two Indian language learning books in 2021 to fit in with the original idea of Little Patakha but had recently pivoted to address the need for authentic inclusion with the development of Different Fits, a mix and match jigsaw puzzle that helps kids look beyond stereotypes when it comes to the professions they can choose when they grow up as well as Unstoppable Me affirmation cards that teach kids amazing things about themselves as well as how they interact with others. With both launches, we had found success in crowdfunding on the Kickstarter platform.
LaunchVT helped me understand how to talk about this new Little Patakha, who the customer was going to be and how I was going to get our products in their hands. It was an intense couple of months as I had to rethink everything I had planned up until that point and answer tough questions about the brand and product. From being a brand aimed at a niche segment of society, Little Patakha has broadened to offer products that are still missing from the market – those that use diverse characters to highlight our shared experiences rather than just focusing on individual identities.
What’s the most important thing you learned from LaunchVT?
In addition to the full redo of brand identity, customer profile and sales strategy, LaunchVT taught me two things:
To truly believe in the name of the brand – Little Patakha, a small firecracker that can have a big impact. Being chosen for LaunchVT was exciting and scary at the same time. I saw the other companies that were in the cohort and felt small with a huge case of imposter syndrome. In my mind, obviously it was only a matter of time until people realized they had made a mistake in accepting my application.
Far from all this, I received nothing but encouragement from Lauren Bass, the Executive Director, Nicci Micco, my mentor, the advisors and others involved in the entire operation. People were willing to take meetings with me and answer the most basic of questions about brands, customers, accounts and so much more without making me feel judged in any way. And I soon realized that it didn’t matter that I was starting from scratch again; what did matter was where I was headed, and I could see my goal crystal clear.
To ask for help – The step by step work I did at LaunchVT and witnessing the story come together gave me the confidence to reach out for help without letting the fear of rejection or disappointment stop me from making progress.
What advice would you give to anyone who wants to launch or has recently launched their own start up?
First, have faith in your idea and yourself, and not necessarily always in that order.
Second, talk to people about your work and find ways to talk to those not involved with your industry. This is the only way you will learn how to put your story together in a simple manner without jargon. At the end of the day, your ability to tell your or your brand’s story is what will help you advance.
Third, ask. Whether it is a question or for help. More often than not, people are willing to help and if not directly, through connections they can make for you.
Fourth, a big part of running a business is about developing relationships. So be open, confident in what you know, curious in what you don’t and honest.
I would underline every single one of these in bold for women launching their businesses, especially women of color. Stand up, take up space and tell your story because every one of us doing this will help many others find their voices and confidence.
Please give an update of where your business is now and what’s next.
It has been an incredible year since LaunchVT. Little Patakha ended 2022 posting approximately 20% higher sales revenue than we projected and spent less money to get there! We are currently raising money for the business and have commitments from local funds. 2023 is the year we will build on our solid foundation to expand our wholesale reach across the country through sales reps and distributors. And most exciting of all is that we have 2 new products under development – both involved in making STEAM subjects more inclusive. I cannot wait to share this with all of you.
“The step-by-step work I did at LaunchVT and witnessing the story come together gave me the confidence to reach out for help without letting the fear of rejection or disappointment stop me from making progress.”
AND WHAT DID COACH Nicci Micco HAVE TO SAY ABOUT Little Patakha’S TIME IN THE LAUNCHVT ACCELERATOR?
Working closely with Akshata and Little Patakha as a coach for LaunchVT was a pleasure and a privilege. It was rewarding to support Akshata in areas where I had experience and insights to share—and just as fun playing matchmaker and connecting her to folks in my network who could inform her go-to-market strategies from a variety of perspectives.
I wasn’t surprised that Akshata took the Audience Choice Award on Demo Night, as she’s an incredibly dynamic storyteller with a mission—shattering stereotypes!—and a product line that the world needs. Of course, I was thrilled for her to receive this recognition, as the entire cohort was so impressive. I will be rooting for them all as they continue along on their entrepreneurial journeys. And I will be a fan and a supporter of LaunchVT for life.