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Entrepreneur Predicts The Enormous Need For Kid-Friendly Smartphone Use

 

Parents who want to know what apps and games are available for kids often turn to Fingerprint. The company, founded by CEO Nancy McIntyre, offers a one-stop resource in which kids and their parents can access a variety of child-specific content in one place. It is a subscription based service that lets users sort apps into categories and quickly locate content rather than having to search through the store for hours to find something that suits their needs.

 

 

Seizing opportunity

During the dawn of the smart phone era, McIntyre saw an untapped market and decided to move in early. She states, "I was working at educational toy maker LeapFrog when the iPhone came out. The conventional wisdom was that no one would give a three year old a $600 phone, but from the very beginning, I saw parents in restaurants handing off their phones to toddlers. It was clear to me that this was the future and that every mom with an iPhone in her bag would be a customer! What was also clear was that the app store made it hard to find great content for children, and the idea for a Netflix style subscription service for the youngest mobile learners was born."

 

Offering resources

McIntyre notes the benefits of the Fingerprint platform as not only dramatically cutting down on time spent in the app store, but also how it lets parents monitor their child's app usage. She states, "For the consumer, we offer up a kid-friendly interface that makes it easy for children as young as three to find and choose game, book and video content they want to play. We track how kids play and learn, and then report insights to parents around their child's usage, essentially giving mom and dad a window into screen time." On the flip side of the equation are the companies whose content is featured on Fingerprint. McIntyre notes that it's not just child specific businesses who benefit. "I love the idea of inspiring a love of learning beyond ABCs and 123s. For example, banks or insurance companies could teach children about financial literacy. Grocery stores can teach kids about shopping, nutrition, making healthy choices. Hospitals or doctors can teach kids about first aid and safety."

By identifying a need early on, McIntyre was able to create Fingerprint and become a leader in child-centric smartphone platforms. She and her team continue to work with customers to refine and perfect the platform.

 

 

This article was written by Alaina Brandenburger of Examiner.com for CBS Small Business Pulse.

 

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