What the company does
Legible is an online reading platform and digital publisher, founded to make ebooks accessible for all via browsers on the devices people already use, as well as via large-scale B2B partnerships with providers such as Ontario’s transit authority, Metrolinx. The company stands on three core values: accessibility, sustainability, and improving worldwide literacy.
The Current Landscape
Unlike other e-reading sales sites like Kindle, Kobo and Scribd, Legible is the only Canadian independent ebookstore offering a catalogue of over two million ebooks (and audiobooks - coming shortly) from the biggest publishers in the world via browser-based, multimedia-enabled ereading to the global market via both subscription (also coming shortly) and a la carte purchase, and is also the only one that is a creative agency publishing multimedia ebooks. Legible will also be the first ebook/audiobook provider to enable readers to switch between reading and listening while on the go. This is why we are different and better.
Company Birth Story
In 2007, Legible CEO Kaleeg Hainsworth was making ebooks for homeless people and had a vision: accessible literature that could be made available for everyone. Over the next decade, Hainsworth refined this idea and developed a browser-based reading system. In 2019, he founded Legible, which became the world's first fully mobile-first, browser-based ebookstore. Legible's innovative format is designed to cater to a global audience, especially as the next billion people gain access to the internet and increasingly embrace reading on their smartphones, as well as younger generations who love social media and enjoy multimedia-rich ereading experiences. As it grows, Legible plans to partner with global agencies to help provide access to literacy and ereading anywhere people have internet-connected devices.
The Solution
Legible is building the largest accessible ebookstore on the planet. Its browser-based format allows users to read books directly from their smartphones, tablets, or laptops, without the need for specialty devices or downloads. Legible differentiates itself from competitors by offering all its reading materials on a browser, and not compromising the ‘beauty’ of books. Every book developed by Legible’s publishing arm is beautifully designed, accessing all the potential of the epublishing medium.
The startup successfully went public in December 2021 on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the aptly-named symbol READ, and has established partnerships with major and independent publishers and the world's largest distributor. The ebookstore now has almost two million ebooks streaming to readers anywhere in the world.
The startup is also a publisher and develops multimedia books it calls Living Books, working with celebrity authors, writers, and publishers to embed video, audio and animation into entertaining and educational epubs that can be read on its browser-based reading platform. One of Legible’s first Living Books, Not Extinct, was developed as a donation to a BC First Nation showcasing audio of their oral histories as well as video of their traditional lands, and offering readers instant access to a dictionary of recorded words.
A Customer Story
“We see this partnership with Legible as an important part of our digital transformation as we seek to expand our audience for our groundbreaking authors,” said Kwame Scott Fraser, President & Publisher, Dundurn Press.
The Team Culture
Legible’s core team is passionate about the company’s vision of making books available to as many people as possible. They believe accessing books on smartphones is how the next billion people will read. Legible is creating original, beautiful Living Books featuring multimedia content that will reinvent the way people read and learn.
A founder quote
“We are passionate about bringing a great selection of high-quality books to readers around the globe. We believe that everyone should have access to the joy and knowledge that books can bring, which is why we strive to make our platform as accessible as possible. We value literacy as a fundamental human right. It enables learning, personal growth, and social progress. We provide high-quality books and resources to help people of all ages and backgrounds improve their reading skills and expand their knowledge. By fostering literacy, we empower individuals and communities to reach their full potential.”
Kaleeg Hainsworth, founder and CEO
Check it out : https://legible.com/
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