We recently discovered the WhisperPhone – a physical tool to guide students through articulated reading – and I think one of the coolest aspects about this product is that teachers had already found a makeshift way of making the product before it even came out.

As I’ve recently learned, students who are able to hear themselves read more clearly are able to improve their articulation and pronunciation skills… so teachers for years have been creating makeshift PVC pipe ear-mouth pieces for kids to read into the pipe and hear themselves more clearly. Well, what better identifies a need in the market if the customers are already hacking together a solution on their own? So, the founders of WhisperPhone designed and manufactured a patented device that accomplishes the same thing that teachers had been ‘hacking’ together, but in a much more efficient, economical and effective way.

Cheers to WhisperPhone for identifying a clear need and coming up with an affordable product to address that need. And as a result we have kids with improved reading skills. What an economic and social startup success!