Q&A With Yoto Co-Founder Ben Drury

If you’re looking for a new way to make bedtime a bit easier and keep your littles entertained—and off screens—Yoto’s adorable, just-for-kids audio devices should be on your radar. We chatted with co-founder Ben Drury to learn more. —Vita Daily

Please tell us a bit about yourself to start.

I’ve always worked in technology and digital content. Early on in my career I worked on a music website called dotmusic, which was eventually acquired by Yahoo!, and then in 2004 I co-founded a digital music platform business called 7digital and ran that until it went public in 2014. I also had kids around the same time as my exit from 7digital and that was the life-changing moment that helped inspire Yoto!

When and why did you launch Yoto? What niche were/are you aiming to fill?

Having previously worked together within the digital music world, my Yoto co-founder Filip and I happened to have children around the same time and would often chat about the challenges of modern parenting, specifically on the concerns of excess screen time. It was this unique combination of circumstances as well as our shared belief in the power of audio to inspire creativity and imagination, and the desire to give our kids easy and safe access to incredible audio content that led to Yoto’s creation. At the time, my children were also enrolled at a Montessori school, which was the inspiration behind Yoto’s mantra of kids in control. The idea was born: a connected, screen-free audio device that kids could be fully in control of using physical smartcards! In 2017, we launched a Kickstarter campaign and were able to officially launch in 2020.

What products do you offer, and what makes them unique?

Yoto is an interactive audio platform that puts kids in control of their listening, learning, and play. Our hero product, Yoto Player, is a screen-free, carefully connected speaker that lets kids listen to over 1,000 audio titles from the world’s greatest creators, including stories, music, podcasts, educational content, and more using physical cards. In 2021, we launched the portable Yoto Mini for the ultimate listening experience without limits, giving kids the freedom to safely enjoy their favourite audio while on the move! The Yoto App is the home for managing and customising each player, but at its core, it’s a gateway to all the great audio Yoto has to offer, including an array of free content spanning podcasts, radio, soundscapes, and sleep sounds. Each of our products enable children to access the best kids’ audio, without being exposed to advertising, unsuitable content or excessive screen time.

Congrats on the launch of Yoto Player (3rd Generation); what’s new with this iteration?

Thank you – we were incredibly excited to launch the new Player in June! The new Yoto Player includes some major improvements and updates, which we knew our community was really hungry for, including acoustically-engineered stereo sound, a more powerful battery life (3x longer than the earlier iteration), increased storage capacity for 600+ hours of audio for offline listening, plus, an improved pixel display, night light, and WiFi signal. We also incorporated a new feature for the Yoto Player that helps parents of newborns ensure their baby is always sleeping comfortably with the introduction of a room thermometer. The room thermometer can be easily monitored from the Yoto App, where parents will receive alerts about their children’s room temperature right to their mobile device.

Why is the Yoto Player a must-have for parents and kids alike?

At Yoto, we’re committed to our mission to soundtrack childhood and help families at every stage of their journey. With that ethos at the heart of what we do every day, Yoto champions kids’ independence so that they can lead the way through childhood, discovering what inspires them as they grow. More than just a storyteller, Yoto is packed with features that help parents encourage independence and it enables their children to safely take control of their day as well as their listening, learning, and play. What’s more, the feedback we get from our passionate, global community on a daily basis reaffirms we’re delivering on our promise.

What’s your favourite use for the player and/or your top tips for use?

My kids are now 8 and 9 and so they really like longer stories like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Marvel. They still love Jake and Yoto Daily and they are more into music and podcasts than ever before. As a family, we love the Make Your Own cards and we create and share these with my nephews and nieces who are also Yoto customers.

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