Offspring allows parents to store, share and publish moments in their child’s life through individual feeds.
If you’re a parent, there’s a good chance you like to share moments in your kids’ lives. But in today’s multi-faceted, technology-driven world, that process can quickly become time-consuming and complicated.
Zachary Kreger, his wife Brooke Sanders and her twin sister, Emily Sanders, wanted a platform that was simple, easy and attractive to use instead.
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“We all have little kids,” Kreger said. “And we’re all trying to capture moments of our kids. Most processes were cumbersome, like emailing pictures and notes to ourselves or putting a ton of stuff on Facebook.
“We decided there had to be a better way.”
So they created Offspring, a free app that makes it simple for parents to store, share and publish childhood moments. Parents log-in with their Facebook accounts and then create a feed for one or more children. Various types of content can be uploaded and shared, such as quick moments, videos, photos, artwork, quotes, journal entries and milestones that can then be filtered by child or category.
While Kansas City-based startup LittleHoots recently released an app that allows parents to create a digital scrapbook on the go, Offspring helps parents create a social network specifically centered on their child. 
Most importantly, Offspring provides flexibility in terms of sharing and privacy. Users can post private moments that can only be seen by their account, allowing the app to function as an electronic baby book of sorts. Parents also can approve other users, like family members and friends, to follow, like and comment on a child’s feed. And since all users require a Facebook account, parents know exactly who is in their Offspring community.
“The app is unique because it is entirely kid-centric,” Kreger (right) said. “You are following the kids, not the adults.”
Offspring is free to use and currently available for iOS devices. Users also have access to additional fee-based features, such as creating a downloadable PDF of collected moments ($2) or publishing a photo book built in real time (costs vary).
In the future, Offspring’s founders plan to develop an Android and desktop version of the app, as well as set up integration with local Walgreens stores for photo-printing.
Kreger, Brooke and Emily came up with the app’s graphics, layout and the overall design before outsourcing the actual building of the app to a local developer. A family member provided initial seed funding and serves as a silent partner in the startup.
The team presented at 1 Million Cups Des Moines and appeared on the Welch Avenue Show in December 2013, followed by a soft launch of the app for family and friends, and then its official launch on Jan. 13, 2014.
Thus far, all feedback has been positive. “We knew the app would be really nice for a parent to have and use, but we were surprised to discover that our most vocal supporters were other family members,” Kreger said. “Aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents who live remotely needed an easy way to see what’s happening in each other’s kids’ lives.”
Emily (left) added, “We genuinely like this app. It’s easy to use, we personally find a lot of value in it and we are confident others will feel the same way.”
See how Offspring helps parents save and share moments in their child’s life:
Credits: Photos courtesy of Offspring. Video from Offspring on Vimeo.
