Interview with Karamel’s co-founders, the app that helps you with your kids!
Summer holidays are approaching and you’re probably looking at how to occupy your kids during the next two months. Karamel, from Naver’s program at STATION F, just launched its mobile application for iPhone and Android to help you solve this issue by gathering all activities for kids in your region. We interviewed Clémence Coursimault and Clémentine Guyon to learn more about it.
Can you explain us what Karamel is?
Karamel is a mobile app to find, discover and book activities for kids. Our mission is to help parents easily find activities for their next week-end, vacation, kid’s anniversary or next year activity!
We propose all types of activities (outdoor, creative, museums, games etc.) and for all ages, from 0 to 18, with or without the parents. Our app has a very editorial and pedagological approach and we really want to be the reference for families and help them with their children’s development.
Thus, we work with selective partners who post activities in the app, mostly small structures that engender unique moments.
How did you come up with the idea?
Clémentine and I have both always been concerned about education. This is how we met. I had previously worked in educational games and apps, and she founded one all by herself. The first time we met we discussed about extracurricular activities linking it to our two trajectories ; Clémentine begun working in finance and realized she was a way more creative person. Not criticizing finance here ;)
We separated and begun asking parents around us on this matter. We realized that although the discovery of various activities strongly contributed to the social and cognitive development of the child, the parents had a real difficulty in finding them. Sites not up-to-date, Web solutions not adapted to kids and no instant booking. We decided to start Karamel.
Why did you choose to focus on kids?
As I said, our vision is to follow kids’ development, it’s the foundation of our approach, that is educational.
We also believe that addressing children (and their parents) needs to be done through a specific and tailored approach and that is what will differentiates us from broader platforms proposing activities. The message is not the same!
There are already many solutions for kids, what’s the difference with Karamel?
There are not that many solutions that allow you to on your mobile, personnalize your search and book instant activities for tomorrow with your kids.
In France, I don’t know any. Some apps are emerging in the UK and the US but we’ll go faster before they come. We have proved a speed of execution in the launch of Karamel, allowed in particular by our perfect complementarity of profile (Clémentine on the Development and the Product and me on Sales and Growth) which will be repeated!
What are the challenges you’re facing in the coming months?
As a marketplace, the big challenge is to find the matching point between supply and demand. Especially at the beginning.
More broadly, we want to become the reflex parents have when they wonder what to do next week-end !
