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Blog - Celebrating a Member
How I built an iPhone application, by mommy entrepreneur Lara Paul, creator of iKidNY iPhone App
by Beth Schoenfeldt | 2/15/10 | 1:06pm
After reading about so many iPhone app developers (mostly men) making thousands of dollars in this whole new world of applications, I was thrilled to finally sit down to interview Collective-E member Lara Paul, founder of iKidNY. The iKidNY iPhone app helps parents navigate the city helping them find great indoor and outdoor activities, changing tables, subway elevators and kid-friendly restaurants. Over coffee at the Soho House she spilled the beans about how she did it, what surprised her most and what you should know if you are considering creating one yourself. Without any technology background, her story made it seem not easy, but definitely possible for anyone with a unique idea and an app dream.
Please tell me a little bit about your background
I was an actress and then went on to work in real estate for Equity Residential, but after having a baby I didn’t want to go back. After running businesses for others I thought, why can’t I just do this for myself? I was trying to think of ideas while going to mommy lunches. What I started to notice is that navigating the city with a baby is a big adjustment.
Where did you get the idea for an iPhone app?
I am not kidding when I say I was watching TV and saw the iPhone commercial that said “there’s an app for that” so i went on iTunes and did research there wasn’t an app navigating the city with a baby. So, without even owning an iPhone (I had a blackberry) and with zero technical experience I decided to create an app.
How did you get started?
That weekend I went and bought an iPhone, downloaded a ton of apps and played around with them. I then wrote a very basic business plan in my notebook defining my target market and what I am trying to accomplish. To figure out my revenue model I estimated how many parents have iPhones and how many would buy my app. I then created a database of kid friendly information, hired a lot of people including college kids and moms to go out on the streets to find things, you can’t research changing tables on the internet. The project took 6 months to build, and I did this while a full time, stay at home mom. I felt a sense of urgency because there is a race to the app store; the coding took about a month and a half.
How did you find a developer?
I did a lot of research and hired a guy that worked by himself. I wanted to work with an individual versus an agency because I thought I would get more attention, I was worried my project would get lost in the shuffle of an agency environment. He had built successful apps before.
How did you finance the project?
The project was self funded, I don’t want to say exactly how much I invested, but it wasn’t outrageous.
What was the biggest challenge about the process?
The hardest part by far was applying to the iTune store, it took 6 weeks. Apple wants to make sure that the apps are up to standards. There is no way to download into the phone without going through Apple and they keep 30% of sales. It is a really complicated online process where you upload the binary of the app and Apple does an analysis. We were rejected the first time we applied; my developer really helped. It required a technical change and then it was approved.
How is it doing?
Now there are over 100k apps in iPhone store, iKidNY was in top 100 of navigation for a long time. I haven’t made my money back yet, but working to get the word out and this was meant to fit into a much bigger picture. I see in the future having more of a sponsor and advertising model and am looking to expand to other cities.
How are you spreading the word?
I did all my own PR and have been able to get a lot of press. I have a friend that did PR, I got contact information and called and emailed until they took the story. I couldn’t afford to hire PR and I know the product better than anyone else; Daily Candy was my biggest press hit.
What’s next?
I have other business opportunities and extensions in the works. The new generation of the app will be amazing and will blow this out of the water. I have been approached by many partners and sponsors and looking at all opportunities. I am considering seeking out investors.
Click here to get straight to the iTunes store and download iKidNY iPhone app
Party Pictures: Collective-E Vendors at the InnerRewards Holiday Party
by Beth Schoenfeldt | 12/10/09 | 2:33pm
Check out our vendors at the InnerRewards.com holiday party on our Facebook Fan page
http://www.facebook.com/#/pages/Collective-E/27401915778?ref=ts
If you missed the Holiday Party, use the coupon code Save20 in the InnerRewards store or shop in our entrepreneurs directory, it feels great!
