About Readigo - The Reading Practice App Built on Research

Why we built this

1 in 5 kids has a reading difficulty like dyslexia (IDA), and many more are simply reading below grade level. They don't read aloud at home, class doesn't give them one-on-one time, and most "reading apps" are games in disguise - kids tap and swipe but never actually read out loud. Tutors help, but at $40–80 an hour they're out of reach for most families.

We didn't start by asking "what can we automate?" We started by asking what the reading research actually says. The answer was consistent: short, daily read-aloud practice, grounded in phonics, with timely feedback. So we built Readigo - a patient reading coach that's always there, listens as your kid reads aloud, gently corrects pronunciation and pace, and sends you a short weekly card: what they read, where they tripped, what finally clicked.

Who we are

Readigo is made by a small team of engineers and designers, each of us with a kid of our own. We're building the app we want to use with our own children. Before opening it up, we tested with 1,000+ families. The first testers were our own kids.

What makes Readigo different

• ✓Scores more than "finished or not" - accuracy, pace, fluency, and clarity on every word
• ✓Manga Mode - comic-panel stories in the format kids already love
• ✓A parent report that shows what she read, which words were tricky, and whether she's getting better
• ✓Igo, the dragon coach - the reason kids come back without you reminding them

How we build

Readigo is built on the Science of Reading and aligned with structured literacy - the five pillars laid out by the National Reading Panel (2000): phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Our approach to repeated read-aloud practice follows Samuels (1979) and Stanovich (1986). The case for daily reading aloud is made by Jim Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook. Under the hood, Readigo uses speech-feedback tuned for kids' voices - Igo listens and gives word-by-word feedback at each child's level.

Every new feature has to pass two questions: "Would a parent trust this with their kid?" and "Would a kid actually want to use it?"

Contact

Questions, ideas, or partnerships - say hi: