Novakid – Founders, Business Model, Funding & Competitors

Novakid is an educational technology startup that began with a simple yet ambitious idea: to reinvent how children learn English.

Founded in 2017 by two friends with a shared dream, the company has grown into a global online school trusted by over 940,000 parents in 50+ countries.

Novakid delivers live, immersive English lessons through a gamified digital platform, and as of early 2026 it has provided over 24 million lessons worldwide.

The startup’s explosive growth and innovative approach have earned it recognition such as ranking #105 on the 2023 Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest-growing companies (and #1 in education).

This is the story of Novakid’s brand journey – how a passion for better language learning evolved into a thriving international business.

Founding Story of Novakid

Novakid’s origins date back to 2017, when two forward-thinking fathers – Maxim Azarov and Dmitry Malin – set out to create a better English learning experience for their children and others.

The two had first collaborated at LG Electronics and later co-founded a cloud storage startup, Cloudike, in 2013. Their years building Cloudike proved their complementary strengths and solidified their partnership.

In 2017, Max approached Dmitry with a new idea: an online English school for kids. At the time, many doubted that young children could learn effectively online and believed kids should be taught by local, native-language teachers.

But Max and Dmitry saw an opportunity to leverage technology for immersive language education.

They moved quickly from concept to prototype.

Within a few months, the founders assembled a small team (borrowing developers from Cloudike) and built a basic online classroom platform.

They even sketched the first lesson plans in a café using Google Slides.

Novakid launched its beta in just four months and began teaching real students. From day one it was offered in multiple countries, not just their home market.

This global mindset paid off: Novakid’s very first paying students came from Poland, confirming parent demand beyond its origin country.

What started as a shared dream rapidly became reality – Novakid was born with the mission to “grow a global community of young English learners who’ll feel at home anywhere in the world”.

Founders of Novakid

Maxim (Max) Azarov and Dmitry Malin bring a powerful blend of vision and execution to Novakid.

Max, the CEO, is an IT entrepreneur with experience at Google and a prior startup under his belt. He graduated from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and holds an MBA – combining technical expertise with business acumen.

At Google, Max managed products like Search and Maps, learning how to scale technology to global markets.

This experience, plus his personal motivation as a father of three who wanted better English instruction for his kids, drove Max to co-found Novakid. He leads the company’s strategic vision and culture of innovation.

Dmitry, the COO, complements Max as a hands-on technology and operations leader.

He has over two decades of IT experience and was Max’s partner in founding Cloudike.

Where Max is the ideas and product strategist, Dmitry is detail-oriented and builds the robust infrastructure behind Novakid’s platform.

Colleagues note that the two founders work seamlessly – “we complemented each other perfectly,” Max says of their partnership. Dmitry focuses on back-end systems, teacher operations, and support, ensuring Novakid’s rapid growth is supported by solid systems.

The founders share an open, trust-based relationship (their families are close friends, even serving as godparents to each other’s children). This strong personal bond and clear division of responsibilities have been instrumental in guiding Novakid from a startup idea to a global EdTech company.

Business Model of Novakid

Novakid operates on a direct-to-consumer online education model, offering one-on-one English lessons to children via subscription. Its core service is virtual English immersion: students aged 4–12 connect to live 25-minute video lessons with a qualified English-speaking tutor, using Novakid’s custom online classroom.

The philosophy is that surrounding kids with real, native-level English in an interactive setting will build fluency and confidence – even if they’re far from any English-speaking country.

The business model centers on selling lesson packages to parents. Families subscribe to a plan (monthly or multi-month) which provides a set number of lessons per week.

Novakid’s platform handles scheduling, content delivery, and progress tracking, making the experience convenient for users. All Novakid teachers are carefully vetted (fluent or native English speakers with teaching credentials) to ensure high-quality instruction.

Importantly, Novakid doesn’t just provide a video call with a tutor – it delivers a whole curriculum. Lessons follow a structured syllabus aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for languages, and the platform uses gamified elements to keep kids engaged.