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WPIX (The Gossip Girl Station) Welcomes 4 Collective-E Members
by Katie Hellmuth Martin | 10/28/09 | 9:13pm
About a month ago, we put out a quick PR Lead to Collective-E members about a Vampire segment - "Twilight Style". In fact, a second call for it had such a quick turnaround that we sent it out via our private email group.
The inside scoop? Our PR team put together a segment for one of our favorite news anchors, Tamsen Fadal at WPIX (an entrepreneur herself) about the hottest topic gripping hold of the entertainment world lately - VAMPIRES! Thanks to your responses we were able to use some of our members in the segment - a perfect example of a Random Act of Pitching, a Collective-E member-only benefit.
This fun Halloween segment aired this Thursday morning at 6:50am and scored a few minutes of coveted air time! Click here to see the vampire segment on CW's blog. The spot is called "Vampire Style", and here are which Collective-E members were in the lineup:Michelle Madhok, founder SheFinds Media
The lovely Michell Madhok will be hosting the segment. Michelle is an experienced spokesperson with a great sense of style and founder of hot style scoop and fashion deals website www.shefinds.com. Find out how she became a spokesperson for Paypal.Check out Michelle's write-up of the morning segment on SheFinds.
Mariann Smith, founder and chief soap maker Just Bubbly
Mariann has a lot of duck soap gifts to choose from, and the CW went with vampire duckies...how cute! The soap pictured here is a ghost from her Halloween Soaps collection. Not a kid? Don't worry Michele also features Champagne Bubble Bath & more!Michele Baratta, founder and designer Michele Baratta at Home, a California Jewelry Company
Michele answered the call for the lead right away, and her locket jewelry was picked up to show off the layered look. This just goes to show why you should think creatively about answering a lead - to find a reason why you would work. These lockets are described as being "soul necklaces"...could be spooky but in a romantic kind of way!Stefany Di Manno, founder and designer Di Manno Designs
Stefany's leather wrist cuffs and leather pony holders are so versatile, they couldn't not work in this segment. In fact, she's going over well for at the Bridal Magazines right now...stay tuned for reports from her desksides, aka appointments with editors.Congratulations Everyone!
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On the Front Lines Q&A with Urban Interns: 8 months pregnant, husband worked at Lehman & we still rushed to launch in recession
by Beth Schoenfeldt | 10/15/09 | 3:16pm
Imagine being 8 months pregnant, just bought a new home and a husband who worked for Lehman, deciding to leave a "safe" job at IAC to start a business right smack in the middle of the "great recession." It only makes sense if it is the right business at the right time, and that is Urban Interns. I was very interested in finding out how these Collective-E members went from concept to launch so quickly, and how they are differentiating themselves in the marketplace.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beth-schoenfeldt/on-the-front-lines-qa-wit_b_322712.html
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Nomie Baby Car Seat Covers Now Carried on Diapers.com; Patience is a Virtue!
by Katie Danziger | 10/05/09 | 1:08pm
| The Collective-E team has been thrilled to watch the evolution of nomie baby and founder Katie Danziger, her patience, dedication and positive attitude is an inspiration to us all. As part of our Collective-E Agency Experience, we couldn't be prouder of her success. Sometimes things just take longer than you expect, especially when you are doing business in the middle of a recession, so when we found out that Diapers.com and buybuyBaby, some of the best of the best in baby retail, were both going to start carrying the nomie baby car seat cover after over a year of sales effort, we thought this is such a great example of patience and commitment that we wanted to share with our readers. We hope you enjoy the story as much as we do and we hope that you never give up on your vision, just like Katie!
