This article on Faba is part of the special reportage with some virtuous examples of young entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs, published in the number 28/29 of Vanity Fair, on newsstands until July 15th.
“It was 2019. We were about to become parents and, more and more often, we wondered what we could do to improve the future of our children.” Sometimes the spark comes from a necessity. As happened for Fabathe startup that produces the digital narrative storytelling of the same name and born from the know-how of four friends and colleagues-Matteo Fabbrini, Chiara Gava, Francesco Poloniato and Alessio Polo-who have decided to invest in a dream: a world-friendly world. “We united what we knew and on which we already worked – the speaker and the production of three -dimensional characters – to children’s audiobooks”. A project born, designed and developed to remove the little ones from the screen and to bring children back to listening, to discover sounds and noises, to the desire to invent and imagine. “We wanted to be carriers of innovation and revolution in the country where we were building our families.” Today, the Treviso startup has 30 employees, an internal team for the development of original stories and is present in 270 thousand houses of 5 different countries. Success also given by the numbers: 2024 ended with a turnover of 9.5 million euros, while the growth forecasts for 2025 are +50%. A kind revolution that also transformed the corporate concept: “If before I looked at numbers and budgets”, explains CEO, Matteo Fabbrini, “today what is really important for me is to bring joy and have a positive impact in the lives of children and families”.
Here the complete interview with Matteo Fabbrini and Chiara Gava di Faba
When did Faba be born?
“In 2019, in conjunction with the birth of our children and thinking about their future”.
How was the project born?
Chiara Gava: «Matteo and I, together with the other two founders, already worked together in a company that produced three -dimensional USB key on license. Small objects that, slowly, have become item Collect, going beyond the intrinsic utility of the same USB key. After about ten years, however, we realized that it would not have lasted forever and we started looking around. And, in conjunction, we were also becoming parents and, therefore, even outside the work our conversations moved more and more often to the themes dedicated to parenting. The strongest theme was related to the use of screens in the early years of life and the effects that the abuse of technology can have on brain development. We then wondered: “Is there anything we can do that unite what we are good at doing this?” ».
What are the first steps you took?
CG: «We started to go around the various fairs, especially in Hong Kong, where we started seeing the use of NFC technology on different product areas. And it is there that the idea of ​​bringing it to one of the speakers that we already did in the previous business, in combination with the 3D characters that we knew well. In addition, by studying the market, we saw that, outside Italy, children’s audiobooks were widespread while here it was a world still to be explored. For us a challenge that has turned into the desire to create something exciting and interesting ».
What do you want to reach with Faba?
CG: «Our goal would be to build a world to child and girl. Studying Tailor Made stories and stories: for every age and all interest. Finding the right words, times suitable for age and ability to pay attention and, above all, to provide them with different and stimulating entertainment ».
And today, where are you?
CG: “Today we are 30 and we also have a team dedicated to content, which creates stories and fairy tales for Faba and which, with the support of external collaborators, allows us to tell stories where the size of the audio is engaging: no longer a single minivan narrator, but more characters and noise and background sounds that enrich everything”.
Matteo Fabbrini: “With the characters of Faba Originals, like Lily the dragon, we are trying to push us a little further: both in transmitting increasingly educational messages, and in the creation of real audio films, because children require superior quality than us adults”.
Have you not been afraid to invest in Italy, even aware of the fact that children are less and less and less?
CG: «Yes, we knew that the children were not many, but we also knew that Faba was a product that had no competition on the market. This was a pilot project, but already from the first launch we saw that the interest was high and that the project also liked the shopkeepers themselves who, in addition to appreciating the novelty, understood that Faba retains the customer who returns to the shop for the purchase of new characters. Furthermore, starting a business in another country would not have had the same impact: we wanted to bring innovation and we wanted to do it in our community. For us Faba is a small revolution ».
What did Faba give you that you would never have expected?
MF: «For me to do business, before, it was to make numbers, turnover and grow profits. From the birth of Faba Fare Impresa it means doing good, bringing moments of joy to families and having a positive impact on the lives of boys and girls ».
Projects for the future?
CG: «Today we are present in about 15% of families with children between 0 and 6 years. In the next two years the first goal is to achieve 50% of children’s bedrooms across the country. In addition to this, we want to become a point of reference for the education and entertainment of children from 0 to 6 years and we want to do it in the round. And why not, also get to conquer older children ».
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Source: Vanity Fair
I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.
