In 2017, Gentle of Hope was increasing its Porua library challenge throughout Bangladesh. The corporate wanted high quality kids’s books and naturally turned to the plain sources: main worldwide NGOs and native NGOs working within the schooling area. Many of those organizations had produced glorious kids’s books by its donor-funded tasks, usually utilizing high authors and sustaining excessive manufacturing requirements.
However there was a catch.
These books merely weren’t accessible for buy. When tasks ended, the books vanished. Coverage constraints prevented gross sales, even when Waliullah Bhuiyan, founding father of Gentle of Hope, supplied to pay for printing rights or deal with manufacturing himself.
The organizations had created high-quality content material, then locked it away.
It is a traditional instance of what economists name the “lacking market” drawback. Excessive-quality content material existed, demand existed, however institutional buildings prevented the 2 from assembly.
The NGOs operated below project-based funding fashions that did not incentivize sustainable distribution. They optimized for challenge completion, not market creation.
Compounding this, the final high quality of native kids’s books, when it comes to narrative depth, illustration, and manufacturing, was constantly low.
Moreover, present supplies, even from non-profits, didn’t adequately handle the longer term expertise framework Gentle of Hope sought to show: creativity, problem-solving, emotional intelligence, and ethical values.
This created what Bhuiyan would later acknowledge as a large alternative to intervene.
The ultimate straw got here from an sudden supply.
When the profitable collaboration with Sisimpur, Bangladesh’s model of Sesame Road, ended after three years, Bhuiyan thought it was time to “construct [his] personal factor”.
Inside every week, Bhuiyan had sketched 4 characters based mostly on his firm’s core values. He envisioned a universe that may prepare kids for the longer term, drawing inspiration from Disney, Lego, and mockingly, Sesame Road itself.
Thus Goofi was born.
Goofi formally launched in 2019, making a strategic choice to start with story and exercise books, a calculated transfer that reveals refined strategic pondering. The distinctive cultural energy and authority of books immediately made the corporate a legit participant within the instructional area. Books take pleasure in a cultural energy in each market. Dad and mom, lecturers, and academic establishments see books as critical instructional instruments. Beginning with books additionally allowed Goofi to ascertain an instantaneous income stream.
Extra importantly, books perform as what platform strategists name elastic content material. You possibly can adapt books into a number of codecs: audiobooks, animated sequence, stay performances, and merchandise. This elasticity makes books the right basis for constructing a broader media ecosystem.
The perception right here is about choosing the proper basis layer. Many startups chase the newest distribution channels, however Bhuiyan acknowledged that content material high quality and credibility have been extra essential than distribution. Construct nice content material first, then develop distribution.
Disrupting a Stagnant Publishing Panorama
Goofi entered a Bangladeshi kids’s publishing market characterised by low high quality and an absence of innovation. Goofi consciously launched a number of disruptions to this established order.
The corporate popularized the idea of launching storybooks as themed units somewhat than single titles. This served a number of strategic functions. Dad and mom most well-liked buying themed units, simplifying the shopping for course of.
Aligned with early childhood growth theories, Goofi understood that to instill a worth or talent, it must be introduced to a toddler a minimal of 5 instances in several situations. Units allowed for a thematic method to embed values like empathy or talent like drawback fixing throughout a number of tales.
By creating units priced round 800-900 taka, Goofi may supply enticing margins to retailers. This incentivized supermarkets to inventory Goofi books alongside fast-moving shopper items (FMCG), a then-uncommon observe for books in Bangladesh.
Goofi’s in-house workforce of writers, designers, and educators dedicates an insane period of time, effort, and funding into creating every e-book sequence.
Goofi’s has constructed a classy and scalable inventive course of to develop content material for its books.
The corporate plans content material 1-2 years upfront by structured workshops involving writers, designers, and educators.
Each story follows three core ideas. Breaking Geographical Boundary – Tales work throughout cultures and languages. Breaking Time Boundary – Content material stays related many years into the longer term. And breaking Generational Boundary – the story ought to work for each kids and adults and each ought to discover worth.
