How a Bus Ride Became a Children's Book Company
I still get chills thinking about that bus ride eight years ago.
The conductor asked me to move beside a stranger to free my seat. That small switch became the biggest moment of my life. A simple chat grew into the love of my life. She is my wife now, and that chance moment set our story in motion.
Stories as a language
Since then, stories have been our language. They carried us through hard days, sparked bravery, and showed us who we could be.
My wife Miti has been a child psychologist for over a decade and has seen how stories shape children and their personalities.
We began to wonder: what if we could empower children by making them the hero of their own story — their interests, their friends and family, and the role models they look up to?
The idea
Imagine a child with anger stepping into a story of learning calm.
Or a shy child becoming the brave explorer.
Stories like these help children practice new perspectives, build confidence, and grow stronger.
Building it
Then we started building.
Miti brought her experience working with parents, and I focused on creating the technology to make it possible.
The progress looked like this:
- At first, each book took us more than a day to complete
- Then a few hours
- Then two hours
- Then one
- Today, it takes just five minutes
Along the way, we sold our first 50 books, received feedback from parents, and kept building our in-house AI story building tool.
Over two months, we built closely with parents.
Once Upon Me
With Once Upon Me, we craft premium hardcover books where each child becomes the hero of their own adventure.
Their name, look, and interests are woven into stories built around the theme that matters to them.