Our Journey With Lovevery

Thesis

The earliest years of life represent a critical window for child development: 80% of a child’s brain mass is formed by age three. Yet toy companies had long overlooked the science behind early learning, leaving parents under-supported during this vital stage. We saw an opportunity for Lovevery to disrupt a large and complacent market with evidence-based, beautifully designed play products that empower parents while nurturing children’s growth. Lovevery’s mission is to help every parent feel confident supporting their child’s development from birth to age six, creating products that are intentionally sequenced, child-led, and rooted in research.

Team Conviction

Our conviction began with Jessica Rolph and Rod Morris, whose complementary strengths and track records signaled a world-class team. Jessica had already built a trusted consumer brand as co-founder of Happy Baby Organics, and brought the same mix of mission, rigor, and customer empathy to Lovevery, scouring PhD theses on child development to inform product design. Rod, a former executive at Opower (which he helped take public), contributed operational discipline and a deep commitment to building mission-driven companies.

Their customer obsession stood out immediately. In the early days, Jessica personally called every unsubscribing parent to understand their experience. She cared deeply about human connection and designing alternatives to screen time that support bonding between parents and children. Rod shared this same commitment, drawing on his time at Opower where consumer engagement was core to driving impact. Together, they offered the rare combination of visionary leadership, operational excellence, and relentless commitment to families, giving us confidence they could redefine a sleepy category and build a global lifestyle brand for parents.

Impact to Date

Lovevery is transforming early childhood development through its innovative, research-driven support system for learning and play. Known for its award-winning, stage-based Play Kits program and the companion Lovevery App, the company provides science-backed tools that empower parents with confidence and nurture children’s development from birth.

Lovevery has since expanded to early literacy with The Early Reader Club subscription and The Reading Skill Set—a proven, screen-free, learn-to-read program. The company has sold over 10 million children’s books—many of which have become beloved family-favorites. Today, Lovevery continues to lead in early childhood innovation across more than 30 global markets.

How We Supported Lovevery’s Journey

• Helped recruit their Head of Content (a former educator from our network) to strengthen product pedagogy.
  
• Introduced the team to investors that participated in later-stage financing rounds.
  
• Shared our subject-matter expertise to guide product development, ensuring offerings aligned with the latest research in early childhood development.