Millions of people use car services, taxis, and ride-sharing apps to get to the airport, and many of these people are parents traveling with kids who need to be in car seats by law. Unless the parent is lugging around a car seat, this poses a specific problem when hopping into the usual car service. That’s why Kidmoto connects parents to professionally-trained drivers that provide secured child car seats for safe and secure airport transportation.
AlleyWatch spoke with CEO and founder Nelson Nigel about creating a startup that solves a significant and important problem in a niche market.
Tell us about the product or service that Kidmoto offers.
The Kidmoto app connects parents to a network of professionally-trained drivers that provide professionally secured child car seats for safe airport car transportation. Car services and taxis do not provide installed child car seats. Airport passengers are faced with the reality of just “jumping into a cab” with unrestrained children when traveling to or from the airports. Kidmoto is the solution to this problem.
How is Kidmoto different?
Kidmoto provides a specific service which is not currently being offered by other providers. Car services and taxis do not provide securely installed child car seats for airport transportation catering to parents with small children.
What market does Kidmoto target and how big is it?
Kidmoto targets airport travelers and cruise travelers with small children. Regarding the latter, it’s a weird open question which involves many moving parts. I cannot ascertain the size of the market for many reasons, including, it’s a new market and we do not have the ingredients to make that call. For example, do you think Uber, AirBnB, Alibaba, Amazon and Facebook were able to judge the size of their respective markets after 2 years in business?
What is Kidmoto’s business model?
Kidmoto created a network of independent professional drivers that provide securely installed child car seats for airport & cruise transportation and Kidmoto takes a percentage of the fares.
What inspired the start of Kidmoto?
I am a lifelong entrepreneur, I saw huge transportation market and an opportunity in an underserved area of the transportation market and therefore I jumped in.
Why do you think companies like Uber do not offer a car seat option?
I think companies like Uber or Lyft are too big to offer this option. Kidmoto specializes in a very small niche segment of the market.
What are the milestones that you plan to achieve within six months?
We have many targets and milestones. Again, there are many moving parts. Growing the driver network is crucial. We also want to grow our internal team with the 8’s, the 9’s and the 10’s.
What is the one piece of startup advice that you never got?
“Aim for the stars because if you land on the moon it’s not a bad place to be.” I took one business class in college, I cannot remember the professor’s name, but those words surely hit home.
If you could be put in touch with anyone in the New York community who would it be and why?
Good question, I admire many entrepreneurs, especially those who have built huge organizations. I’d say Michael Bloomberg because he is one of my foremost heroes. He managed to be a great mayor of NYC, creating, navigating the complex organization, public policy and public administration in a very complex city. He created the grand New York City as you see it now.
Why did you launch in New York?
I launched Kidmoto in NYC because I live here; NYC is the hardest marketplace and if you can succeed here then you can succeed anywhere. Plus, I was super broke, I was exiting another failed small business. I guess that is usually the life of an entrepreneur.
What’s your favorite restaurant in the city?
My favorite restaurant is SAMI’S KABAB HOUSE in Astoria because the food is impeccable, the people are fantastic, and there is parking. Second is AMORE PIZZA in the Whitestone Shopping Center, also in Queens tossing up the best pizza in the hemisphere.
