Vobble aims to take children on a screen-free audio adventure

Multiple studies, books, and articles have revealed the profound effects that excessive screen time has on children's cognitive, language, and social-emotional development. No one knows how much tech is too much tech, but two visionary women, Neha Sharma and Sowmya Jagannath, decided to offer a healthier alternative. 

During the pandemic, both mothers were concerned about their children’s increased screen time when they desperately started searching for solutions. In September 2022, they decided to quit their jobs and launch Vobble, a screen-free audio entertainment platform that offers an immersive storytelling experience to kids aged 4-10 years.

Vobble releases new content, including story series, music, audio shows and kids’ podcasts, every week. These are either created in-house or in collaboration with renowned publishers like HarperCollins, Scholastic, Hachette, and Amar Chitra Katha. 

“We believe in the power of audio to captivate children's minds and provide a much-needed break from the screen, thereby fostering their love for listening, learning and imagining,” says Neha Sharma, Co-founder and CEO of Vobble.

The startup shot to fame after an appearance on Shark Tank India Season 3 where it got a commitment of Rs 25 lakh from Emcure Pharmaceuticals’ Executive Director Namita Thapar. “The reality television show amplified our reach, allowing us to advocate for the benefits of audio on a national stage,” Sharma says.  

Earlier this year in March, Vobble raised $1 million in its seed funding round, which was led by early-stage VC fund Lumikai, with participation from Blume Founders Fund and angel investors.

What retention means for kids

Retention for an audio platform goes beyond just numbers. It necessitates that listeners find value and joy in what the company provides while engaging with their content regularly. 

Vobble understood the importance of retention even before it had launched. “Unless children spend time engaging and listening to our content, our mission of reducing screen time can never be realised,” says Sowmya Jagannath, Co-founder and CEPO of Vobble. 

“We saw a strong correlation between frequent use and longer subscription periods. Even parents of returning users were more likely to upgrade and recommend us, which naturally led us to prioritise retention to drive sustainable growth,” she adds.

The support from over 100 parent influencers, coupled with heartwarming testimonials from thousands of users, is testament to the impact Vobble is making.

Levelling up with WebEngage

The WebEngage Startup Program has been instrumental in shaping Vobble’s retention marketing strategy, providing access to sophisticated tools for user segmentation, engagement analytics, and automation. 

“The most valuable part of the programme was its support in understanding user behaviour patterns at a granular level. We learned how to track and respond to user signals, making our messaging and engagement more personalised and timely,” Sharma says.

WebEngage’s product suite helped Vobble build a coherent retention marketing approach aligned with its broader goals of fostering engagement, loyalty, and ultimately, brand trust. 

“Features like automated workflows, A/B testing and segmentation helped us develop targeted, behaviour-driven campaigns that kept our users engaged without overwhelming them. By aligning these efforts with our business objectives—like subscription renewals and user satisfaction—WebEngage has been a key partner in helping us retain our core audience,” Sharma says.

Key learnings

One of our Vobble’s biggest insights has been the importance of building a predictable content calendar that kids can look forward to and parents can rely on. This simple but powerful approach has helped drive engagement significantly. 

Another lesson has been the power of direct feedback loops. “We’ve benefited immensely from surveying parents to understand what they like or would like to improve,” the co-founder and CEO says.

“We’ve also learned that personalised recommendations based on user behaviour greatly improve engagement. Offering kids more of what they love—whether it’s stories in a favourite genre or themes they resonate with—has been highly effective in keeping them invested in Vobble,” she adds. 

Retention has become a cycle of listening, learning, and adapting at Vobble.

The road ahead

Vobble is focused on building a product exclusively for children, one that they love and get obsessed with. The co-founders also plan to take the brand global in the coming years.

“In addition to dramatised storytelling, we are now looking at investing in a unique device powered with proprietary tech and AI-driven interactive and personalised content to make each child’s experience unique and magical,” Sowmya says. 

With each player in the fragmented yet flourishing landscape of Indian OTT vying to carve out a distinctive space among the digital audience, can Vobble craft its niche with audio content for children? Let’s wait and watch.

This story is the ninth in a series called Retentioneering, where new-age startups share with us their experience of working with the WebEngage Startup Program and how it helped them with various retention efforts.