--The Collective-E team |
Patience Patience Patience
There are many suitable cliches, "Patience is a virtue", "Good things come to those who wait", "Rome wasn't built in a day"... take your pick. They all apply to building a company and entrepreneurship. For some reason, with all the advice I received about launching a new product and business, everyone neglected to tell me just how long it would take to introduce a new product to consumers and the press, or how long it would take for stores and sales to take off. Therefore, I naively started off, thinking it would be an overnight success. After all, everyone was telling me that they thought the nomie baby car seat covers were a great idea, and every mom would want one. So when I first met buyers and they didn't place huge orders, I was not only disappointed but puzzled, and yes, frustrated. This wasn't part of the plan. I didn't lose faith in the product, but instead I knew I had to readjust my thinking, objectives, and strategy.
I began to focus my energy on getting the word out, stepping up my PR efforts, and realizing that as awareness grew, so would sales; there is a direct relationship between the two. While I worked hard to get many different wonderful smaller stores in lots of different cities and states, and ramped up my website, I never gave up on the larger accounts that I believed would be a perfect fit for nomie baby as well. Periodically I would touch base with the buyers at Diapers.com and buybuyBaby, and let them know about exciting news, press and awards that nomie baby was receiving. I always got friendly email responses, which encouraged me to keep in touch. I was determined to be persistent without being pestering.
After over a year since first being in touch, I got an email from the buyer at Diapers.com that I had to read twice, before allowing myself to believe what was written. "We would love to add the nomie baby car seat cover. Please send us the UPC codes and photos to upload!" 14 months after first meeting a buyer from Diapers.com, and getting switched to another buyer over the year, the first shipment of nomie baby car seat covers is on its way to Diapers.com's 3 warehouses! In the same week I reconnected with the buyer for buybuy Baby, and she said that she is "interested in the covers," and she would like to try them out on buybuyBaby.com. If they do well, then they'll be added to their stores! It is a huge jump, but it didn't happen overnight, although overnight the changes are dramatic. Here are other apt cliches - "When it rains, it pours" and "Be careful of what you wish for" - or at least be prepared!
Katie will be speaking on November 19th at our Mom Entrepreneurs Event along with Carly Roney, Founder Theknot.com and Marni Konner, Founder Little Maestros
Click here to learn more and sign up 
Guest Blog: Signing Spinning Guerilla Marketing at Fashion Week for Di Manno Designs
by Stefany Di Manno | 9/29/09 | 7:28pm
Stefany Di Manno is a Collective-E member and founder of Di Manno Designs, the fashion accessories company for hair cuffs, headbands, and wrist cuffs. She shares with us her experience with "sign spinning", a type of advertising used in densely populated areas with a lot of foot traffic. In this picture, Stefany is wearing a Di Manno Designs Black Brass Studded Headband and matching wrist band and Justin is wearing his favorite Di Manno Designs accessory, the White Large Crystal Wristband.
Di Manno Designs made its presence in NYC September Fashion Week, not inside the Mercedes Benz fashion tent, but outside the tent in Bryant Park where a Di Manno Designs sign was seen spinning in the street. The sign spinner was Justin Brown with Aarrow Advertising, who is known as one of the famous “Aarrow Sign Spinners.” At every red light he was seen in the middle of the street spinning the Di Manno Designs sign, showing everyone around watching all his tricks.
I was able to pick out colors and send Justin images and my logo for the sign. On one side of the sign was a Di Manno Designs ponytail holder picture and on the other side was a Di Manno Designs headband and wrist cuff shot with my logo on both sides. I like the fact that this form of advertising reaches so many people in such a short period of time. I think people tend to remember this type of marketing, because it is so visual and different than the traditional flier hand outs in the streets. I also like that it immediately grabs peoples' attention and is unique and memorable. Justin even managed to catch the attention of the President of Saks!
Aarrow Advertising is the world's largest guerilla marketing franchise, which was launched in 2002. The famous "Aarrow Sign Spinners" perform in many different US cities as well as different countries around the world. This type of marketing is known as guerilla marketing and can be very effective to market a company, especially in a heavily populated location like this one in NYC with a fashion event going on at the same time!
Justin thought NYC fashion week would be a great start to advertise my company and I agreed. After this first pleasant eye-opening experience, I am looking forward to the next events where Di Manno Designs will get more exposure!
