Want help with parenting? Here are some startups rescuing the digital age parents

Parenting is considered one of the most rewarding experiences, but there's no getting away from the fact that it can be equally challenging. But in the digital age, if there's a problem, there's usually a startup or three not far behind. And for the modern parent, there are startups offering everything from tips during pregnancy to apps to track your child at school.

A little over a year ago, Vijay Anand and Neeraj Gupta set up Parentlane, a social networking startup that focuses on early childhood development. For them the a-ha moment came when Anand read that 90% of a child's brain development takes place before the age of eight, but only 50% of children develop to their fullest potential.

"Every parent is anxious about the child's overall development," says Anand, adding that the platform has over 20,000 parents posting queries. "Experts help anxious millennial parents with advice about development goals. We use data science to measure and monitor a child's well-being and development," he says.


Vijay Anand & Neeraj Gupta, Parentlane Founded: December 2015 App and social platform to track early child development

LOOKING TO THE WEB

Online advisories and networks are a hit with parents. In 2015, Supriya Hiremagalur and Vinay Rao founded ZenParent to help navigate pregnancy and parenthood. The online advisory platform has an editorial team that churns out articles and graphics for soon-to-be parents. More than 5 million mothers are on the platform, and it ties up with brands to generate revenue.

Delhi-based MyCity4Kids with 3,000 bloggers provides expert opinions, curated lists, a video channel, and tips to 6.5 million users a month. Both ZenParent and MyCity4Kids are localising content and have launched in Hindi. MyCity4Kids is looking at Marathi and Bengali to break into the tier 2-3 segment. Both platforms rely on native marketing through brand sponsorships.

"Many VCs have invested in companies in the babycare space and have made successful exits. So this space will grow," says Sumit Dhar, CEO, ZenParent. Naiyaa Saggi, founder of Mumbai-based BabyChakra is relying on two business models — one, working with brands and the other, a booking platform. BabyChakra, founded in 2014, lists services in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

"There is a lot of interest from international investors, especially in Korea and China. They are finally recognising that this model can be successful," says Saggi, whose investors include Seattle-based RoundGlass, Mumbai Angels and Singapore Angel Network.

Naiyya Saggi, Baby Chakra Founded: 2014 Online platform for parents to find local services like doctors, hospitals, play schools, activity centres and more.

VIRTUAL MONITORING

The other segment within the parenting space is tech-enabled solutions to track and keep children safe, both online and in the real world. Bengaluru-based Magnasoft has a mobile app, Northstar, which sends parents voice alerts on school bus arrival and all communication from the school. Its new product Toggr is a wearable watch to help parents track their children.

To monitor online activity, there's eKAVACH, an app that can be downloaded onto a mobile phone or tablet to track the sites children are using.

"We have identified over 150,000 websites based on suggestions from counsellors and psychiatrists and they are white or blacklisted. Parents can make custom lists, fix the time when their child can use the device, and get notifications if the child tries to access a blacklisted site," says Noopur Raghunath, founder, eKAVACH. The only problem is that there's more traction abroad. "In India, people are not ready to spend. I have clients in Iran and Germany," says Raghunath.

HELP WITH SCHOOL

SchoolConnects, founded by Rajesh Sanghvi and Umesh Jain, helps parents prepare for admission. "We are talking to schools to adopt digital forms in a standardised format so that parents can fill one form for multiple schools," says Sanghvi.

Early childhood learning with activity kits has also drawn VC interest. While Smartivity's activity kits can be bought offline or online, Flintobox and Magic Crate run on a subscription model — customers sign up and get an activity box with a unique theme each month.

Vijay Babu Gandhi & Arun Prasad Durairaj, Flintobox Founded: September 2013 Educational subscription activity boxes for children Since the parenting space is fragmented and has many players, it hasn't drawn big bucks yet. The 55 startups in the space have raised $2.73 million cumulatively, as per data from xeler8. The limited ability to scale and monetise, unorganised systems among schools and resistance paying by parents are roadblocks.

School heads say there's no substitute to hands-on parenting. "Nuclear families and working parents have led to dependency on technology. It's good to have startups guiding parents but parenting is intuitive. There is an element of personal involvement in terms of emotion and time that cannot be compromised," says Shefali Tyagi, principal, NPS-HSR Layout, Bengaluru. (Inputs from Anand J, Shalina Pillai and Aparna Desikan)