By forcing common themes and following Common Design for Studying (UDL) approach, Goofi creates content material that may scale globally. By requiring temporal relevance, it avoids topical content material that turns into outdated. By guaranteeing generational enchantment, it will increase family adoption charges.
Illustrations are created as a basis for animation. Even kids who can not learn can perceive the story simply by wanting on the photos.
Goofi intentionally introduces kids to a wide range of artwork types comparable to tepa doll fashion, Gazir Pot fashion, drawing inspiration from masters like Jamini Roy, and even utilizing distinctive strategies like paper chopping, to domesticate creativeness and expose kids to other ways of storytelling by artwork.
This starkly contrasts the uniform fashion prevalent within the native market.
The State of the Union
Goofi Guide’s daring and outsider initiatives didn’t take lengthy to provide outcomes. Within the 2020 Ekusye Guide Honest, its first participation in such a good, the corporate bought out its costly e-book units (as much as 1600 taka) regardless of widespread skepticism. The success validated its method.
The enterprise has grown considerably since its inception, serving as the inspiration for the broader Goofi universe.
The corporate at present has over 80 titles, overlaying a large age vary, from three to 12 years previous. Its catalog consists of each educational books (e.g., specializing in language, math, important pondering) and storybooks.
A notable initiative is the Bornogolpo (বর্ণগল্প) sequence, which goals to create 49-50 storybooks, every based mostly on a Bengali alphabet character. The “Banglar Gupodhon” (বাংলার গুপ্তধন) sequence is particularly focused at pre-teens and youngsters aged 10-12.
Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Goofi pivoted to on-line gross sales, which proved extremely profitable as a result of participating nature and high quality of its books. This era additionally noticed important funding in content material growth.
Goofi’s income mannequin is diversified, with direct gross sales of books being a key stream. The corporate believes there’s a 500 to 1000 crore BDT annual enterprise alternative for a single model in Bangladesh, encompassing books, toys, and different merchandise. The toy market in Bangladesh is a BDT 12,000 crore annual enterprise, with no reputed model. So, the goal to show Goofi right into a BDT 500-1000 crore enterprise will not be extremely bold.
Goofi has an in-house content material growth workforce comprising scriptwriters, content material writers, and storytellers. There are usually 5 to 6 writers on the workforce, most of whom are employed employees somewhat than exterior authors. The workforce conducts workshops with writers, designers, and educators to pick out subjects and themes, guaranteeing alignment with its skill-building aims and storytelling ideas.
The corporate has additionally made a sequence of modifications when it comes to distribution. Goofi Books can be found in over 150 retail places by a shop-in-shop mannequin in shops like Unimart, Infinity Mega Mall. Instantly by its web site and through companions like Rokomari, Daraz, and Chaldal.
Many colleges incorporate Goofi books into their curriculum or characteristic them in libraries. Participation in and group of assorted occasions for gross sales and engagement.
Books are equipped to instructional tasks, comparable to Gentle of Hope’s Porua challenge, which supplies entry to high quality books for underprivileged kids. Some Goofi books can be found on Amazon in a number of worldwide markets, together with the USA, UK, Australia, and Germany.
Goofi’s success demonstrates how a single participant can encourage change in a complete trade. By proving that Bangladeshi shoppers would pay for high-quality kids’s content material, the corporate has helped increase requirements in a complete trade.
Evolution right into a Media Empire
Goofi’s story doesn’t finish with its success in books. The success in books has led to the enlargement of its characters and tales into different media, together with animated TV reveals, audio content material, studying toys, and stay occasions.
With over 80 titles overlaying ages 2 to 12, together with educational exercise books and storybooks, the books function the preliminary content material that’s then expanded throughout a number of platforms.
Books stay Goofi’s basis, however the actual worth creation occurs by systematic platform enlargement. The corporate has constructed an built-in media ecosystem the place every part reinforces the others.
Tales migrate from books to animated TV reveals on channels like Duronto TV, reaching 2.5 million kids and scaling messages past bodily e-book limitations. This is not simply content material repurposing, it is strategic amplification of the e-book’s core worth.
