iKydz is a device that controls children’s internet usage
iKydz
Park West Industrial Estate, Dublin
2015
John Molloy
6
A device to control children’s internet usage
www.iKydz.com
With the retail launch of a device designed to provide total control over a child’s use of home wi-fi, Dublin company iKydz believes it is offering the perfect gift to give to any parent this Christmas.
“IKydz is a plug and play box which works by creating a safe network and is unique because it physically controls the internet traffic. Parents can use it to block pornography, block specific sites, block individual devices and set time limits on internet use and on the use of specific sites,” reveals company founder John Molloy.
He says he created it to provide an alternative to the standard parental controls which can be bypassed by any tech-savvy teenager in five minutes, and also, to offer a less confrontational option to confiscating much-loved devices.
Working in conjunction with an app which can be downloaded from the internet and used from anywhere, the device, according to Mr Molloy, is tamper proof and allows parents to stay in control as long as they aren’t foolish enough to share the wi-fi access code with their children.
Setting up the company last year, he used crowdfunding to build sufficient devices to test the market and started selling them online.
“We are now planning a retail launch at the Ideal Homes Show in Dublin at the end of this month. We have also signed a deal which will see iKydz go on sale in up to 100 retail outlets in the UK in November,” he says.
A regional finalist in this year’s Intertrade Ireland Seedcorn Competition, iKydz has found a Chinese manufacturer for its device, and expects the first shipment of 3,500 units to be dispatched within a few weeks.
“Since we launched nine months ago we have had sales in 28 countries — in Europe Australia, Canada, the US and Bolivia. We have already sold 900 units online and the orders keep coming,” he says.
The inspiration which led Mr Molloy to develop the iKydz in 2014 was desperation. An IT consultant who travelled a lot, he spent a great deal of time remotely accessing his home router to prevent his three teenage children spending their time on the internet and from accessing unsuitable sites.
Deciding there had to be a better way, he set out to invent one.
Working on the project for over a year at night in hotel rooms, he got assistance from software developers and by last year, had the concept worked out.
“At that point I wanted to validate it — to find out if people would be willing to buy it,” he says.
He launched a Kickstarter campaign in December which by February had raised €33,343 from 267 backers. Using this money to source the components, he assembled the first units from his home, enlisting his teenage children for help.
In April, Mr Molloy began working full time on the project. He rented business premises at Park West Industrial Estate and brought entrepreneur Paul Van der Berg on board as sales director and investor.
Finding a manufacturing company in China proved complicated but the company signed an agreement three weeks ago.
Mr Molloy is now in discussions with electrical retailers in Ireland and the UK and plans to explore retail markets in Europe.
Now employing six staff, the company is working on enhancing the device to allow it to be used on phones. Mr Molloy says he has trademarked the iKydz brand and applied for patents.
A further 2,000 units are due for shipment later in October. IKydz, which sells online for €99, aims to a achieve turnover of €1m this year.
“We believe we can develop sales to the retail market in Ireland and the UK in 2017 and grow this to €5m,” he says.
While parents may welcome the availability of the iKydz device, the response from children is not enthusiastic.
When he launched online for the Christmas market last year, Mr Molloy found himself being called ‘Webenezer Scrooge’.
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