Online Marketplace for Parents and Babysitters
About the project
Toddy is an international marketplace that helps parents find trusted babysitters with verified reviews in their neighborhood. The service is currently targeting Australia.
What the client came with
Our client recognized that the problem of selecting a reliable babysitter for his own children may be shared by others. He had an idea of a solution that would make this choice for him and thousands of young families easier - a marketplace for parents and babysitters. After extensive research, it was clear that the existing solutions were either too basic or outdated. However, the number of active users proved the existence of a demand for such a service. So he decided to build a modern and thought-out marketplace for parents and babysitters for the Australian market. Here is what the client came with:
Market analysis and a clear vision of what the product should be
The client had completed initial research of the market and a competitor analysis. This allowed him to make strategic decisions based on facts, and not just assumptions.
Ready design for iOS devices
The client decided to release the product for iOS first. The design for the platform corresponded with current industry trends.
Backend team consisting of freelance developers
Aiming to reduce marketplace development costs, the client hired two freelance backend developers.
Clockwise Software’s Contribution
We focus on delivering value instead of just delivering a service. That’s why we actively participate in the majority of processes involved in startup product development.
Business consulting
Although the client had already performed market research, we improved his business plan with several insights based on our experience in launching startup products.
Frontend development
Our team was fully responsible for the application’s frontend development, and took over the backend interaction as well.
Design services
The existing design for the iOS application was adjusted by our professionals to fit the Android platform requirements.
App testing
Our QA engineer took part in application testing to ensure the highest quality product.
Project management
A PM took over the work coordination of two remote teams, enabling the client to invest more time in strategic planning.
Challenges the team had to overcome
Development of a startup product is always full of challenges that require creative decisions and out-of-the-box thinking. Together with the client and the backend team we found the most efficient solutions to build a super-star product.
Issues with platform choice
The product development process targeted iOS users first. But further research found that the majority of individual babysitters interested in working with Toddy were using Android devices. With a hybrid approach, the two teams managed to release the Android application within three months.
Need to minimize expenses for development
It was important to get the product into the user’s hands as soon as possible since the development team was completely reliant on user feedback. We were looking for ways to reduce marketplace development time and chose to develop a hybrid app with Ionic. This framework enabled us to reuse the iOS codebase when working with the Android application and cut the development time by 90% (around 2 years for iOS, 3 months for the Android app)
Wrong buyer persona definition
Initially, the product was developed for parents and individual babysitters only. However, it later became clear that babysitting agencies are also interested in joining the marketplace. We decided to adjust the interface, user profiles and app functionality to enable agencies to offer their services on Toddy.
Cooperation with remote teams
The client and the backend team were located in different time zones and there was a risk that this would affect working efficiency. However, we managed to develop an effective workflow that allowed us to schedule daily calls during the most productive times for all parties. Smart communication is key to success.
Engineers
QA Engineer
Manager
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