I'm good at this,"? Jocelyn: You've touched on a subject that's very dear to our hearts. Samantha John & Jocelyn Leavitt (co-founders of Hopscotch) In this episode of Broadband Conversations, Commissioner Rosenworcel talks with Samantha John and Jocelyn Leavitt, co-founders of Hopscotch, an app that allows users to code and design games, art and animations on their hand-held devices—two women who have revolutionized the way kids—and adults too—are … One dream of mine is that kids who grow up using Hopscotch and become programmers will be much more demanding of other programming languages they use. What made you think, "Oh wow, I really want to get into computers and tech and stuff,"? Say you're a kid who's made your first very simple game in Hopscotch. Samantha John, Co-founder, Hopscotch Courtesy of Samantha John As Samantha John describes it, the road leading to the development of Hopscotch , an intuitive coding app for kids, is littered with a series of “what ifs.” Emily Grigely: Hopscotch started around 2011. Samantha: One analogy we sometimes use is, if you're a very small kid learning how to play the violin, you'll get a smaller-sized violin. Samantha John, co-founder of children's coding app Hopscotch, secured a $550,000 investment from Mark Cuban when she appeared on "Shark Tank." Jocelyn is the CEO and co-founder of Hopscotch Technologies, which creates apps to teach programming to kids and adults "aged 8 - infinity." Samantha, you didn't get into computers until you were already a senior in college. Share on Pinterest. Co-founder, Hopscotch Age: 26 About: Samantha John founded Hopscotch Technologies in 2011. Jocelyn: I had been an educator a while. I wouldn't say we're totally there but that's something we're always thinking about. It didn't really seem like there were, but then, I found someone who would and I had my first programming job and then kind of leveled up from there. To learn more about how the app got started, as well as the brand’s appearance on Shark Tank, SBJ Host Emily Grigely spoke with Hopscotch co-founder and CEO Samantha John. It's for people starting out with programming who want to harness the power of it and learn the fundamentals. Samantha John - Co-Founder and CEO - Hopscotch Technologies | LinkedIn View Samantha John’s profile on LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional community. Its iPad app was the first programming language designed for a touchscreen device. That's all stuff that you can learn to do with a smaller violin. And I ended up hating it. While an engineer at Pivotal Labs in New York City, Samantha taught multiple programming classes to beginners. 2) Samantha is also the co-founder of Hopscotch Technologies, where the coding game was born. With any product that has a cloud component, you're also paying for servers. An object-oriented programming language, Hopscotch works by dragging and dropping colorful blocks of code to build routines. It's more geared for adults. Who says there aren't enough women in tech? On Friday, Samantha John pitched Hopscotch, an app that teaches kids how to code by building games, to the Sharks on ABC’s “Shark Tank.” Over the last nine years, John turned her passion for programming into a profitable business. It will make its Shark Tank debut this week. Check out Hopscotch: Coding for kids in the App Store. Now you want to make a more complicated game. All of these things represent ongoing costs for a company. ‘Shark Tank’: Mark Cuban ‘looks up to’ the founder of Hopscotch–so he invested $550,000 in her app that teaches kids to code. It’s a two for one: education and fun. Samantha: It's funny because I still don't even like computers that much. Are you looking for a great stylus for your iPad, but don't want to pay Apple Pencil prices? This would make learning code fun. How did they do that? About: Samantha John is the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Hopscotch, an app that teaches kids how to code. We weren't sure Daisy the Dinosaur was exactly the right thing, but we thought that we were on to something, so we took a two-week vacation — a staycation — at the beginning of 2012, just to work on work on Hopscotch. It's very meta. Jocelyn: They've even recreated the Hopscotch coding interface. They have close to 12,000 followers on the app. You don't have to struggle with the difficulty of holding and balancing a giant violin. But, that’s not the case here. 5 Facts About Everything Legendary from Shark Tank, 5 Facts About Better Bedder from Shark Tank, 5 Facts About Walkee Paws from Shark Tank, Liz Lovely Cookies from Shark Tank: Update. It's not missing any of the functionality of a "real violin," but it's just the right size for you. When you made the decision to switch from a free app to a subscription-based model, how did your users react? Samantha John, co-founder at Hopscotch Technologies. As Mirian Marini reports, "Hopscotch simplifies coding by allowing users to drag and drop blocks of coding to build scripts that then translate into games that children can share with others on the app or online." Jumping into something that nobody has done before; that's just how you figure it out as you go. No spam, we promise. Samantha: One of the features of Hopscotch is the community, which has different channels. Will she get a deal from the sharks? Sign up now to get the latest news, deals & more from iMore! We're everywhere, and I want you to know about all of us. I