Solving a Lifelong Problem

Can today's featured startup help improve your child's confidence?

Project Overview

Legends is an app that helps children aged 7–11 build confidence in just five minutes a day.

Every day, kids receive a text message with a link to a short, five-minute lesson.

Humans naturally learn by imitation—we constantly take cues from others, often without realizing it. Real-life examples tend to be far more effective than motivational speeches or generic advice. The people we observe influence the people we become.

That’s why each Legends lesson is a real-life story of a well-known person demonstrating different aspects of self-confidence. By studying these stories, kids naturally start to aspire to be like them—that’s the core principle behind Legends’ approach.

But for information to truly stick, kids need to internalize it. That’s where the app’s interactive format comes in—it works like social media “stories.”

After reading a new story, kids are prompted to create their own visual story, highlighting key moments. This process helps embed the lesson into their subconscious.

Legends constantly varies the focus of its stories to develop self-confidence from multiple angles. The founders believe confidence stems from:

• Self-concept, or a clear understanding of oneself, core principles, and personal values.

• Self-compassion—treating oneself with kindness, as one would a friend facing failure.

• Belief in oneself and the ability to influence one’s own life.

In addition to these core principles, the startup also works to strengthen:

• A sense of self-worth

• Integrity

• Goal-setting skills

• A natural drive for personal growth

• Problem-solving abilities

• Resilience

• Self-kindness

• Empathy

• The ability to maintain perspective and balance

The app periodically asks kids confidence-related questions to gauge their progress and tailor future stories accordingly. When a child reaches a significant milestone, Legends levels them up and notifies them of their achievement.

Parents are encouraged to read these daily stories with their kids as bedtime stories. This not only helps children understand complex ideas but also strengthens parent-child bonds and provides a meaningful way to discuss important topics.

Subscription currently costs:

• $10.83/month (billed annually).

• $21.99/month (billed monthly).

Legends recently came out of beta and immediately secured $6 million in funding.

Technically, though, Legends is a rebranded version of Ever Scouts, a startup that ran 10-week “inner fitness” programs for kids aged 8–10 and had raised $3 million. Interestingly, Legends’ entire leadership team held the same roles at Ever Scouts until February 2023.

What’s the Gist?

Most parents naturally assume their kids are confident—after all, teenagers are often rebellious and eager to assert their independence. But in reality, that attitude is often just a defense mechanism to mask growing insecurity.

Research shows that children’s confidence actually declines with age, with the steepest drop occurring between 11 and 14. That’s why Legends targets 7–11-year-olds—to prevent confidence issues rather than just treating them later.

In recent years, children’s confidence has been plummeting. Data suggests this trend began around 2012 and worsened dramatically after 2018—so addressing it now is more critical than ever.

Parents recognize this issue, too. A 2023 study found that parents ranked “self-confidence” as the most important trait they want to instill in their children—above responsibility, good manners, and even a strong work ethic.

There’s another modern challenge: parents believe their kids can only safely engage with social media if they’re already confident. The sad reality is that social media fuels insecurity—kids constantly compare themselves to idealized versions of success and glamour, often without realizing that what they see online is heavily curated.

And here’s an interesting twist—kids are far more open with researchers than they are with their parents. While many teens appear confident at home, studies suggest that for every genuinely self-assured child, there are four who secretly wish they had more confidence.

The good news? Legends’ founders believe confidence isn’t an innate trait but a skill that can be developed—exactly what the app is designed to do.

Key Takeaways

We already know that confidence is a crucial trait and that character is shaped in childhood. By ages 12–14, a child’s core personality is largely set—after that, they either live with it or spend years trying to change it.

But the scale of the confidence problem in kids is striking. That’s an important message for Legends to push—it has the data to back it up, and that could be a key driver of growth.

It’s also great that the app uses real-world examples in its lessons—people learn best from relatable stories. And having kids create social media-style “stories” as assignments? That’s a clever way to make learning engaging and modern.

So, where else could this concept go? A similar app could be built to develop other key character traits—not just for kids, but for adults too.

What traits would you want to develop with this kind of approach? Maybe something for future entrepreneurs?

Company info:

Legends

• Website: https://www.buildlegends.com/

• Last funding round: $6 million, 12.02.2024

• Total funds raised: $6 million over 1 round