Antler Investor Memo Series: Kidly is taking the pressure off parents to make sure their children have fun

Early stage investment company Antler Australia recently backed a new cohort of startups as part of its ongoing program to build great local tech companies.

Startup Daily is sharing the details of each venture in the “Antler Investor Memos” series, which is designed to give you a quick, sharp understanding of the startups and people involved, with many seeking follow up capital following Antler’s initial pre-seed investment.

Company name: Kidly

Formation date: 2022

Stage of business: Pre-Seed

Founders: Aaron Deutsch and Anna Korol

Current investors: Antler

Currently raising: Yes

Kidly is an all-in-one platform enabling the discovery and booking of children’s activities, helping parents to support their kids to have fun. The platform functions as a marketplace bringing together families and the small businesses in the communities that serve them, promoting fun through the learning, development, and growth of children.

Built by parents for parents, Kidly is co-founded by CPO and serial entrepreneur Anna Korol, who previously founded Bookido, specialising in childcare solutions, alongside CEO Aaron Deutsch with extensive operations, commercial strategy, and growth experience across the US and Australia.

Antler investment thesis

“Discovery, booking and payment for children’s activities is fragmented, inconsistent and full of friction for parents and vendors alike. Kidly streamlines the multiple bookings many parents make each term and school holiday while providing growth and efficiency benefits to vendors. Scheduling and calendar features are a potential game changer for parents and a compelling viral hook for users to discover and share the Kidly platform,” said Cath Rogers, Partner at Antler.

“It’s clear that Anna and Aaron are building in a space they care passionately about and their entrepreneurial hustle, product and commercial acumen positions them well for success in this sizable market.”

Traction/milestones

Kidly has onboarded more than 75 unique businesses across 250 locations in Sydney and the surrounding area.

As Kidly readies for its product launch, it has secured a waitlist of over 200 registered users with next to zero marketing spend and was selected as a featured business provider by North Shore Mums, providing access to over 40,000 local parents.

Latest funding

Pre-Seed from Antler

Use of funds

Kidly has so far prioritised funding product development, while early strategic hires will focus on technology, partnership and community to launch and grow the business and lead storytelling, turning customers into advocates.

The founders say

“As part of the millions of time-poor parents who are constantly seeking fun and engaging activities to get our kids off their devices and out into the world, we’re deeply passionate about building a solution,” said Aaron Deutsch, co-founder of Kidly.

“Kidly offers parents access to hundreds of community partners near them, the flexibility to meet their family’s needs including drop-in classes without the requirement of committing to full semesters. As well as an active community, where people can meet and engage with other families in their neighbourhoods, weaving relationships that endure as kids age.

“Our belief is that we are addressing a genuine source of frustration for parents, and anyone who has personally experienced the juggling act of daily life can easily relate to it. We also see it not just as a problem which is isolated to our backyard. The global market for kids’ activities is expected to grow by $10.77 billion USD between 2021 and 2025, with the Asia-Pacific region as the fastest-growing market world-wide.

“Kidly is building a trusted bridge between parents and providers by delivering comprehensive end-to-end service more conveniently. Our goal is to enable fun, one activity at a time.”

What’s next?

Antler, a global early-stage VC, is revealing all its latest investments made in ambitious Australian founders and startups. With over 100 investments in early-stage companies, Kidly is one of its most recent portfolio companies.