For example, teachers might take students on virtual “field trips” (using fun backgrounds or AR) to practice new vocabulary. Outside of live classes, students can play interactive games and complete exercises on Novakid’s app, which reinforce what they learned in class.

By combining subscription-based revenues with a scalable online platform, Novakid has achieved rapid growth. Its paying student base grew 350% year-over-year by mid-2021, reaching over 50,000 students, and the company’s revenue in 2021 was on track to quadruple to $36–45 M (from $9 M in 2020). This model has proven financially sustainable.

By 2025, Novakid had over 2,000 teachers delivering nearly 5 million lessons per year on its platform, illustrating how effectively the model scales. The timing was opportune: with the pandemic in 2020 playing havoc with school education, investor interest in edtech surged. Novakid’s recurring revenue and efficient scaling even drove it to profitability by 2023.

The combination of engaging content, effective teachers, and convenient online delivery under a subscription model is at the heart of Novakid’s business success.

Revenue Streams of Novakid

Novakid generates revenue primarily through subscription fees for its lesson packages. Parents pre-pay for a set number of one-on-one lessons (e.g. a 3-month or 12-month bundle), with longer commitments priced at a discount per lesson. These subscriptions are the lifeblood of the company’s income. Novakid offers both Standard and Premium plans: Standard lessons are with fully fluent teachers from around the world, while Premium lessons guarantee a native English speaker (often North American or British). Premium plans cost more per lesson, catering to parents willing to pay a higher rate for native instructors. Meanwhile, the Standard option provides a more affordable entry point, broadening the market.

Beyond core subscriptions, Novakid has a few ancillary revenue sources:

• Upsells and Add-ons: Parents can purchase extra lessons outside their plan (for instance, an additional class during a school break) for flexibility. Many also upgrade from shorter plans to longer plans to save on per-lesson costs, which boosts customer lifetime value.

• Group Classes: Novakid offers small group speaking classes (3–4 students) as an add-on. These Speaking Clubs let kids practice conversation with peers. While not as big a revenue driver as private lessons, group classes bring in additional income and enhance the overall service offering.

• Freemium App Funnel: In 2024 Novakid acquired a kids’ English learning app (Lingumi) and now offers a freemium Novakid Junior app. The app itself is largely free, serving as a marketing funnel by engaging young kids with basic English games. Although it doesn’t directly contribute significant revenue yet, it introduces families to Novakid’s methods and can convert some users into paid lesson subscribers.

Overall, recurring subscriptions form the bulk of Novakid’s revenue, a fact noted by investors who praised the startup’s “solid monetization via paid subscriptions”. The company’s strategy of offering quality plans (and upselling longer durations or premium options) has resulted in robust revenue growth. By 2025, Novakid’s annual revenue surpassed $80 M, validating the strength of these revenue streams.

Funding of Novakid

Novakid’s growth has been supported by venture capital investment, especially during the edtech boom of 2020–2021.

In total, the company has raised around $41 million in funding from notable investors including Owl Ventures, Goodwater Capital, PortfoLion Capital, LearnStart (LearnCapital), TMT Investments, and others.

Early seed funding in 2019–2020 allowed Novakid to develop its platform and gain initial traction. Larger Series A and B rounds in 2020 and 2021 then fueled global expansion.

By 2023, Novakid had reached profitability and no longer needed additional venture funding.

In 2025, it even facilitated a secondary share sale via SeedBlink, allowing some early investors to sell equity to new investors (a sign of the company’s confidence and financial stability).