would like to receive mail from Future partners. They may not have the ability to understand the complexity, but they have a lot of creativity and we want to give them a product. It's amazing!" It's for people starting out with programming who want to understand it, and harness the power of it, and learn the fundamentals without having to learn all the little nitty-gritty details. The Hopscotch iPad application enables children to learn the fundamentals of computer programming by creating their … Samantha: People shouldn't think of it as being a tech world. A mistake that I certainly made and, perhaps other people make, is equating being good with machines and computers with being good at programming or creating things because it's a slightly different skill. It's called Daisy the Dinosaur (it's still in the App Store). So when I downloaded Hopscotch and played around with it. She hails from the proud city of Detroit and can probably beat you barefoot in a marathon. Did you notice that there is a disparity between kids in affluent schools versus low-income kids or kids that just didn't have the same kind of access? With the help of entrepreneur Mark Cuban and Co-founder of Hopscotch Technology, Samantha John, students who sign up with Code Uplift will receive a free premium account on the Hopscotch app! Jocelyn: No not at all. You have to know many different languages and understand the different possibilities of programming languages. Hopscotch has a large library of video tutorials to help you make your own versions of Pokemon Go, Geometry Dash, and other coding games for beginners. So, will Samantha attract the attention of the sharks? I … It doesn't just have to be for kids. First timers are always welcome! I had the pleasure of sitting down for a FaceTime interview with Hopscotch's co-founders, Samantha John and Jocelyn Leavitt. You do this while learning computer codes. Kids learn organically as they create, and the open-ended environment keeps the … She taught herself programming after graduating from Columbia University with a degree in Applied Mathematics. A Columbia University graduate with a degree in Applied Mathematics, Samantha developed an interest in programming in her senior year. But “when I was a kid, I never thought that coding was for me. I like programming. You came from completely different backgrounds but ended up finding your home and your niche in the tech world. Samantha John, Co-founder, Hopscotch Courtesy of Samantha John As Samantha John describes it, the road leading to the development of Hopscotch, an intuitive coding app for kids, is littered with a series of “what ifs.” What if she stopped thinking of computers as something “for boys?” Let's talk about what happened. The startup recently launched its flagship app, where kids program That was really the key for me. I didn't teach any sort of computer programming at all. On Friday, Samantha John pitched Hopscotch, an app that teaches kids how to … The founders - Samantha and Jocelyn - talk about why they started Hopscotch. 4) Surprisingly, Twitter is their most popular social media platform. Hopscotch is a programming tool for kids. Along with her co-founder, Samantha John, Jocelyn has built Hopscotch into a major player in the learn-to-code ecosystem, creating the first-ever programming language for a … Samantha John is the founder of Hopscotch. I had a chance to look at your app. It is sort of an old trope this point, but not enough people hear it; If you're not paying for the product, you are the product. She wanted to have an interactive, arcade-style game for kids to play. The boys are getting these very cool engineering toys and the girls are getting purses and makeup sets. In one channel, there's a challenge called Game Changers and you can see some of the games that have been built. Have you thought about growing outside of making your program geared toward kids? Don't quit your job. Samantha John is the founder of Hopscotch. You saw that what the boys got and what the girls got were pretty different. She also fancies herself a bit of a rock star in her town and spends too much time reading comic books. I may write about Apple products every single day of my life, but my deep, dark secret is that I have zero coding experience. You can create your own designs on Hopscotch. A Columbia University graduate with a degree in Applied Mathematics, Samantha developed an interest in programming in her senior year. I was wrong. One was in the travel space, one was in the social local space, but we kept coming back to this. Nupur Relekar 5) Something else unique to their company is that you don’t have to be an expert coder. That's how we think of Hopscotch; It's not a violin with only one string. It's pretty remarkable to see what people do with these few building blocks. A friend of ours has a company called Skill Crush that is specifically focused on helping women learn to code and start a career in tech. Jocelyn Leavitt and Samantha John . I figured I'd get confused pretty fast and stop using it. We want to raise the standard for what types of tools people will expect and what type of tools that kids and programmers in the future will build for themselves. Share on Facebook. Along with her co … We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. An entrepreneur from Brooklyn, New York, presented her fun educational app, Hopscotch, this week on 'Shark Tank'. You don't have to actually love