Kids Program Growth Ceiling: Push Through or Pivot? (Ep. 4)

Episode 04 · April 16, 2026 · Guest: Amir Moazami, Rookly

When an in-person kids program hits a growth ceiling, you have two real options. Push through by building the systems and team to add sites. Or pivot the expertise you've built into a model that reaches more kids for each hour you put in. Name the problem first. Then choose the tool, the hire or the new model that fixes it.

Listen or watch: Spotify · YouTube · Apple Podcasts

This is my written companion to Episode 4 of The Youth Enrichment Leader, my conversation with Amir Moazami of Rookly. Rookly is an online chess competition platform for schools. Clubs play other schools without leaving campus (rookly.com). Amir started where many of us start: teaching after-school chess, online and in person. Then he changed the model.

What is the growth ceiling in a kids enrichment business?

It's the point where adding the next area means doubling the work. I hear it from operators all the time. The program is good. Families are happy. And a new town means a second set of instructors, partners and logistics. Many operators don't want that.

That ceiling is made of complexity. You can build through it, and I lay out how in growing an after-school program business in three stages. Or you can take the expertise you've earned somewhere it travels further. Amir chose the second road.

Why did Amir move from chess classes to a school chess league?

Because the classes weren't solving the school's real problem, and the kids kept telling him what they wanted. Here is how he explained it:

• An online lesson still leaves the school to find an adult to be in the room. The school's hardest problem stayed unsolved.
• After-school is about kids doing something together. An online lesson loses most of that.
• In nearly every class, kids cared less about the lesson and more about playing the classmate they'd challenged at recess.
• He remembered his own childhood. He loved chess and never got to play for his school, because playing another school meant travel, a chaperone and matching schedules.

So he built the thing kids were asking for: school clubs meet once a week for an hour after school and play other schools online. He told me it started as a small idea he wasn't sure about. He watched engagement climb week over week, and then he committed.

How do I know whether to push through or pivot?

Run the same test Amir's story runs. These four questions are my takeaways from the conversation:

1. What do kids ask for in every session that you aren't offering yet?
2. What problem does your school partner still have after you show up?
3. What frustrated you as a kid or as a parent in this activity? That's market research you already own.
4. Can you try the new idea small, and watch engagement week over week before you bet the business?

If the answers point back to your in-person program, push through with better systems. If they point somewhere new, you have a direction worth a small test. Stay open to both.

What can technology solve in a kids program, and what can't it?

Technology solves a named problem. Amir's advice to operators without a technical background: ask why you want it. If you struggle to find school leads, there are tools that list after-school coordinators in your area and send outreach emails for you. If you lose touch with families between terms, an email newsletter keeps the relationship warm. He added that plenty gets done with no technology at all, like asking a happy partner for a reference.

What it can't do is be the adult in the room. Amir was candid that running fully online has a cost. His team isn't on campus, so how a club runs inside each school is out of their hands. For the basics, read what software a kids program business needs.

How do you win school partners in places you've never been?

Cold outreach that names a problem the school already feels, followed by relentless follow-up. Amir's emails were short: here is the program, here are schools already taking part. Schools answered because they already had a kid who loved chess and no place for that kid on campus. Happy schools became references.

The part I appreciated most was the hard truth. He expected a happy school to bring along the schools it already competes with in sports. It rarely works that way. What brings the next school is following up and building the relationship, one school at a time. My guide to getting your program into schools and my post on school referrals cover the how.

How do competition and recognition raise enrollment and retention?

Competition gets kids excited, and Amir calls excitement the base of all learning. Coaches tell him the same story: kids compete, talk about their matches at lunch, and friends show up wanting in. The more kids compete, the more they want to learn.

Recognition is the other half. When a student makes a brilliant move, his team writes to families to celebrate it, so that child goes home proud. Athletes get seen on the field. Kids who shine at chess or robotics rarely get that moment. I was that kid. The only medal I ever earned was an academic one.

You can do this in any activity. Watch for the great pass, the clean line of code, the brave first solo. A made-up example of the math: with 12 kids in a class and 2 specific shout-outs a week, every child is named within 12 ÷ 2 = 6 weeks. I'd use first names only, and send it just to that class's families. Kids who feel they belong come back. My companion to Episode 8 has more on keeping kids coming back.

Who should listen to this episode?

Listen if your program is full and the thought of a second city makes you tired, or if you're a domain expert wondering where technology fits. It's 27 minutes.

Listen or watch: Spotify · YouTube · Apple Podcasts

Frequently asked questions

Does pivoting mean closing my in-person programs?

No. Amir's company moved fully to its league. Your version might be a new offer that sits beside your classes. The point is to stay open to more than one way to grow.

Do I need a technical background to build something with technology?

Amir's view is that AI coding tools have lowered the barrier to getting a first version started. The harder questions haven't changed: who is your customer, and how do they find you?

Should I hire people who love the activity I teach?

It helps. Amir doesn't require it, yet everyone on his team plays chess, and he says loving the thing makes hard work easier. I look for people who have felt what our programs do for kids.

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Arielle Hammond, Ed.D. is the founder of enrops and host of The Youth Enrichment Leader, presented by enrops.