Best Startup
Monkey Music is a leading light in pre-school premium music education in the UK and is the brainchild of Founder and CEO Angie Coates. Established in 1993, franchised in 1998, Monkey Music will be celebrating its 30th anniversary next year. Each week, over 700 hours of classes are taught to more than 20,000 children across the length and breadth of the country. Monkey Music has been a rite of passage for hundreds of thousands of young families throughout the country. Over 2.4 million hours of classes have been taught by teachers who have sung their way to a combined revenue of more than £40 million.
At the heart of the Monkey Music success is its brilliant ‘bible’: over 500 original songs and musical activities, based on a 4 stage, age specific curricula, specially created by Angie and a team of musicians and child development experts. The range and quality of this material, which spins around a much-loved pink Monkey and his small partner Mo, underpins the brand’s success. As well as the weekly classes, there are plush characters, t-shirts, downloads, nursery sessions, party entertainment and community outreach programmes. Angie has also, in partnership with publishers MacMillan Books, created a series of children’s books based on Monkey’s adventures.
Tell us about yourself?
I was living in London with a new baby and working as a musician whilst trying to find a way to be a mum and also have a career.
My job as a musician meant staying away from home and working anti-social hours – neither of which offered my new baby much of a look in!
So, I switched from sharing my love of music with an audience in an auditorium to playing and singing with my baby daughter and a group of friends in a hall. I had always been fascinated with how babies learn through being exposed to music from a young age but the music groups in London at that time were a bit dry and boring. I created Monkey Music to give babies and toddlers, accompanied by their parents and carers, a fun introduction to music whilst learning and not realising how clever they are being.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
Keep opening all the doors! You never know what might be behind them.
What problem does your business solve?
It gives parents and carers a very worthwhile activity to do with their young family during a very long day!
What is the inspiration behind your business?
I was driven by the desire to offer a new, fun kind of group for parents and carers who wanted their child to benefit from early exposure to music without all the boring stuff and whilst having fun themselves too.
What is your magic sauce?
Our classes are a ‘good fit’ for different age groups. We have a four stage progressive curricula comprising of our own original music and songs. Everything at Monkey Music is original – even our pink Monkey!
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
We want to continue to grow as a franchise network across the UK by offering our franchise business opportunity to more new business owners and to share the joy of Monkey Music with every baby and toddler in the UK!
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
The pandemic – jumping online with our classes was complicated for lots of reasons but worth it!
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
We want to expose as many people as possible to the joy of sharing Monkey Music. From the babies and children that visit our classes for the first time, from their parents and carers who find a moment of joy in their day, to new business owners who share our passion for early years music education but also a desire to run their own business, assisted by a tried and tested business model and Head Office Support Team. We are always looking for new people to join our team and share the Monkey Music magic!
