BrainChase

Nylan McBain brought decades of digital marketing experience to BrainChase after encountering the founders through her husband's business school connections. She was personally invested in the mission—her three daughters were the exact age range the platform served (second to eighth grade). When approached about leading marketing, she immediately said yes. The core insight was brilliant: kids need motivation to do academics during summer, but parents and schools need to feel the learning is real and rigorous.

BrainChase didn't build its own curriculum. Instead, co-founder Heather Staker, a premier researcher on blended learning and author of "Blended," carefully vetted and curated the best existing online curriculum providers. The company then created a proprietary student dashboard that linked to seven curriculum options, letting kids pick three subjects to focus on. The magic was in the gamification: as kids completed daily academic work in reading, writing, and math, they unlocked animated episodes of an adventure series with clues leading to a real, buried treasure somewhere in the world. The first treasure was a Globe of Magellan buried in southern France with a $10,000 prize; the second was a golden sunstone of Cortez buried in Fuji, Japan.

In 2014, BrainChase launched as a pure consumer product targeting parents. The initial marketing message focused on "summer learning loss"—the educational slide kids experience during three months away from school. This resonated with budget-conscious parents worried about academic regression. However, Nylan quickly realized this message wasn't reaching affluent families who could afford the $199 price point; wealthier parents were more interested in coding camps and tennis lessons. The company also ran a teacher incentive program, rewarding educators who promoted BrainChase to their students with classroom supplies.

The core product worked: 500 kids participated in summer 2014, paying $199 each. By summer 2015, that grew to 2,000 kids—a 4x increase—generating roughly $400,000 in revenue. Nylan shifted strategy to serve the affluent market better by expanding the curriculum options beyond core academics. For 2016, they added engineering, art, nutrition, yoga, coding, and typing to appeal to parents seeking diverse enrichment.

The major challenge was seasonality. A single summer revenue bump isn't sustainable. The solution: launch year-round semesters. Spring semester would start in February targeting after-school organizations and private schools. Summer semester would return in June. Fall semester would launch in October. They also lowered pricing from $199 to $149 to drive higher volume. The goal for summer 2016: 4,000–6,000 participants, aiming to exceed $1 million in annual revenue.

As of the interview (end of 2015), BrainChase was positioned at an inflection point. The company had proven the core concept worked and had achieved 4x year-over-year growth. By introducing three semesters instead of one and diversifying curriculum, they were solving the seasonality problem that plagues many educational and recreational businesses. Nylan's marketing insight—understanding that different buyer personas (affluent parents vs. budget-conscious families, teachers, school districts) needed different value propositions—was reshaping the product roadmap and unlocking new revenue channels.