In this corner of the country, where education is a major topic and a magnetic for many families to make a move to the north east, there is a lot of focus on the after school activities.
When Camilla Gazal and Flavia Naslausky met each other, they both worked in finance and led crazy lives commuting to New York City from Connecticut, and of course, juggling kids, home, husbands and life. In the back of their minds they were dreaming about something else, something deeper and more fulfilling, but didn’t know exactly what.
Until Flavia went on a ski vacation to Park City, Utah. She saw a man playing chess with his son at lunch time. The man was Paul Zane Pilzer, the founder of Zane Prep Inc, which back then only offered a math program. Intrigued by the scene, Flavia approached him, and the conversation turned into a project, which turned into a partnership, and then a business.
Zaniac is an after school program whose method for learning looks almost like a science lab. Its curriculum is streamlined more or less like this: minecraft, Zane math, 3 D printing, app creation, computer programing robotics, tinkering, design, game moding and kerbal space programs.
Does your daughter have a flair for fashion? They have a program for fashion design. Or your kids just want some help with homework? They have that too. The key to all of these programs is to bring your ideas to life at Zaniac, and to make learning feel like fun.
The response of their Greenwich (CT) campus opening was so fervid, you would have thought they have revealed a new entry way to college. It is a sign of how eager families want their kids to challenge their brains, and how painfully aware they are of their limitations—especially in today’s day, when kids spend more time than ever in front of a screen and electronic devices.
After upending the education market with their Greenwich campus, Zaniac owners Camila and Flavia are betting on expanding all across the north east, with new campuses in Manhattan, NY and Westport, CT.
For them, every student is a hero: a journey is the the quest for an ideal, for a great challenge. And instead of trying to save the world all at once, or commute to high-paid jobs, Camila and Flavia prefer to focus on one student at a time.
The love for education and the desire to change careers united these two Brazilian ladies, grounded in their desires, and determined to find the resources they needed to grow their business, confirming the emerging power of Latina women entrepreneurs.
1391 Post Road East 2nd Floor
Westport, CT 06880
Photo Credits: all photos on this post are by the great photographer Cristina Pye.