Puppet variations of e-book characters carry out in faculties. When kids see their favourite e-book characters come to life, the educational impression multiplies.
Firms like Dettol and Shokti+ associate with Goofi to achieve kids by trusted characters. NGOs like WaterAid use the platform to ship messages about good habits and hygiene. The books create the emotional basis that makes these partnerships efficient.
Bodily merchandise prolong the e-book expertise whereas producing extra income streams. Kids can play with toys that includes characters they’ve examine, creating multi-sensory studying experiences.
This ecosystem demonstrates the facility of community results. Every platform strengthens the others. TV reveals drive e-book gross sales. Guide recognition makes puppet reveals more practical. Character recognition allows merchandising. The entire turns into extra helpful than the sum of its components.
Throughout the broader Gentle of Hope (LoH) universe, Goofi is acknowledged as probably the most scalable model.
The evolution adopted a deliberate sequence.
First, set up credibility by high-quality books. Then, leverage that credibility to develop into tv with animated sequence. Subsequent, deliver characters to life by puppet reveals in faculties. Lastly, construct a platform that exterior manufacturers can use to achieve kids successfully.
Every layer strengthens the inspiration whereas creating new alternatives. The books set up character recognition. TV reveals scale the attain. Dwell occasions deepen engagement. The built-in ecosystem creates defensive moats, as characters change into extra widespread, the platform turns into extra helpful to companions.
Wanting Forward
Goofi has bold plans for its books section that is still central to its broader media universe enterprise.
The corporate plans to finish its Bornogolpo (বর্ণগল্প) sequence, a novel initiative to create 49-50 storybooks, every based mostly on a Bengali alphabet character. The sequence goals to develop kids’s vocabulary and convey numerous themes. As of early 2025, six sequence have been full, with the seventh in progress, aspiring to cowl all Bengali alphabets as much as Chondrobindu. Goofi additionally goals to proceed creating sequence like Banglar Gupodhon (বাংলার গুপ্তধন), which targets pre-teens and youngsters (10-12 years previous) and focuses on historical past and tradition.
In the long run, the corporate goals to develop globally. Whereas a few of its books are already accessible in English, the ambition is to achieve 70% of the world’s kids by translating content material into the highest seven languages globally. The corporate eyes partnership and royalty mannequin with international publishers, the place Goofi licenses its tales for native printing and distribution, just like how worldwide books enter Bangladesh.
Goofi says it’s assured that the standard of its books can compete with world choices.
When Books Turn into Platforms
The Goofi story illustrates a number of essential enterprise ideas about content-driven platform constructing.
Market gaps usually disguise in plain sight. The youngsters’s e-book high quality drawback in Bangladesh was apparent to anybody concerned in schooling, however most individuals accepted it as unchangeable. Bhuiyan noticed a possibility the place others noticed an intractable drawback.
Content material platforms beat product pondering. Whereas rivals targeted on particular person books, Goofi constructed a content material ecosystem that would develop throughout a number of codecs and income streams. The books have been by no means the top aim, they have been the inspiration for one thing bigger.
High quality generally is a sustainable aggressive benefit. In markets the place everybody competes on value, superior high quality can create premium positioning and higher unit economics. However high quality should be systematic, not unintended.
Generally one of the best technique is to start out small and assume huge. Goofi started with books for the Bangladeshi market however designed every part for world scaling from day one. The native success proved the idea; the worldwide imaginative and prescient guided the execution.
The story of Goofi Books reveals how deep trade information, strategic pondering, and affected person execution can create outsized worth. In a world the place digital disruption dominates headlines, typically probably the most profound modifications come from perfecting the basics and constructing systematically towards a bigger imaginative and prescient.
The important thing perception is recognizing that nice companies usually begin by fixing seemingly easy issues. Waliullah Bhuiyan wanted high quality books for his kids’s libraries. As a substitute of accepting the established order, he constructed an answer that’s serving to rework a complete trade.
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