Sofia Ghachem Fenichell '86 is an entrepreneur and the founder of Mrs Wordsmith, a publisher and game developer that creates illustrated and animated literacy and vocabulary tools for children and students ages 3 to 13. The company's products include the best-selling Storyteller's Illustrated Dictionary and Word-a-Day stand. On July 15, Mrs Wordsmith will unveil a new app - a 3D word game for ages 4 to 8 called the Epic Word Adventure, as well as My Epic Life Dictionary and Word-a-Day printed products, and a line of fun literacy card games. The company's mission is to teach more words to every child in the world. Fenichell wants Mrs Wordsmith to become the Pixar of Literacy - its products are illustrated by a team of award-winning Hollywood artists. The words are selected using a data engine that identifies the most academically-relevant words in the English language by age.

Fenichell is Tunisian but grew up in Saudi Arabia, moving to the United States so that she could attend boarding school. "I had the Preppy Handbook," she explains, "so that was my first taste of boarding school life. Then we did our research, and I applied to several schools, and was accepted at Hotchkiss, Exeter, Andover, and Choate. My brother, Malick '89, eventually followed my steps to Lakeville."

Hotchkiss has always been known for its strong English and language program, and Fenichell found it to be a great fit. "My love of reading developed in the Hotchkiss classroom, where we had wonderful discussions around books; this often continued into the dormitory rooms. We read and discussed so many books! To me, this is what education should be about, not rote learning and the constant taking of exams."

Fenichell received her B.A. in history from Northwestern University in 1990, and though she had aspirations to become a writer, she found it hard to find a writing job. She decided to try her hand at advertising and worked at that for a bit. "But my parents, who were classic immigrants, told me that advertising wasn't a 'serious' job and pushed me toward graduate school. They wanted me to be a doctor, lawyer, or banker. My father used to wait tables in Tunisia and would bring home a newspaper instead of tips - he wanted to educate himself, move to a different country, and create a better life. He always had big ambitions for me, too." So Fenichell decided to pursue an M.B.A., enrolling in the Columbia Business School. "Once there, I realized how much I loved business, technology, entrepreneurship, and the creativeness found within these fields, and I went into banking."

For more than a decade, Fenichell worked as a tech and media analyst for companies that included Merrill Lynch, Caxton, Morgan Stanley, and UBS, while concurrently starting a family. At Caxton, she was voted Best Buyside Analyst across all sectors by Institutional Investor and Extel. "I learned that industry change is a constant, and companies can live and die by it. Innovation is about execution as much as it is about ideas. This honor, given to analysts who added the most value and insights to investors, was meaningful as it meant that my clients valued my judgments."

In 2014, she launched her own product, Wonder PL, the world's first curated video platform for quality lifestyle content. She recalls, "Wonder aimed to be the premium short-form video content provider in the industry." Fenichell dabbled in a few other projects such as beginning a children's book, writing a television script called "Silicon Sally," launching an advisory firm called Beetle Capital, and a video app company called Rockpack. All this business background culminated into the experience Fenichell needed to start Mrs Wordsmith. "I would never have been able to start a company if I hadn't gone to business school and spent a decade in finance as a tech analyst. That, along with my other experiences, taught me how to read industries. Ultimately it led me to identify a gap in the market for Mrs Wordsmith and to apply creative business ideas to what is a rather antiquated sector - improving language and literacy skills."

The impetus for starting Mrs Wordsmith was personal for Fenichell. "I wanted to help my own children become better writers. As someone who recognizes the value of good writing, I immediately began to research ways to bolster their vocabulary. But I was shocked by the poor quality of educational materials available for the language-learning industry - poorly conceived, low-quality visuals, with many products that had very old copyright dates such as 1969! The more I dug around, the more I realized that the sector was dominated by large publishing houses that underinvest in data-driven curation and high-quality content. All the investment and creativity was going into video games and entertainment. So, I was determined that Mrs Wordsmith would become the Pixar of Literacy."

With a firm goal of making learning both fun and memorable, Fenichell's company recognizes that in a time of student-centered learning, youth are more than ever before in the driver's seat in terms of guiding their own educational path. "And nothing motivates youngsters as much as having fun and enjoying the process. Students are more likely to remember and recall information if there is an emotional connection, so we began with a vocabulary program, as words are the building blocks of knowledge. I am a huge advocate of research-based education, and the research suggests vocabulary development is key to academic success. We identified the 10,000 most academically-relevant words by working with Ian Brookes (former editor-in-chief of The Chambers Dictionary), Ted Briscoe (NLP Professor at Cambridge University), and a data science team that analyzes language, using pattern recognition and statistical analysis to identify the words that everyone needs to learn. Further, the research hugely supported the use of enticing illustrations. A picture is worth a thousand words, and if you can engage a child, you own the learning pathway."

Fenichell did a lot of research to find the right illustrator. "I wanted someone who was relevant to children today. To me that was a 'Hollywood'-style Pixar or Dreamworks artist. I started cold-calling Hollywood artists and everyone said, 'You need to talk to Craig Kellman,' who is the Hollywood artist behind the blockbusters Madagascar and Hotel Transylvania."

Ironically, Mrs Wordsmith uses some successful old-school approaches to address the shorter attention spans of today's youth, offering a print dictionary (though not your typical print dictionary), vocabulary cards, and workbooks. "These tools are effective, and there is something about print. It's tactile, right there in front of you, and research suggests that this isn't likely to change any time soon. But the times also demand digital products, and so far, digital versus print books is about a 50-50 split. That said, we are launching our Epic Word Adventure app this month, so stay tuned. It's Minecraft for vocabulary!"

Launched in 2016, the company is among the fastest-growing startups in the UK. Products such as the Word-a-Day series, and See it!-Stick it!, an interactive sticker workbook, accelerate children's reading and writing skills, teach them English, and make them happy. Mrs Wordsmith's independent studies show that their products increase a child's vocabulary by 50 percent over six weeks. "Our newest book is the My Epic Life Dictionary, which is a 200-page Richard Scarry-style wordbook for kids ages 4 to 8. You can get the book free with the Epic Word Adventure app."

Mrs Wordsmith has raised $11m from investors, including US edtech, specialist Reach Capital, the London-based venture capital firm, Kindred Partners, and the Chinese venture capital firm, Trustbridge Partners. Fenichell is already eyeing overseas markets. "Our aim is to help as many children as possible to learn more words. Ultimately, we want Mrs Wordsmith to become as popular as Scrabble or Monopoly."

Fenichell credits her parents for "taking the plunge that brought us to the U.S. so that we could attend Hotchkiss. It was very difficult for them, and we should always remember that immigrants come to the States wanting to build a better life, and they arrive full of hope and renewal. They imbue the country with this spirit, and it forms the very fabric of entrepreneurship. At Hotchkiss, I learned that books matter. And people matter. These lessons have stayed with me."

"If you have a child or grandchild aged 3 to 13 and care about words, check out MrsWordsmith.com. And if your school or charity is interested in getting our products at a discounted price, please email me directly to help us close the word gap."

sofia@mrswordsmith.com