Our co-founder, Vanessa Bileu, was interviewed by Killian Woods from thejournal.ie‘s Unlikely Entrepreneurs. She explained how, after 10 years as a pre-school teacher in Ireland, Portugal and Africa, she created ChildDiary with her husband, Joao Carlos de Sousa.
“My peers who started using ChildDiary said they were saving time and money and parents were telling us they loved it too.”
ChildDiary started in Galway when she was feeling the burden of the paperwork, as well as the need to increase parental envolvement.
“I got a job in one of the crèches in Galway. I found I was spending so much time with paperwork in the crèche. My bosses were also spending so much money on managing the paperwork. We were all afraid of inspectors coming in and us not having something they asked for. I also felt frustrated that I couldn’t share with the children’s parents what was going on every day. It’s where I came up with the idea for my company ChildDiary.”
Joao Carlos de Sousa and Vanessa Bileu (Founders of ChildDiary)
After many nights complaining about the waste of time and money to her husband, they decided to create ChildDiary.
“ChildDiary is a tool for teachers that helps them manage paperwork and share children’s milestones with parents.”
Our founders have to be HR, finance, sales and IT departments at the same time.
“I studied to be a pre-school teacher at university, so I knew nothing about business and I’m still learning every day what a business is like. I’m learning about digital marketing, HR management, you name it – which is also a challenge because it’s a lot to take in.”
Vanessa is a preschool teacher at heart, so this new adventure was a big change for her.
“Leaving our jobs wasn’t a hard decision to make because I knew I was passionate about this idea, but in the few weeks after I left, I wondered if I would like this startup life. I really like being in childcare and love education, so it was weighing on my mind about not being in that environment any more and going to an office instead – which was something I had never experienced before.”
In the end, when she hears that childcare services, inspectors and parents are impressed with what ChildDiary has to offer, everything is worthwhile! To read the full article click here.
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