UPDATE On The Front Lines: Mariann Smith, Founder Just Bubbly reports her best July Philadelphia Gift Show in 5 Years
by Beth Schoenfeldt | 8/08/09 | 10:16am
The On the Front Lines Series is the true life, inside stories of entrepreneurs making it work.
In May 2009 we visited with Mariann Smith, Founder Just Bubbly, a self described “small” “artisan” soap business with revenues around $200k. She was very helpful in sharing her experience of the retail environment and had just had an order for 7k pieces from Bath & Body Works. Now, in August 2009 we reconnected and here is the update. She just got back from the Philadelphia Gift Show and shared her observation and insight.
Mariann had her best July Philadelphia Gift Show in 5 years and here is what she noticed:
- Retailers are placing larger orders for immediate shipment. Mariann’s theory is that many had let their shelves go bare out of fear of the economy and they need to restock fast.
- Opposed to what normally happens, retailers are reluctant to place orders for Halloween, Christmas or in the future, they will wait until closer to the dates and again want immediate delivery. Mariann’s theory is that they don’t want to be over confident.
- Selling best are still primary colors and feel good items, at a low price point. Click here to see her Philadelphia Gift Show display and become a Facebook Fan >
As the Philadelphia Gift Show is in the footprint of New York, she is looking forward and optimistic about the big daddy New York Gift Show which starts Sunday, August 16th. We’ll check in with her after the show!
Members in the News!
by Press Desk | 8/06/09 | 10:55pm
This past week Collective-E members were featured in national newspapers, made television appearances and had ever blogger talking!
Jennifer Tuma-Young founder of Inspirista, had two back-to-back articles featured on the front page of the Home News Tribune newspaper and spent an hour answering questions about finding balance, stress and time management during a live webchat for Gannett's "My Central Jersey" website.
Rita Patel founder of Svasara gave a presentation on treasure chests at the Detroit Institute of the Arts featured on Crain's Detroit Make it Here. Check out the video!
Pure and Littlewas featured on Stroller Traffic's Swag and on Jolly Mom Blog.
Just Bubbly, founded by Mariann Smith, was featured on Radio 101.9 as its unique products and history were discussed.
Suzanne Caesar, founder of Maternal Dance, wrote an article for Citiscoop, an e-newsletter for Citibabes about how we can all gain a boost of energy from exercise!
InStyle featured Stefany Di Manno's Di Manno Designs, LLC Zebra and Red and White Patent Leather Ponies.
If you are a member of Collective-E and would like to submit your press, please contact us to get the special link, where you can enter your information. If you are not yet a member of Collective-E, this is just another reason to: more links to your website (good for SEO), more exposure for your brand (PR), and overall more support to keep you going. Click here to learn more!
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Members Make Waves in the Press!
by Press Desk | 7/28/09 | 8:11pm
Collective-E members drew attention and praise this past week as they made national television appearances, were featured in newspapers and were blogged about!
Galia Gichon, founder SIMPLY MONEY, a weekly money group that uses goal setting, education and community to help women take charge of their money was featured on the TODAY Show!
Judy Goss made a television appearance with FOX 5 Good Day New York in a segment entitled "Borrowed from the Boys" as the Trend and Lifestyle Expert.
Kaitlin Spreitzer's company Pure and Little was featured on Celebrity Baby Scoop. At the same time, Pure and Little was featured on BabyCenter! as celebrities like Samantha Harris, Brooke and Charlie Sheen, and Tori Spelling shop her line. Only a few weeks earlier on June 12, Pure and Little was also featured on Tot Snob!
While About.com interviewed SheFinds Media founder Michelle Madhok about her best skincare tips, The New Jersey Star-Ledger also interviewed MIchelle about how to find the best deals by shopping online. A week earlier, PRWeek interviewed Michelle to discuss the impact of the economy on the interests of the 'shopaholics' that visit her sites.
