Today's guests are Simon Hood and Charlene Mitchell-Hood, the Founders of Sooper Books - an online children's book platform transforming the way parents and kids engage with reading.

It has even been described as the Netflix for children’s books.

They currently have over 1 million monthly users on their website and rank #1 on Google for bedtime stories in over 50 countries, attracting the attention of Penguin, Disney, BBC, Netflix, and Harper Collins.

This episode is their first ever podcast and we talk about how they took the leap from traditional city jobs to launching their own startup, how they grew the business to 1 million monthly users in just 6 weeks and their new campaign to get kids reading for free.

Quitting their full-time jobs to pursue their passion was only the tip of the iceberg. 

The market was competitive and dominated by publishing giants unwilling to change- through their disruptive approach using analytics and audience retention, they were able to overcome burnout and build a double Emmy-winning and Grammy-nominated team.

This is a fascinating episode - make sure you listen to the end to hear their thoughts on the future of jobs in publishing.

Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, released every Wednesday.

You can sign up to Jimmy's Notebook here.

Once again thank you to our series partner Octopus Group, a collection of 8 entrepreneurially minded businesses that look to back the people, ideas, and industries that will change the world.

In this episode we talk to Simon and Charlene about:

• How did they come up with the name Sooper Books?

• Their journey from big city jobs to starting the business.

• Going from zero to 1 million views in just 6 weeks.

• The moment they decided to quit their full-time jobs. 

• How bringing data into reading is changing the publishing industry. 

• The formula they use to create infinite storylines.

• What it's like to be Husband and Wife co-founders- and why the work-life balance becomes even more crucial.

• Where are the jobs of the future in publishing?

• The first hires of their business.

• Their plans for the future and building the Netflix for Children’s books

• Why did they do a round of Angel investing?

• How you can read for free everyday with Sooper Books.

• Their inspiration from Roald Dahl.

Subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes, releasing every Wednesday.

You can sign up to Jimmy's Substack here for weekly content on the future of work, technology, and politics

For more information on partnering with us please visit our partnerships page here.

Also make sure you subscribe to The Shift, you can find it here on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices