It all started with Neev — a curious, spirited 7-year-old and son of Tejas, one of the co-founders of Niji. Like many children his age, Neev was deeply drawn to screens but showed little interest in reading. Despite many efforts, books just didn’t capture his attention. That’s when Tejas and his long-time friend Pooja began to explore why.

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They realized that much of the content Neev encountered was not relatable. The stories spoke of “Ryan, a white boy with blonde hair, living in Brooklyn, celebrating Thanksgiving and eating aubergine.” But what if instead, Neev read about himself — “Neev, a 7-year-old boy with black hair and brown eyes, living in Pune, celebrating Holi and eating fafda and jalebi with his parents, Tejas and Kajal”?

So, Tejas (a tech professional) and Pooja (a sales strategist), friends for over 25 years, teamed up to test a simple but powerful hypothesis: Could deeply personalized content help children connect with books — and fall in love with reading?

They built a prototype — a storybook where Neev was the main character, his parents and friends featured, and the scenes mirrored his life. The impact was instant. Neev loved the book. He carried it everywhere. It made him feel seen, valued, and part of the story. That was the beginning of something magical.