Katie Danziger's company Nomie Baby gained praise from multipe media outlets as StrollerTraffic recommended the nomie baby car seat cover to make cleaning up short and sweet and Babes In Disneyland recommend taking along the nomie baby car seat cover to make cleanups as pleasant as possible.
Suzanne Caesar's Maternal Dance was featured on FOXNEWS.com in an article emphasizing the importance of prenatal exercise and highlighted prenatal belly dancing.
If you are a member of Collective-E and would like to submit your press, please contact us to get the special link, where you can enter your information. If you are not yet a member of Collective-E, this is just another reason to: more links to your website (good for SEO), more exposure for your brand (PR), and overall more support to keep you going. Click here to learn more!
Lessons learned: A popular Webvet viral video drives traffic to Youtube; and how it was produced by McCann Erickson for free!
by Hope Schultz | 7/27/09 | 9:18am
We set out to create a viral video series to drive traffic and brand awareness. With our first video, Little Dog, Big Surprise, we made it to Jimmy Fallon’s home page, Guy Kawasaki tweeted about us, and the Japanese love us!
The truth is that is was effective in driving short-term traffic, but where I think the real brand value is driving awareness over time. Another lesson learned was that while it can live on Youtube, we should be linking people to our site to view via Youtube, rather than sending them directly to Youtube. We’ve had about 67,000 views in two weeks and if we’d done that, we would have had major traffic spikes.
These spots were created and executed by McCann Erickson NYC. While they cost us nothing, they were developed and produced gratis, in my experience these would have cost at least $500K. McCann, the director, special effects guy and production company all donated their time and even ate some costs. Honestly, it’s because they liked the creative freedom we gave them and are now free to enter them into the major creative awards shows, including Cannes. So, they look at this as business development costs.
That said, this just might be the stimulus for a user generated video competition about pet problems that need vet answers. We’re still noodling this, but will hopefully have the solution soon. The lessons here are threefold:
1. While certain initiatives will build brand awareness, they cannot be relied upon to drive sustainable traffic
2. Leverage relationships . . . call in favors, capitalize on other peoples’ needs such as wanting work they can enter in major creative competitions
3. Always drive people back to your site versus to other viewing points – WebVet versus Youtube
To see the 30 second video Little Dog, Big Surprise, click here>
Comments
Submitted on 7/28/09 | 8:09am
great job Hope!
How'd you hook up with McCann Erickson?
johna
Submitted on 1/08/10 | 3:53pm
I just wanna thank you to author who written this article which you share with us. I completely read the article and now I need to read new ones. I watched similar article on youtube before and really did like it. Also this article is unique on the blog.
See you on new article...
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Collective-E is a worldwide collective of women entrepreneurs who have come together to achieve faster movement, exponential increase in resources and abundant support. We (and by "we", we mean founders Katie, Sabina and Beth) blog about tips in the four principals that drive Collective-E: business strategy, pr strategy, online strategy, and community. Plus, we have special guest bloggers share their wisdom.
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Comments
Thanks so much for a) sharing and b) developing! As a new mom-to-be, I just downloaded and am looking forward to my first outing in NYC with baby.
This is such an uplifting post - BRAVA, Lara! Your app is inspired and your sense of urgency to get it to market was well-placed.
I am now a grandmother in NYC (having raised my kids in Manhattan) and I know how daunting it can be to look for kid-friendly stuff - and how quickly everything changes. It seems that this app should spread like wildfire. I will personally spread the word within my network by talking and tweeting about it.
Thanks for the interview, Beth. Can you help Lara get it to investors f-a-s-t?
I was so excited to read this article! I had downloaded the app a while ago after seeing it in DailyCandy and have used it ever since. Thanks Lara for developing this app which has made navigating the city so much easier. Looking forward to the next version! Every NYC mom should have this!!
I am very impressed by your story. Kudos!
Loved reading this, very inspiring! thanks for sharing Lara.
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