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SME Profile: Caribu

Caribu is a mobile app business, founded by four Imperial College Business School graduates. CEO Ben Mallett talks us through his plans for the business, which has proved popular with families.

Thu Apr 17 2014

BusinessBecause
Founded by four Imperial College Business School MSc students, Caribu is the leading mobile app for connecting children and separated families. The team are based in the Microsoft venture accelerator, in Whitechapel, East London.

CEO Ben Mallett has a few goals and milestones to hit over the next few months – but the app’s success so far, with over 1,000 downloads in the first week of launching, has been encouraging.

Ben says Imperial has been instrumental in the businesses success – and not just because it is where the team banded together. The children’s video calling and reading app integrates books, which are a favourite for parents to read their kids a bedtime story, from a distance.

The team regularly receive calls and emails from enthusiastic customers.

When users like Caribu, they love Caribu.

Which sector do you operate in?

Mobile, App, Technology.

What does the business do and what are your core products?

Caribu is a children’s video calling and reading application. By integrating children’s picture books into a simple, child-friendly video calling app, Caribu provides a truly engaging long-distance communication experience for kids.

Who is the founder/CEO?

I am the CEO.

The four co-founders met at Imperial College – the others are Philip Linnemann, Alvaro Sabido and Si Dhanak.

How was the company founded?

We were all studying the MSc in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Management. We got together, started brainstorming different ideas and then looked into the kid-space or children’s app-space, and communications within that space.

We found that FaceTime, Skype – just weren’t engaging kids enough at all. Convos get a bit dull, repetitive and frustrating for both parties –  parent and child. So we made video-calling for kids.

Over the course of our lean development, we really found it was the bedtime story people missed the most. And we went forward with that.

What’s the businesses main revenue stream?

We are a freemium application [the app is free to download] and we have a free book to get our users started. And within the app we have a bookshop [the main revenue stream]. In the future we plan to look at bringing in a subscription model.

You’re based in the Microsoft venture accelerator – how helpful has that been for the company?

It’s an exceptional program, based in Whitechapel, and we have some amazing mentors. We also get a lot of workshops and that can be on user experience, on accounting, on legal – every single aspect of the business.

They are going all out for us, so we have access to their rolodex, which is exceptionally useful. It’s great to be in such an exciting atmosphere.

How important has an MSc from Imperial been in the businesses development?

I believe it’s been integral, to be honest. Firstly and fundamentally, I met my co-founders there. If I hadn’t gone, it wouldn’t exist. In terms of their [Imperial’s] network, putting us in touch with contacts was extremely valuable to us.

Of course, that grounding in entrepreneurship, accountancy and venture capital and product development – they are all exceptionally useful skills to learn.

Obviously, we carried on learning after the Masters as we released the product. But I don’t think we’d be in the position we are in today without being at Imperial.

What are the goals for the business now?

Eight out of ten of the most-used apps on mobile devices are communications apps. But not a single one of those is designed for kids. That’s what we’re trying to do at Caribu – build a communications app for kids to create long-lasting, rich engagement between families. And we have a tremendous amount of scope to accomplish that.

Whether through more educational value or new features – I’m not sure yet – we want to be the communications app for children and separated families.

Student Reviews

Imperial College Business School

Sakshi

Verified

5/11/2023

On Campus

Innovative, Immersive and an Excellent Curriculum

The MSc Strategic Marketing course opens many avenues into the business world at Imperial. The coursework consists of group-based assignments, individual reports, and sometimes, examinations. The Careers team helps you with your CV, Cover letters, and other job application support. Imperial truly lives up to its name!

Shiyun

Verified

19/05/2020

Very applicable courses

I enjoyed studying here for my master degree as I could feel that I was surrounded by very clever people, and I did learn a lot of knowledge that I could directly put into use into my current internship

Student

Verified

9/05/2020

Diversity and Professional Development

Imperial College London is an innovation hub with expertise across multiple industries. The international student body exposes students to endless cultures and experiences. Furthermore, the Careers team at Imperial is second to none as directors help guide students to the career paths of their dreams.

Student

Verified

20/04/2018

Business School

Imperial college business school has amazing facilities, amazing staff. I particularly like the business school cafe although it would be nice if they added a few more power sockets in the open space and heating for winter. The course is really good too. Very interactive classes and highly diverse environment.

Student

Verified

8/07/2020

Career Services

Very strong university with good quality faculty and a very strong career services team that prepared students well for the jobs market. Very nice facilities in the city center. Good sessions organised with employers.

Student

Verified

29/05/2020

Chinese students majored in English- now strategic marketing

My undergraduate major was English back in China and now an MSc student in strategic marketing at Imperial. For Chinese students who share similar experiences with me, you can get as much/deep as you want about marketing with some challenging group works and inspiring lectures. At the same time, if you just want to get the degree anyway with less effort, it's possible as well... ...

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