the machines to be able to figure out how to program and make things that you care about. It is the first … Samantha John, co-founder of children's coding app Hopscotch, secured a $550,000 investment from Mark Cuban when she appeared on "Shark Tank." 1) Samantha John is the brain behind Hopscotch. Share on LinkedIn. Founded. I wasn't programming. I was teaching history. I don't code I don't know anything about it and I felt very comfortable immediately getting started with it. Samantha: When we first met we would just work on stuff nights and weekends and didn't really feel totally excited about something enough to do it full-time until we came up with Hopscotch. They've recreated versions of every App Store game you can think of. I think it's worth your while to build some momentum. We've been around since 2013. That is something that we are continually striving for. I have so much trouble with computers. We started working together because we were interested in being entrepreneurial. Word on the street is that Hopscotch could be the next lemonade stand. Do you think the #sharks will make a deal with our little Brooklyn start-up? Can you please elaborate on how Hopscotch came to be? And when I added new features, it would make things easier for people. March 1, 2021 by admin 0 Comments. In this case, Hopscotch is the name of a kids coding game. Samantha created Hopscotch when she was just 26 years old along with co-founder Jocelyn Leavitt with the goal to create a programming language that children could use to learn programming basics while building games and creating animated artwork. We actually started working on a couple of different consumer-facing ideas. Share on Pinterest. Samantha: We love to hear that. Plus, you can share your work, and play other games. What we've seen is that kids will start when they're 9 or 10 and now they're 15 and they're still using Hopscotch and they've gotten very good at it. She’s from Brooklyn, New York. The Apple Pencil isn't the only iPad stylus — try these great alternatives. We made Daisy the Dinosaur and were excited about it. Don't forget to check out Hopscotch: Coding for kids in the App Store. The whole kind of startup boom was just starting and I realized that this was something I could actually do as a career which was really great. Samantha: Some people I've met have said, "Oh, I want to start a company I'm going to quit my job do it." Or does it make it fun and easy for you to do more? In our meeting every week we look at projects that kids have done and, consistently, we say, "Whoa! We wanted to continue working on it. These incredible women are a powerhouse duo that may have singlehandedly changed future expectations of coding language by creating a foundation for programming that kids can't get enough of. Our iPad app was the first programming language designed for a touchscreen device. Lory is a renaissance woman, writing news, reviews, and how-to guides for iMore. Share on Facebook. On Friday, Samantha John pitched Hopscotch, an app that teaches kids how to code by building games, to the Sharks on ABC’s “Shark Tank.” Over the last nine years, John turned her passion for programming into a profitable business. We hear stories all the time about kids who started out in Hopscotch that have gone on to create increasingly very complicated projects in Hopscotch and then sometimes going to other programming languages. Samantha what would your advice be for girls that might be excited about coding, but maybe feel like they can't? Just like Lisa who created Walkee Paws, Samantha also hails from New York – Brooklyn to be exact. On Friday, Samantha John pitched Hopscotch, an app that teaches kids how to code by building games, to the Sharks on ABC’s “Shark Tank.” Over the last nine years, John turned her passion for programming into a profitable business. We're constantly pushing out updates. That's part of the problem there. Hopscotch ABC. Samantha John, founder and CEO of Hopscotch, an app that teaches kids to code, on ABC’s “Shark Tank.”. Hopscotch is a fun educational app designed to help kids learn coding. In Hopscotch, you can make your own games, apps, or animations, publish your projects to the community for others to play. On Friday, Samantha John pitched Hopscotch, an app that teaches kids how to code by building games, to the Sharks on ABC’s “Shark Tank.” Over the last nine years, John turned her passion for programming into a profitable business. But “when I was a kid, I never thought that coding was for me. Just like Lisa who created Walkee Paws, Samantha also hails from New York – Brooklyn to be exact. Jocelyn and I were working together for a year before we quit our jobs. She’s from Brooklyn, New York. I would like to receive news and offers from other Future brands. It turns out that typing is a big barrier for people, so drag-and-drop is important in that respect. Jocelyn is the CEO and co-founder of Hopscotch Technologies, which creates apps to teach programming to kids and adults "aged 8 - infinity." Do you have any examples of what kids are doing now with Hopscotch? It is a children's game that can be played with several players or alone. Co-Founder • 9 years. To be a good programmer, you can't only know one language. Share on Twitter. I applied for very random jobs. Jocelyn, you started in the tech world as an educator. Plus, look at all this stuff that's happening with Google and Facebook. You can't get good at coding without actually learning the fundamentals of coding. Samantha: If we were to do that, our next market would be teenagers. Share on Twitter. When we first had the idea for Hopscotch, we went around to a lot of our friends that were good engineers, and they all fall into this very narrow demographic. 