About Us
OUR STORY
Real kids inspired us to build StoryCube: our own children and their friends, our nieces, nephews and cousins, and the young people we teach in our classrooms.
These kids love stories. They love stories told in books. They love stories told in movies. They love making up their own stories. And they love the stories they act out with their friends on the Internet, caring for virtual pets and beating the bad guys to get to the next level in the game.
Stories +Friends+Internet=
We talked to a lot of kids along the way: family, friends and focus groups. They advised us on everything from what their greatest story telling challenges were (coming up with an idea!) to what color Cubert’s shoes should be (red - by a landslide!). With their help, we built StoryCube to be the social storytelling network for children: the place to create stories with friends and share them too.
We designed StoryCube specifically for young children, ages 7 to 12, and to be used both at home and in the classroom. As parents and teachers, we have witnessed how quickly a child’s eyes light up when given the opportunity to explore their own ideas. We wanted to create a place where kids explore their own perspective of the world, and share it with others. And from this place, literacy interest, problem solving and interactive communications skills evolve.
Our mission is simple: to provide a safe and fun online environment where children can practice the age-old skill of storytelling using the technology of today.
Our Team
Melanie Kusmik, CEO, Co-Founder:
Melanie has always been an entrepreneur and problem solver at heart, starting with her double-wide wooden skateboard prototype (her sister was willing to ride with her, but no interested buyers) and leading to a degree in Business and Computer Science from California Polytechnic State University. After several projects in software development and consulting, she cut her teeth in product management at the Silicon Valley web-app company Blue Martini, and was promoted to her current position as Mom-preneur. In this role, she is finding innovative ways to make the ancient art of storytelling relevant, fun and social to the next, very wired generation. Her first targets were the imaginative storytellers in her own household, son Hayden, 7, and daughter Lindsey, 4. When she isn't evangelizing the web as today's digital platform for CampFire Storytelling, she helps her kids with their homework, mountain-bikes and goes sailing in the Puget Sound.
Allison Pruitt, Co-Founder:
Allison teaches elementary school in San Jose, California. A graduate of Mills College and San Jose State, where she was awarded the Governor’s Teaching Fellowship, Allison has taught first, second, and third graders the 3 Rs - Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic since 2003. Her favorite (and most challenging) subject to teach is writing, because it gives her the opportunity to encourage children to express themselves and to really demonstrate what they know and understand. Allison had to work hard herself to learn how to write well, and she's excited to see StoryCube used to help teach kids how to write a research report or a story. She also wants to give kids the chance to write while using their own 'voice' and creativity. Allison is super excited to share StoryCube with her students, their parents, and her own 7 year old writer/son.
Donna Nims, Marketing:
Donna loves to spend time talking to *anyone* about StoryCube, especially kids! She talks to kids in elevators, at the grocery store or even at the library- where she sometimes get “shushed” by the librarian! When she was a kid, Donna thought she wanted to be an engineer and so she studied Mathematics and Computer Science in college. It turns out that she has only ever worked in sales and marketing: but she does still love math. Her favorite books are biographies: she likes to read about historical figures like Catherine the Great of Russia or more contemporary people, like Julia Child. Donna has 7 nieces, 1 nephew, and a dog, Maybelline. Maybelline loves cats and has 2 kittens of her own.