Children love to be told stories, but it's easier to involve them in stories if they're in any way close to them. With this premise, the startup MiCuento offers personalized books for children in which they and their families are the absolute protagonists.
MiCuento has almost thirty stories, some of them original and others that are lifelong classics. With his proposal, the youngest members of the house can enter the world of The Little Prince, The Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs or his Best Seller, “I love you so much dad”.
Adults can choose the title they want and provide the information they are asked for (skin color, hair color, if they wear glasses or have any very characteristic features), a dedication and a photo of the child. Within 7 to 10 business days they receive the book in hardcover and illustrated in full color at the physical address specified.
Your Story
MiCuento is five years old. The company began its journey in 2015 at the initiative of Muriel Bourgeois, an education professional, and Javier Falco, a financial professional.
Both entrepreneurs met when Muriel was working on an educational project in Argentina. For his part, Falcó was at the time in an investment fund. Both thought it would be a good project to attract new readers and encourage reading.
The role of Intelectium
MiCuento received the support of Intelectium from the beginning of his life. The startup was owned by Intelectium Ventures, one of our investment vehicles, which usually finance early-stage companies and carry out 1 or 2 incubation programs every year. The company was incubated in our offices for a period of 6 months.
In addition, Intelectium has continued to provide support to MiCuento afterwards. This year, the startup closed a funding round of 2.5 million euros and led by the investment fund Impact Partners, in which we have participated as advisors.
The company has also relied on public and bank funding. In recent months, with the help of Intelectium, MiCuento has obtained a loan from the ICO and an ICF Cultura line.
Opportunity
One of the differential advantages of MiCuento, unlike other potential competitors, is the wide catalog it offers. Thus, the startup is not based on a single story, but can customize dozens of stories. This makes it easier to reach a larger number of consumers, both adults and children.
The fact that they are well-known stories also gives the project extra strength. In this regard, the startup managed to reach an agreement with the grandnephew of the author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the author's heir, to be able to use the emblematic story of The Little Prince adapted in his stories.
Another of its strengths is the variety of languages available for customization, which gives it the possibility to go beyond the Spanish and Spanish-speaking market. Currently all his books are available in Catalan and Spanish in Spain, Mexico and Argentina. In addition, several of them are translated into German, French and English.
