About Us
Bedtime Stories Reimagined
Our Mission & Purpose
We believe that every child needs a chance to explore their imagination while living in a highly visual, digital world. By simplifying the creative process, we help busy parents initiate imaginative bonding experiences with their children. We deliver original bedtime stories right to the inbox, bridging the gap between modern parents and traditional storytellers.
“Story Tyke removes the need for parents to spend time creating or hastily search for stories to tell their children at bedtime.”
— Jacob Merkley, Founder & CEO of Story Tyke
Our Founder’s Story
Jacob Merkley, Founder & CEO at Story Tyke
The idea for this service came one night when I was attempting to put my oldest daughter to bed. She asked me for a brand new story. After a long day at the office, coming up with something new and creative seemed too difficult. So I did what any modern parent would do… I turned to Google to find a story to read out loud!
Unfortunately, I found poorly designed websites with ads everywhere! The bigger problem, though, was trying to wade through thousands of stories on hundreds of websites to find the perfect one to read to my child. Deciding which one to pick was overwhelming. Plus, I found most of the stories to be of low quality. After browsing through a few bedtime story apps, I came to the same conclusion.
I spent almost thirty minutes browsing different sites and apps for the best story. My search took so long that by the time I settled on one, my daughter had already fallen asleep! The mass amount of story options pushed me into a state of inaction and cost me precious bonding time with my child.
Story Tyke not only provides entertaining and educational bedtime stories, but a simplified mode of delivery that saves time for busy parents. Just one click into their email, and parents can launch right into telling a story to their little one.
Our Team
A Close-Knit Family Bringing Stories To Life
Our team may be small, but we are quick on our feet and focused on delivering high quality stories right to your inbox. We come from a variety of backgrounds and are equipped with a diverse array of talents and expertise. But what we all share is a desire to work hard and share our love of storytelling to as many people as possible.
Jacob Merkley
Founder & CEO
As CEO, Jacob focuses on helping families all over the world discover and love Story Tyke. His goal is to help parents increase bonding time with their children through easier storytelling. He is a proud husband to the girl he met in an elevator and is the proud father of three kids under six. His education and career pursuits have included a BS in accounting, an MBA, and over ten years in accounting and sales.
Melinda Hicks
Chief Content Officer
Since she was a little girl, Melinda dreamed of becoming a stay-at-home mom. Family has always been her top priority. Through her love of finding, creating, and sharing stories, she hopes to bring families together and inspire children to be their best selves. She is a certified health educator with a BA in health education and promotion. Along with writing, she teaches English and Spanish to youth and children abroad.
Troy Hicks
Customer Data Analyst
Troy loves making people happy. He enjoys creating products that are simple to use and make each day more fun. His goal is to make Story Tyke the go-to storytelling service for parents and solve the problems that they face when trying to educate and bond with their kids. He has a BA in business management and has worked over three years in analytics.
Contributors
Our Professional Writer’s and Editor
Sarah Lamb
Children’s Writer
A lifelong lover of children’s literature, Sarah enjoys creating stories for others to enjoy. She has over twenty years of professional writing experience and another ten in proofreading and editing. She delights in helping others create and polish their own stories. She spends her days writing in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley with her husband and two children.
Blake Hoena
Children’s Writer
Blake has spent nearly twenty years as an editor and author of numerous published children’s books, including Chocolate Chimpanzees and a graphic novel about space aliens. His love of telling stories led him to pursue a MFA in creative writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato. He currently resides in St. Paul, Minnesota, with his wife and many furry critters.
Jeffrey Morris
Children’s Writer
Jeff has always had a passion for storytelling. With a background in playwriting and journalism, he has written numerous plays, short stories, children’s books, poetry, and prose. As a proud uncle and resident bedtime storyteller for many of his friends’ children, Jeff has been honing this particular skill for quite some time. He is thrilled to help support parents and inspire the imaginations of young people everywhere.
Becky Bain
Editor
Becky made a name for herself in the entertainment industry working as a screenwriter, staff writer, script reader, and digital media strategist for some of TV’s biggest shows (The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show). She launched Becky Bain Editorial Services to combine her lifelong love of comedy, writing, reading, and screenwriting. After her daughter’s birth, she discovered a fondness for children’s books and will be publishing her first book shortly.