Can you believe it? It’s been an entire year since we first came together and hatched our little baby. Time flies when your heart is in the work! Let’s take a moment to reflect on Moochi’s incredible journey.
The Story of Moochi
The story of Moochi begins with us- a diverse group of CMU entrepreneurs who found that getting their kids to eat broccoli was harder than their MBA Capstone projects. Rather than engage in a futile struggle, we put their heads together and… discovered a cheat code! Why not turn healthy eating into a video game! After countless all-nighters, Moochi was born! See the first Moochi we designed!
Moochi was not born with the blessing of fairy godparents. To say Moochi struggled was an understatement: When the team entered it into the Hack a Startup competition, it didn’t even make it through the first round. A couple of judges even marked it a 1/5 - they simply didn’t believe it would work! External validation wasn’t the only challenge. What’s our target age range? Will children enjoy the product? Is Moochi cute enough ;) While it would have been easy to throw Moochi into the orphanage for a failed startup ideas, we refused to give up. They went into high gear- giving Moochi double the love. With love, Moochi evolved-Literally.
Others began to notice too. In March, Moochi earned 2nd place in the CMU McGinnis Venture Competition. Only three months later, Moochi won 1st place at the prestigious Fortes Power Pitch Competition and the CAST Innovation Competition. It also earned a spot in the NSF I-Corps Site Program! We also got partnerships with several nutritionists and pediatricians at the UPMC to fuel Moochi’s growth.
While external validation was gratifying, the best part about Little Moochi is developing something that can tackle one of the most serious (and frustrating) problems.
Moving Forward
Moochi’s growth doesn’t stop here! We’re wrapping up beta testing. We’re also working on new features, more collaborations, and more Moochi! Stay healthy, Stay Cute! Cheers to another year and beyond!
