At the beginning of the year, we exclusively shared news on the launch of this new application in the market. Kidola is one of the many startups that have halted their service, temporarily, in its launch phase. All its clients have closed their doors for a few more weeks. Its founders, however, see this period as an opportunity to refine their product and prepare for the post-crisis.
Illustration © Kidola
Kidola is an app that facilitates information sharing between parents and nurseries. The least we can say is that this first quarter has been full of twists and turns for the startup.
“2020 has sure started in an unexpected way. I see two things that impacted all of us, the first thing being the coronavirus crisis, ofcourse. The second one, maybe less obvious but with a potentially long lasting effect: the new name for our startup. Camie was renamed Kidola. The name changed but the goal remains the same”, says Quentin de Madre, Kidola’s co-founder.
The virus changed plans for most companies. Kidola’s founders have adapted their priorities, too. We’ve seen some companies offer support for the most urgent needs and donated millions of masks to hospitals. Most likely, we’ll have to keep social distancing for a while and be vigilant about potential transmission. “Most nurseries are still closed until at least the May 25th, but the recovery will be progressive. We won’t go back to the way things were overnight”, he continues.
“This could be a good opportunity to accelerate the digitalization of nurseries, for the sake of parents, children, educators and nursery managers.”
In that perspective, educators in nurseries and parents will have to monitor childrens’ health with extra care. “Kidola now facilitates monitoring by allowing educators to add health elements like temperature, or runny nose in its daily reports. Parents are sure to be aware of any symptoms and the nursery can easily update information that needs to be displayed in the parents’ portal or email. All of this while limiting unnecessary contact,” says the co-founder.
Rather than pivoting or making an emergency offer, the startup prefers to concentrate its efforts on better preparing for the post-crisis period. It’s a step towards a safer environment for everyone by improving the flow of information. Even beyond the corona crisis, this has always been a point of concern for parents. “This could be a good opportunity to accelerate the digitalization of nurseries, for the sake of parents, children, educators and nursery managers. They can now digitize time consuming tasks, use reports to optimize the planning and focus on what really matters: the well being of children,” concludes De Madre.
Although the Corona crisis was a step back for the startups, it might have a positive influence and accelerate change for digital startups.
