A Conversation With Jan Davidson
CSR Issue: June/July 1997, Page 25
For the first time in 20 years, Jan
and Bob Davidson, two successful pioneers in the children's
software industry, cleaned out their garage ("Bob and I
haven't had time in 20 years!"). In case you haven't heard,
the Davidsons recently left the very successful company they
built (Davidson & Associates, Inc.) and are now focusing
their energy on philanthropic and investment activities,
and, of course, some spring cleaning. So while Bob finished
up the garage, we talked to Jan about the changes at
Davidson and her thoughts about children and new media in
general.
You are perhaps best known for Math Blaster. When did it
first come out?
On Feb. 23, which happens to be my birthday, in 1983, the
first Math Blaster was brought to the market. It ran on an
Apple II with 48K.
You've come such a long way and seen so many changes
since then. What were some highlights of your career in
educational software?
There's just so many! When we started the company, I
remember first having to make the big decision-- "Am I going
to be a teacher or a business person?" That was very hard
... I always thought of myself as a teacher and I felt that
I was betraying my goals by leaving the profession. I talked
to a lot of people, certainly a lot with Bob, and he said to
me "What's your real goal? Is your goal to be a teacher, or
is that your strategy? ... Your goal is to help people
learn, right?" And I said yes, and he said "And your
strategy was to be a teacher? So are you willing to change
strategies to be in business?" I thought of it that way, and
I could do it, and I made the decision to go into
business.
So what happened next?
We had to spend a lot of time creating the industry because
there wasn't much educational software to speak of; much
less a way to get it to market. Getting dealers to devote
shelf space to educational software was a big effort. For
example, to get people to realize the value of computers for
learning, we started Computer Learning Month which evolved
into the Computer Learning Foundation. When our company got
to the point when we needed professional business
management, bringing Bob into the company was a real key
point. Under his leadership, I was able to let him run the
company while I focused on developing products.
What led you and Bob to leave Davidson?
I really am very proud of the people at Davidson and love
them very very much. I also loved watching them grow, but
when we sold the company we had differences of opinion with
the new owners over matters of company goals and values.
While we have a lot of friends at Davidson that we want to
support as far as helping them on an individual basis, we
have no working or consulting relationship with the
company.
You mentioned values. What do you mean by a company
having values?
Companies need to be purpose-oriented as well as
profit-oriented. Many media companies that create movies,
television programming and software are saying that you just
can't run a business without compromising on standards, but
I don't agree. We were able to do it at Davidson for years.
We proved that you can run a good business, you can make
money, you can create a great environment for your
employees, and you can create something your customers
value, all in a way that helps society. I think that we're
in a crisis situation with our young people, and that puts
us all at risk. If every corporation took a little more
responsibility for what they put out, we'd have a better
world.
So does this mean you won't be making educational
software?
I am not able to work in educational software because I
signed a non-compete agreement with CUC. So now I'm dividing
my time between philanthropy and in developing new
education-related business. On the new business side, one of
the new companies we've helped form is thinking a lot about
how very young children's brains develop. The company is
called EduPlay and is working on a set of "smart toys" for
children in the 0 to 5 age range. That's pretty exciting to
me.
What about software for girls? Is there enough in your
opinion? What would you like to see?
Oh, I'd like to see so many more things for girls. I'd love
to see a "girls world" on the Internet, and I'd love to see
more great math products for girls. One startup company that
I'm impressed with is Girl's Games. Laura Groppe, the
founder of that company, really started it right by first
researching and understanding what girls want. I just think
that she focused the right way in developing the product
Let's Talk About Me. She is serving those girls by making
these kinds of products.
There certainly are a lot of girls products coming out.
Have you seen Barbie Fashion Designer, as advertised on
Saturday morning TV?
It's interesting how that product sold more in a shorter
time than any other product in history, including the best
selling games! And it's just a niche for girls (there aren't
too many little boys playing with that title, I don't
think). So that tells you something. It was an incredible
hit from a sales perspective. It also tells us how licensed
characters can sell product.
You've been at the center of such an incredible period of
change in both education and technology. What is that
like?
I am having fun. I don't think of what we've done as work
because I just love what I do, I guess because it's my
choice. I've learned that nothing really goes the way it's
planned and there are lots of bumps along the road. Some
times it's two steps forward and one step backward, and
sometimes it's two steps backward and one step forward. But
I feel that [throughout the Davidson years] somebody
was watching over me, and that now it's time for me to do
this new thing. And now I have the chance to give something
back.
Copyright 1998, Children's Software Revue
"I think that we're in a crisis situation with our young people, and that puts us all at risk. If every corporation took a little more responsibility for what they put out, we'd have a better world."