Fredericton Entrepreneur Wants To Be The Dr. Seuss of Math
FREDERICTON — Business owner Ben McFarlane is making memorizing multiplication facts as fun as reading fairytales.
His company, Three Two One Learning Inc., makes multiplication story cards. On each card is a rhyming story that revolves around a math fact.
McFarlane got the idea from one of his two daughters. One day when he was helping her do homework, she mentioned she uses stories to help memorize math facts.
“I’ve always thought that multiplication facts and division facts in flashcard form were too similar,” said McFarlane.
He set out to make something that had other qualities to differentiate the facts. His daughters did their best to help, one coming up with the idea to hide the multiplication answer in the image on the card.
“They both give me a lot of support,” said McFarlane. “A lot of emotional support and ideas.”
McFarlane wrote 30 short stories for his cards from September to mid-January. His illustrating team, Bhumi Loupito, made those stories come to life.
“It’s only been six months and I’ve got a really nicely finished product,” he said.
With 30 decks, McFarlane is currently testing to market and fine-tuning the product for its first commercial run.
“If they remember the image, if they remember the rhyme,” he asked. “Will they still be able to remember the equation?”
McFarlane has found research to support that semantic memory, or the retrieval of facts that have no day-to-day relevance is impaired in some children. Having stories to bring meaning to math would be perfect for learners like this.
Teachers that McFarlane has talked to are interested to learn more.
“It’s got to be teachers, it’s got to be parents, and ultimately it’s consumed by a student,” he said. “So, the student experience is what we are trying to change and make better.”
This focus on students is evident when looking at the cards. They are colourful and eye-catching with characters from all around the world.
“That’s why I needed illustrations that really had a magic to them,” said McFarlane.
Stories are funny or scary to engage kids as they are flipping through this deck.
“They all have a little weirdness to them, a little bit of character,” he said.
This is what makes them unique from what is on the market right now.
“A lot of people learn differently,” said McFarlane. “So, I’ve got to find feedback and research. That’s kind of the goal of this first very small batch that I have printed.”
Feedback will help him hone in on the perfect product.
“One of my biggest hopes about this is that I’ll be able to create happy memories the way a storybook author creates happy memories,” he said. “So instead of being drilled on multiplication facts during homework time you’re just being read stories, maybe at bedtime.”
It’s his goal to lessen the load on teachers while improving students’ skills.
“If the product could become some kind of a cultural icon that’s really the ultimate vision,” said McFarlane. “Maybe it’s a little bold but you just never know how something’s going to hit.”
His business knowledge comes from years of experience in a variety of pursuits, from developing sauce recipes to even prototyping a wheelbarrow. However, it was his connections to Fredericton that helped him with this venture.
“It’s very much a child of the Fredericton business community,” he said.
After working with him, Sunny Zaman of Master Indian Spice encouraged McFarlane to start a business that revolved around writing. McFarlane thinks that it is thanks to people like Zaman that his idea has become a reality.
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“This really is something made by Fredericton,” said McFarlane.
Future mentorship, funding, and networking came from his involvement in a startup accelerator from Planet Hatch.
“This really is a product of the programs that they run,” McFarlane said.
He plans to get the multiplication story card into stores in the future, so they can be enjoyed by the parents, teachers, and students of Fredericton.
“Fredericton is an amazing place for an entrepreneur.”