21 months ago, I started a dual-mission company.

The first mission… provide kids with a reading experience they find as exciting as other entertainment choices and, as a result, give parents a healthy alternative to gaming, social media, and passive video viewing.

The second mission… provide authors, illustrators, and IP holders with a sustainable and protected business model in the age of AI.

The result is Wendy, a story-building toolbox for kids.

Wendy launches today. It’s an iPad app to start. You can find it [here].

Given this is LinkedIn, I want to take a moment to answer a key question…

Why start Wendy?

There are several answers, ranging from a long family history in children’s books to most of my career being focused on integrating new technology into useful solutions.

But the biggest reason…My kids. Their future. Their safety.

My career provided me with the opportunity to have a front-row seat to seismic changes in the way most of us communicate, connect with one another, and use our time.

However, some of those changes went too far.

Some of those changes started adversely affecting our kids and began altering their views on who they are as people.

Kids started seeing quantity over quality and consumption over connection as a way of life.

And one of the greatest forces for good in a child’s life—a book—fell behind the times.

Reading for fun is dropping fast. Scholastic calls it the Decline by 9—where, in just one year, nearly 40% of kids stop reading for fun, and most never return.

These incredible, immersive mental spaces where kids can learn, play, and challenge themselves started becoming a smaller and smaller portion of childhood.

The impact? Higher anxiety, lower confidence, and, according to Cambridge University, long-term negative effects on educational, social, and career development.

I witnessed firsthand the impact that overuse and over-reliance on other forms of media had on teenagers and how it led to isolation and unimaginable consequences.

And yet, stories themselves, the very thing that make us human, are bigger than ever. Just look at the size of children’s entertainment franchises today.

Therefore, we asked—

What if reading could evolve?

What if kids could experience reading the way they experience games, immersive content, and personalized entertainment?

What if we could bring that excitement into reading without losing what makes books magical?

In answering these questions, we couldn’t help but come face to face with another challenge.

In the age of AI, authors and illustrators’ work and rights are being disregarded, and IP is being stolen and used without permission.

The irony is that today, AI alone can’t match the creativity and production quality of professionals and being precious about a past that may not return is preventing the publishing and creative community from stepping into new opportunities to showcase their work.

The solution lays, as it usually does, in the combination of artistry and technology, existing IP and new creations.

So, we took on both missions with one solution.

Wendy became a story-building toolbox where kids can safely create, collaborate with friends, and expand stories using beloved characters, real author story starters, custom illustration styles, and beloved IP. Wendy now seamlessly integrates structured creativity, IP protection, and professional-quality kid-generated stories into one platform.

What comes next?

I can’t predict the future of Wendy, but I do know this—

Over the last 21 months…

We’ve worked with kids and parents, authors and illustrators, early education and reading specialists, IP holders, and publishers to build something safe, fun, and meaningful.

We’ve worked tirelessly to make the world better for our children and the people who have worked for decades to help make the lives of our children brighter.

There has been zero dissonance between how we’ve wanted to use our days and how we are—because we know our true north.

And I know we will continue to push for more tools for kids, more inclusion for the storytelling community, and more ways for kids to connect with their family, friends, and their own imaginative self.

If you decide to try Wendy…

• Let us know what your kids think.

• If you share it, we’d love to hear why.

• If you simply believe in helping kids rediscover reading, let’s talk.

• And, if you do any of those things, this effort will have been worth it.

Thanks for the read.

Hope you become a Make-Believer.

Lance Neuhauser

Father and CEO