In a move that many would deem audacious, Jesse Soleil walked away from a high-paying job to establish Akili Network, which owns Akili Kids TV — Kenya’s first free-to-air children’s television channel.
Speaking in an interview on the Financially Incorrect podcast, Soleil stated that Akili Kids was born from a clear and pressing need. “Our purpose started in being Kenya’s first educational entertainment resource for children across the country,” he said.
He and his partner, Jeff Schon, began exploring the concept back in 2012, driven by the conviction that nearly 50% of Kenya’s population under the age of 18 deserved an education system that aligned with their evolving needs.
Launching Akili Kids
The path to launching Akili Kids began with a lengthy and difficult fundraising process between 2015 and 2019. The partners’ initial goal was to raise $5 million, a sum that would have provided a 24/7 programming schedule for a full year as well as some breathing room.
However, they ended up raising about $2 million, which meant making concessions and cutting some corners.
One of the biggest lessons the founders learned was about approaching the right investors. “You don’t go to a tech investor in the San Francisco Bay area when you’re looking for funds to launch a television channel in Africa,” he advised.
He found that traditional tech investors often didn’t care about the opportunity, no matter how great the need. The breakthrough came from connecting with impact investors, people who saw the positive impact that Akili Kids TV would have on the community and the potential returns of the business.
Akili Kids TV was finally launched on March 31, 2020. The launch was a race against time, happening just three weeks after Kenya’s borders shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their engineer from Bulgaria left the country the night the borders closed.
The station launched with only six hours of programming on repeat, but the pandemic turned out to be a blessing in disguise. With everyone at home, Akili Kids got millions of viewers.
Within five months, they were boasting a weekly audience of 5.4 million child viewers and 4.3 million adult viewers.
According to Soleil, the five years since launching the business have been a constant cycle of “doing great work and fundraising every single day.”
The Uphill Battle of Building a Business
Akili Kids’ success in a disrupted media landscape comes from a lean and focused business model.
One of their most pressing expense is that of producing quality content. “The cost of producing an original episode at the level of quality that you see on Western TV networks can range from $400 000 to $500,000 per episode, while acquiring the rights to air an already produced episode costs about $ 1,200,” he said.
Their sole focus is the TV channel and its digital counterpart. 50% of their revenue comes from commercial advertisers, 40% from non-commercial sources like grants and underwriting, and 10% from live events.
Operating with a team of 40 people out of a co-working space, they have managed expenses meticulously from day one. While some parents complain about repeated programs, Soleil notes that “kids don’t care,” and it allows them to invest in family co-viewing content that attracts advertisers.
The choice to prioritize terrestrial TV was strategic. When they launched, only 10% of Kenyans had regular data access (now around 20%). For the majority of children, traditional television remains the most accessible medium.
Personal Sacrifices
Soleil’s success has come with immense personal sacrifice. He took a 50% pay cut from his previous job, a decision that required his wife to work more and their family to adjust their standard of living.
To justify his decision, Soleil argued that “You can make a whole lot of money and invest it in somebody else, or you can make a little less and invest in yourself and maybe the return will be greater, and that’s my bet right now.”
Beyond the financial hit, there was the cost of time. For the past five years, he has split his life between the U.S. and Kenya. “While I am often troubled by the prospect of not spending enough time with my children in their formative years, at least I spend them with my 23 million kids who watch Akili kids TV in Kenya,” said the father of three.
He describes himself as a “financial Buddhist,” believing he is the one responsible for making his finances better. He invests in himself, his family, and his company.
His core advice is to stay out of debt and buy quality. “Don’t settle for temporary solutions. Instead, buy things that are actually worth it and that you can have for the next 20 years,” he said.