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FriendsLearn
Company typePrivate
IndustrymHealth
Startup
Founded2011
HeadquartersPalo Alto, California United States of America
Number of locations
2
Key people
Bhargav Sri Prakash, Founder and CEO
Productsfooya
Number of employees
14
Websitewww.friendslearn.com

FriendsLearn is a privately held Silicon Valley EdTech and mHealth startup company headquartered in Palo Alto California, USA.[1] The company was founded in 2011 and develops mobile health technologies, best known as the producer and developer of fooya!.[2][3] FriendsLearn is a pioneer in Neuropsychology based behavior design[4][5] and learnified[6] therapeutic entertainment.

Founding

The company was founded by Bhargav Sri Prakash[7] when he was a fellow of the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City. The United States Department of State and EducationUSA awarded FriendsLearn a contract to design and produce the world's first gamified application based on a track record of the founder's previous company in gamified student recruitment. "Your 5 Steps to US Study" was launched in 2012 and is distributed around the world by US Consulates and EducationUSA centers.[8] This "gamified" advising adventure is a cutting-edge immersion experience that allows international students to learn about the steps needed to study in the United States. This platform delivers information on new ways to help international students change their lives.[9]

Mobile Health & Behavior Design

FriendsLearn has produced and designed the mobile app fooya,[10] which is the product of the company's innovations in 'learnified' gaming and was presented at the 2014 Stanford MedicineX Conference[11] under a session titled "Scalable Behavior Design through Mobile Gaming". The session focused on scientifically validated mobile content platforms as possible solutions for global health issues, as well as a case study of fooya and lessons learned for digital health gaming. Fooya delivers a health and wellness platform aimed at addressing an awareness and behavior gap among children and young adults, pertaining to dietary-lifestyle choices and is a scalable solution to address the growing epidemic of childhood obesity and lifestyle diseases around the world. The impact of Fooya among 6th grade students in Houston (Texas) was measured through a study by Scientists at the Baylor College of Medicine's Children's Nutrition Research Center.

Health outcomes of clinical trials conducted by researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine's Children's Nutrition Research Center were presented at The Obesity Society's 2014 ObesityWeek Conference in Boston.[12]

In 2014, the company entered into a collaborative partnership with the 2014 ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp[13] and was used to promote healthy choices among middle school campers from across the United States.

The company was featured at the Bloomberg Next Big Thing Conference in 2013 as an emerging startup in health gaming.[14][15]

Fooya was first launched as a Facebook App in 2012 at the DEMO Conference in Silicon Valley[16] and successfully raised over $50,000 through a crowd funding campaign[17] via Kickstarter[18][19]

Reciprocity Wave

The Reciprocity Wave, a program conceived by Architect. Sheila Sri Prakash, is a Sculpture Competition where students create art work with recycled materials to sensitize the public about social and environmental issues that need immediate attention. Shilpa Architects have already conducted three such initiatives, two in Chennai [20][21] and one in Bangalore.[22][23] The most recent initiative at Cubbon Park, Bangalore,[24] brought to light various issues ranging from corruption to women's rights, and gained attention from the Bangalore Media for the powerful concept and impact that it created. Many of the leading daily's published a series of articles about the event and also covered the competition at length. The event also included a Health Gaming Championship involving fooya!, in partnership with FriendsLearn.

References

  1. ^ Cromwell Schubarth (31 May 2013). "FriendsLearn Show Food Fights can be Educational". Silicon Valley American City Business Journals.
  2. ^ "Feeding Health Tips through Gaming". The Hindu Business Line. 28 August 2013.
  3. ^ Alex Linda (22 March 2013). "Fooya the crowdfunded game from India to teach healthy eating". Gamification.co.
  4. ^ Stanford MedicineX (6 July 2015). "Neuropsychology based Behavior Design through Mobile Health Gaming". Stanford University School of Medicine.
  5. ^ Childhood Obesity Conference (28 June 2015). "Impact of a Neuropsychology based approach to behavior design through mobile gaming (pg 68)" (PDF). 2015 Childhood Obesity Conference.
  6. ^ Dean Takahashi (20 April 2012). "FriendsLearn teaches you through social and mobile games". Venturebeat.
  7. ^ Victor Rivero (6 February 2012). "You and Your Friendslearn: Interview with Victor Rivero". EdTech Digest.
  8. ^ Julie Blaustein (21 March 2012). "Ignition West 2012".
  9. ^ Martin Bennett (1 March 2012). "Your 5 Steps to US Study Facebook App Launched". Institute for International Education at the US Department of State.
  10. ^ Christina Farr (21 April 2012). "Game dynamics to tackle obesity". The Next Web.
  11. ^ "Scalable Behavior Design through Mobile Gaming". Stanford. 4 September 2014.
  12. ^ 2014 ObesityWeek Abstract Book (2 November 2014). "A Nutrition Education Mobile Game Impacts Snack Selection in Middle School Students" (PDF). The Obesity Society.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ 2014 Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp (1 June 2014). "A Partnership for Healthy Choices in Youth". The Harris Foundation.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Bloomberg Live. "Hot Technology Companies from Silicon Valley". Bloomberg.
  15. ^ Bloomberg. "Startups Pitch to Investors". Business Week.
  16. ^ "FriendsLearn Launches Facebook 'Food Fight' as Part of 'Hot' Social Apps Presenting at DEMO Spring 2012 in Silicon Valley". Yahoo. 20 April 2012.
  17. ^ Dean Takahashi (17 March 2013). "FriendsLearn wrapping up it's Kickstarter with Push in to India". Venturebeat.
  18. ^ "fooya". Kickstarter. 21 March 2013.
  19. ^ Rajeev Mehta (22 February 2013). "FriendsLearn Launches Online Game 'Fooya' to Address Global Health Issues". Lots Buzz Times.
  20. ^ Express News Service (5 March 2013). "Reciprocity Wave art competition". The New Indian Express.
  21. ^ Chief Correspondent (11 March 2013). "Artistry flourishes in Reciprocity Wave's second venture". Chennaionline. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  22. ^ Nandini Sundar (2 October 2013). "Being the change". The Hindu.
  23. ^ DHNS (2 October 2013). "When Creations from Castaways Had Messages". Deccan Herald.
  24. ^ Event Images, Reciprocity Wave at Cubbon Park, Bangalore
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