Batch of Start F20 - How can families be helped through technology?

November 19, 2020
Written by 
Annina Rautalahti
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The world has changed a lot since our team members were kids. The rate of urbanization is mind-boggling. It wasn’t difficult to realize that something needs to be done for families to keep up with the process of hectic work-life and challenges of living far away from their relatives.

So, we decided to build an app, called RINGIT, that focuses on building sustainable cities through well-functioning communities. Our goal is to bring families closer to each other and connect them easily through a mobile application that will perform as a safe social platform for families. Even more than half of the world’s population lives in the cities, nevertheless people are more isolated from each other than ever before. Children prefer to spend their spare time with their friends but connecting with their friends’ families isn’t always that easy. GDPR prohibits to share any information outside, e.g. in a school class. If children cannot find the easy way to contact each other, it is not any easier for parents to organize the playdates either.

Parenting was never intended to do alone, for hundreds of years, new parents have had the support of their community behind them and families and friends to help nearby. Parenting is more and more influenced by the social media than ever before. Social life has shift from traditional communities to internet-based, even though feeling of connection and belonging is absent in oversaturated social media.

Social interactions are observed through screens and mobile phones, but peer-support doesn’t exist in a same personal level compared to circumstances, where face-to-face interactions are provided, although the struggles and dilemmas might be the same. With RINGIT, families can easily discover what other families nearby are doing and how they can organize activities together for their kids, meanwhile the parents are able to organize some free time for themselves.

We want to do our part in achieving United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal: sustainable cities and communities. Adults play a major positive role in shaping the next generation. In order to see flourishing cities and communities our era requires new tools and platforms to connect and maintain important connections.


Kiuas F20 questions:

What was your childhood dream job?

Snack bar employee 😊 (I fell in love with fast food way too early!) 

If you would get 1 billion euros right now, what would you do?

I would be an active philanthropist and give away to children’s education in developing countries, health care and help to end human trafficking. And rest of it I would invest in promising start-ups 😊 

Choose: A world without smartphones vs a world without food delivery. Why?

A world without food delivery. Even I was a great fan of fast food when I was a child, I became quite a good chef. I prefer home-cooked meals nowadays.

If you had a dollar for every idea you have come up with, how much money would you have?

Oh, so much!!! 😊

Ideal date: drinks or coffee? Why? 

Drinks with my husband in fancy restaurant!


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