Funding Rounds of Novakid

• Funding Round	Date	Amount Raised	Lead Investors	Total Funding (Cumulative)	Key Purpose / Notes
  Seed	2019–2020	~$2.0 million	LETA Capital, BonAngels	~$2.0 million	Built core product; initial market entry; Jan 2020 included ~$1.5M seed tranche
  Series A	Dec 2020	$4.25 million	PortfoLion, LearnStart (LearnCapital)	~$6.25 million	Scaled in Europe; expanded curriculum & platform during remote learning boom
  Series B	Aug 2021	$35 million	Owl Ventures, Goodwater Capital	~$41.25 million	Expanded into Asia & Middle East; accelerated product & AI-driven feature development
  Secondary Sale (No New Round)	2025	Not disclosed	SeedBlink (secondary market participants)	~$41.25 million	Partial share sale by existing holders; no new primary capital raised

Competitors of Novakid

Novakid operates in a competitive space of online English learning for children. Key competitors include:

1. VIPKid

A China-based pioneer of live online English tutoring with North American teachers. It grew rapidly (backed by LearnCapital) but was hit by Chinese regulations in 2021 that curbed its domestic business.

2. Cambly Kids

A US-based platform for on-demand English conversations with native speakers. It offers flexible scheduling but is often criticized for being unstructured, as lessons can feel like casual chats.

3. Duolingo ABC

A free gamified app designed to teach young children the ABCs and basic English. It’s great for learning letters and simple words, but since it lacks live tutors, it cannot build speaking skills or conversation confidence.

4. AllRight

An Eastern European startup providing one-on-one English lessons for kids, similar to Novakid’s model. It raised $5 M in 2020 to expand and competes in markets like Europe and Russia, albeit on a smaller scale.

5. 51Talk

Originating in China, 51Talk uses fluent (often Filipino) teachers to offer high-frequency, affordable lessons. It excels in cost-effectiveness, but its teachers are non-native and the platform’s content is less gamified compared to Novakid.

Novakid differentiates itself through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on live immersion. Unlike Cambly or 51Talk, which primarily provide access to tutors, Novakid offers a full ecosystem (curriculum, games, progress tracking) in addition to connecting with teachers. And while apps like Duolingo ABC cater to young learners, they lack the human interactive element that Novakid provides. By combining the strengths of interactive software and live instruction, Novakid has carved out a strong position. It also spread early into diverse markets (Europe, Asia, Middle East), whereas some competitors were confined to one region. This global diversification and product depth give Novakid a competitive edge in delivering consistent, high-quality outcomes for kids.

Competitive Advantage of Novakid

Several factors give Novakid an edge over competitors:

• Child-Centric Specialization: Novakid is exclusively focused on children’s English education, allowing it to tailor everything – from lesson length to teaching style – for young learners. Its curriculum is built on proven language acquisition methods (drawing on experts like Asher and Krashen) specifically adapted for kids. This singular focus builds strong brand trust and results (a general platform “won’t do [kids] as well as we do,” Azarov notes).

• Immersive Curriculum & Fun Experience: Novakid provides not just tutors but a full curriculum with engaging content. Lessons are gamified and story-driven, making learning fun and effective. The company redesigned traditional ESL content into interactive games and adventures (addressing the fact that legacy language content “basically sucks” for kids). This keeps students motivated and consistently improving.

• Technology + Human Blend: The platform strikes a balance between live human instruction and AI-powered practice. Novakid uses machine learning to personalize lessons and track progress for each child, while live teachers ensure genuine conversation and feedback. This blend leads to better outcomes than purely self-paced apps or tutor-only services.

• Global Reach & Cultural Adaptation: Novakid built a presence in over 50 countries, adapting to local cultures and languages. It hires teachers from diverse backgrounds and trains them to be mindful of regional norms. By being globally inclusive early on, Novakid gained a wide footprint and resilience to local market shifts (unlike competitors reliant on a single market).

• Financial Stability & Innovation: Achieving profitability by 2023 means Novakid can invest in product improvements and customer support without relying on constant new funding. It also shows the business model’s strength. Additionally, Novakid stays ahead of trends – for example, integrating an AI tutoring app (via the Lingumi acquisition) to complement its offerings. Co-founder Dmitry Malin noted that combining AI tutors with human tutors will open more efficient learning pathways. This proactive innovation helps Novakid address emerging low-cost competitors and maintain its leadership.