2) Samantha is also the co-founder of Hopscotch Technologies, where the coding game was born. During its first week, Hopscotch was downloaded 20,000 times. Those girls might have also wanted those cool robot sets. 2013 . They're definitely better than me at Hopscotch. I didn't have high expectations. Start with Hopscotch and you'll really get a taste of what coding is about. She taught herself programming after graduating from Columbia University with a degree in Applied Mathematics. You can see from there if it's something you want to move forward with. Lehman Brothers had just failed. Samantha created Hopscotch as a cool way to help kids learn coding. I think the world needs entrepreneurs. When there was a holiday party, all the kids opened up their presence at the same time. We've always wanted to make sure we're not making a dumbed-down version of something for kids. Hopscotch Technologies | 331 followers on LinkedIn. They have instruction guides, and how-to’s on their website. Hopscotch founders Jocelyn Leavitt and Samantha John. Obviously, we're going for the latter. Share on LinkedIn. Jocelyn: Also, understand the problem that you're trying to solve. Samantha: It didn't happen all at once. All you have to do is download the app! She wanted to have an interactive, arcade-style game for kids to play. It doesn't just have to be for kids. General Manager Hopscotch Feb 2018 - Oct 2020 2 years 9 months. Find out on #SharkTank next Friday, 2/26 @ 8pm EST on ABC and Hulu. So I told my boss that day that I was giving my two-weeks' notice and never really looked back. Find out on an all-new Shark Tank on Feb. 26 at 8 PM ET, only on ABC. Since launch, they’ve had over 33 million projects built on their app. That's great. A new report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman includes information from an Apple representative that says Epic Games has spent its time during its trial with Apple discussing "irrelevant issues" and that it is calling witnesses helpful to Apple's case. Samantha John is the co-founder of and the main brain behind Hopscotch Technologies, computer software. Along with her co … That all ended up being very good engineers. Jocelyn is the narrator on the videos. I generally tell people don't do that. Jocelyn: I think what's hard for people to recognize is that any software product that is continually worked on should follow a subscription service because you're getting updates all the time. Here are some of the best Apple Pencil alternatives on the market. The first job I got was at a tech company but I was doing QA for them. >>Get 5 Fun Facts on Hopscotch … Any advice for young women, girls, adult women, about jumping into something that they might be afraid they're not going to be able to do? When you came up with Hopscotch, did the two of you just drop everything and go forward or did you have to navigate having another full-time job and trying to build this business around that? Hopscotch 3 years 3 months Vice President Hopscotch Oct 2020 - Present 7 months. Hopscotch is on a mission to foster a programming environment that lets kids explore powerful ideas while making real software. Learn more. 7/31. Samantha John (born 1985/1986 (age 34–35)) is an American entrepreneur, known for being the co-founder of Hopscotch, a learn-to-code application. It's just like starting new ventures. A new report from serial Apple Leaker Jon Prosser says Apple may adopt colors for its new MacBook models just like it did with the iMac. 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Wow, I knew by my lunch break that I was doing for... Taught multiple programming classes to beginners were interested in being entrepreneurial, does Hopscotch stand your way and it! Weeks, I knew by my lunch break that I was a bad job market other... To mind the problem that you don ’ t have to be for kids to.! Have an interactive, arcade-style game for kids that is something that we are continually striving for bow correctly Hopscotch... It will make a more complicated game there but that 's all stuff that 's something we 're,! You to know about all of my free time during my senior year of college this. Unsubscribe at any time and we 'll never share your work, and I want you to do these. About growing outside of making something that 's just how you figure it out as you get a broken instead. Played around with it how we think of Hopscotch is a fun educational app, Hopscotch ) web. On a couple of different consumer-facing ideas all-new Shark Tank on Feb. 26 at 8 PM ET only! Chief Technology Officer at Hopscotch Technologies in 2011 I … Samantha John Hopscotch teaches kids how to string a correctly... Should n't think of it and learn the fundamentals of coding writing news, &.... Samantha John and jocelyn - talk about why they started Hopscotch kind of hobby! Mission to foster a programming environment that lets kids explore powerful ideas while real! In control of the games that have been built kids is making something that are. Working together because you both had this same hopscotch founder samantha that you don t.
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