Start me up: Create-A-Sun is on a mission to make emotional resilience a universal skill with its education app

Canadian expats Joanna Huang and Kelsey Corcoran founded Create-A-Sun to provide children aged 4 to 11 with an interactive educational app that fosters emotional literacy.

Huang initially created the simple AI cartoon tool as a self-help project for her own children who were navigating big emotions. The change it brought was extraordinary: her five- and seven-year-olds learned to process emotional ups and downs with a new confidence and the family dynamic shifted towards open conversations. “It made my life so much easier, and I felt more confident as a parent,” says Huang.

Realising the app had a much broader appeal, the mission quickly expanded beyond her own home. To evolve it into a legitimate, scalable educational programme, Huang, a lawyer and corporate executive, put together a specialist team. A technical expert engineered and coded the current product, while co-founder Corcoran, an international school educator, joined to design the programme to ensure its pedagogical soundness.

Who are you targeting with the app?

We began by supporting children in international schools in Belgium and beyond, where the transient environment makes emotional grounding essential. We then plan to rapidly expand to public schools, where social-emotional learning (SEL) can often be limited, and ultimately reach vulnerable children globally, whose circumstances make this support vital.

What are your goals for the company?

Our ambition is for Create-A-Sun to be the driving force behind a generation of emotionally resilient children for whom learning emotional literacy is as natural as learning to read or count. Through our proprietary MOVEALITY (Movement + Reality) philosophy, which views educational impact not as a linear intervention but as an interconnected ‘Circle of Momentum’ that includes the child, the educator and the parent, our goal is to build a foundation on which to raise a generation of compassionate, confident and joyful adults.

Were there any administrative challenges to setting up the business?

Let’s just say passion doesn’t prepare you for paperwork! From figuring out the best company structure to deciding where to register and apply for grants, there’s been a lot to learn along the way. The administrative side can feel endless, but we remind ourselves it’s all part of building something solid.

What have been the high and low points so far?

The highs hit instantly: kids lighting up using Create-A-Sun, parents saying, “I wish I’d had this growing up,” even an investor admitting, “I’m retired, but I’m using this myself.” Schools - embracing wellbeing and innovation - have been welcoming of our pilot programmes (for SEL needs, as well as AI safety training for young learners) and we are on track to pilot in six schools by the year’s end. Partnership discussions with children and mental health organisations are all moments that make every challenge worth it.

The lows hit just as hard. Knowing the need is urgent, yet watching funding trickle in slowly and disappear just as fast. Revenue needs to come faster, which means product development must speed up, which means we need funding. Every day can feel like another “how many more days can we survive?” kind of challenge.

Do you have any advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?

Expect surprises every day: some chaotic, some joyful. One morning you’re knee-deep in technical hell; by afternoon, you’re laughing your head off with the team. Progress isn’t linear, growth isn’t always visible. But you just keep going, even without immediate rewards, because you believe, with unshakable certainty, that the world will be so much stronger if you build what you’re building.

Follow Create-A-Sun as we prepare to launch our global crowdfunding campaign. Help us reach more children by contributing, introducing us to potential funding partners, or even sharing your story on our Sunny Side Up! podcast. 

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If you would like to share your experience setting up a new business in Belgium, send an email to editorial@thebulletin.be

Photos: Create-A-Sun BEPS pilot programme; Kelsey Corcoran and Joanna Huang