Collectively, these strengths have helped Novakid build a strong brand and take a leading position in its market.

Products and Services of Novakid

Novakid’s offerings provide a comprehensive English learning journey for children. The main products and features include:

• One-on-One Live Lessons: Personalized 1:1 English lessons with a dedicated teacher. Each session is 25 minutes of immersive English-only instruction. Teachers use child-friendly methods (songs, games, props) to make lessons engaging. Parents can choose Standard or Premium teachers (the latter are native speakers) based on their preference and budget. These regular lessons (often 2–3 per week) build up a child’s speaking and listening skills over time.

• Gamified Learning Platform: Novakid’s platform features an interactive student dashboard and learning games. Between live lessons, kids can log in to play short vocabulary games, watch fun mini-cartoons, or do quizzes that reinforce recent material. The platform rewards students with badges and stars, and it adapts to their progress – for example, reviewing words they struggled with. This game-like environment keeps children motivated and practicing even outside of class.

• Group Speaking Classes: In addition to one-on-one lessons, Novakid offers Speaking Clubs – small group classes where a few students practice conversational English together. Guided by a teacher, children discuss simple topics or play language games in English, which helps them gain confidence speaking with peers. For instance, a group class might involve students from different countries asking each other questions about their hobbies or school – a unique chance to use English socially. These group sessions add a fun, communal element to Novakid’s services.

• Novakid Junior App: A mobile app for self-paced learning, particularly for younger kids (ages 3–6). This app (born from Novakid’s Lingumi acquisition) presents English basics through interactive activities – like learning letters, simple words, and phrases with cute animations and voice recognition. It’s offered as a freemium product: many features are free to use, allowing any child to start learning fundamentals. The app can stand alone as an introduction to English or complement the live lessons. It also acts as a bridge to the main Novakid program – as children grow older or finish the app’s levels, parents often enroll them into live tutor-led lessons.

• Structured Curriculum & Progress Tracking: Underpinning all Novakid services is a structured curriculum aligned with CEFR levels (from beginner Pre-A1 up through B1). Each unit builds on the last in a logical way – covering vocabulary, grammar, reading, and speaking appropriate to the child’s level. Novakid regularly assesses students through fun quizzes and informal tests to ensure they are absorbing the material. Parents receive progress reports that show growth (for example, vocabulary mastered, improvements in pronunciation, etc.). This transparency and focus on measurable progress sets Novakid apart – parents can clearly see their child’s development, and teachers can personalize future lessons based on detailed performance data.

Across these products, Novakid emphasizes convenience and child engagement. Lessons are conducted online at times chosen by the parents, eliminating commutes and scheduling hassles. The digital platform is accessible via computer or tablet, and it maintains a safe environment (all lessons can be recorded for quality and security, and there’s a support team if any issues arise). By offering multiple modes of learning – live classes, group interactions, and self-learning content – Novakid caters to different learning styles and keeps children continuously involved in English in different contexts. This holistic approach ensures that learning English with Novakid is not just effective, but also enjoyable and well-rounded.

Conclusion

Novakid’s brand journey illustrates how a bold educational vision can become a global reality. What began in 2017 as two friends brainstorming in a café has evolved into an international platform that has helped tens of thousands of children find joy in learning English. Throughout its growth, Novakid has remained true to its mission of making high-quality English education accessible and engaging for kids everywhere. The startup blended storytelling and analytical depth – providing a fun, game-like learning experience backed by a rigorous curriculum and data-driven insights.

Novakid’s global community now spans over 50 countries, and the company has delivered tens of millions of lessons – yet each child’s success remains at the heart of its mission. Novakid continues to look forward, exploring new technologies and expanding its community of learners, but its core purpose remains unchanged: to build bridges between children all over the world through the English language.

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