Moxi

Moxi is a local Birmingham, Alabama startup that is disrupting the childcare industry by offering a flexible solution that benefits both families and childcare centers. Their responsive web app enables families to release their unused daycare days, which are then made available as day passes to Moxi members. This innovative approach benefits working parents by providing flexibility but also compensates the families for releasing their days and boosts the revenue of childcare centers.

Project Details

Company Type

Startup

Industry

Technology, FamTech

Product Type

Responsive Web App

Services

UX Design, UI Design, Product Strategy Workshop

Deliverables

Wireframes, High Fidelity Designs, Design System, Interactive Prototype

Design and Product Strategy Workshop

We kickstarted the project with a product design & strategy workshop, where we identified the key goals and outcomes of the project:

Intuitive, user-friendly flow the allows families to book childcare with minimal effort
Build trust with Moxi families
Prevent childcare deserts
Increase revenue for childcare centers
Design a fun and joyful experience
Design a scalable MVP that minimizes manual effort and operational costs

Two-sided Marketplace Considerations

Products that have a two-sided marketplace are tricky. In this case, we had a three-sided marketplace to consider.

Releasing Families: These are the families who have full-time daycare arranged with a childcare center. Childcare centers typically require a full-year contract, where you pay a specific amount every month, whether you use those days or not. Have a weeklong vacation planned? Too bad – you’re still paying for your daycare slot.
Moxi Families: These are the families who are looking for childcare but do not have a full-time arrangement in place. The lack of available options leaves families in a pinch when they don’t have anyone to watch their children – forcing parents to skip important events like doctor’s appointments, job interviews, etc.
Childcare centers: Daycares are struggling. According to CNN, “Nationwide, more than 70,000 child care programs are projected to close, and about 3.2 million children could lose their spots due to the end of the child care stabilization grant program on September 30, according to an analysis by The Century Foundation.” Moxi provides a crucial revenue stream to help struggling centers stay afloat.

The tricky part with a multi-sided marketplace is that you have to balance supply and demand very carefully. If you have too many families looking for flexible daycare, but no available slots, those families will abandon the platform and look elsewhere. If you have families releasing days at their center, but no one is claiming them, they will stop releasing days. If those two sides of the equation aren’t in balance, the daycares don’t earn the revenue from that transaction. Geography also becomes an important factor. If you are the releasing family in Sacramento, but the only families looking to book are located in Cincinnati, you haven’t solved a problem for anyone.

Conclusion

Designing an app to be intuitive and user friendly for three distinct demographics is challenging but not impossible. For our MVP design, we provided a quick and easy sign up process for Moxi families. We allowed families to book multiple days and times, for multiple children, in a single checkout process. We also spent extra time and effort ensuring that the process of releasing unused days could be done in just a few clicks. Interested in learning more about Moxi? Learn how Moxi’s founder Cori Fain Forrest is revolutionizing childcare or sign up for Moxi.