AUTHOR: MARIA CHRONOPOULOU | PHOTOGRAPHY: VASILIS KOUROUPIS
– What is the story behind Nannuka?
– We are three moms and professionals from different sectors. I (Lela Dritsa) worked in marketing and communications, Natali Levy worked in online, digital marketing and Katerina Lamprou was in economics. At that time we could not work because of the kids, so we became mum bloggers and we met online in 2013.
– Did you get to know each other through blogging?
– Yes. With Natali, we arranged a blind playdate with our kids after meeting online. That’s how we started discussing the gap in the market and the fact that we wanted to go back to work but had nowhere to safely leave the children. I didn’t know where I could find someone who could meet my needs and, at the same time, who I could trust because someone had already verified them. That’s how we started working on this idea and in 2014 nannuka.com was born. This was the first time that a Greek company had started to bring childcare professionals together and to verify them by meeting them in person, checking their personal information and then putting them in touch with parents.
– Did you have any support when you began?
– We started on our own. We had a business plan and we designed scenarios for Nannuka. We had found some international players that were doing the same thing in the US so we had a basis for our ideas. We started attending various events that talked about entrepreneurship, start-ups and innovation. The first incubator that embraced us was the Found.ation. There, we met our first investor, Apostolos Apostolakis, who trusted us, and we also found our developer, Giannis Glaros, who is responsible for our product and is active in the company, owning a share. Once we had found the money and the platform was set up, we received both financial and practical advice from Apostolos Apostolakis, which was very important because it saved us time and money.
– Did you start with self-funding or did you find angel investors?
– Nannuka existed on paper when we found Apostolos and we (the three founders) had already put in some funding to get it started because we didn’t know how quickly we would be able to get external funding. Everything then happened really fast and Nannuka was up and running. We’ve worked through various “childhood illnesses”: we have changed various monetization schemes and redesigned the platform to be more UX friendly. We have encountered difficulties over our years of operation. A critical moment for us was the summer of capital controls because we did not know exactly how to proceed or what was going to happen from one day to the next. Fortunately, the private initiative supported the start-ups, so we found support and we were able to continue. We had a strong product and there was, indeed, a gap in the market. For the past nine months, we have also had a presence in London. We started the market penetration with the Greeks who live in London, and we intend to gradually expand into other regions of England.
– You also have a presence in Italy, don’t you?
– Correct. However, we prefer to focus on London for now, having it as a second market, and then to concentrate on Milan and Rome where we already have a base. This is because, unlike the UK, the Italian market still needs training. We noticed that there is a big market in the UK and even though there is competition, they are ready to accept a new product.
– How do you differ from your competitors?
– The difference is that we offer a much more friendly and personalized platform. We have a call centre and we verify the professionals’ profiles because we want to offer the security that families are looking for. Over the last six months, we have begun to include elderly care services. This is something that is happening for the first time in Greece and, in London, we are one of the few platforms to include this service. We are also trying to introduce nanny sharing, where two families will be able to use Nannuka to hire one nanny and, thus, combine the childcare needs of both families. In addition, we are continually optimizing the platform and the product so that it is as up-to-date and as user friendly as possible.
– I know that you have received 200,000 euros of funding. Was this easy or difficult to obtain at the time when you did it?
– In total, we have received close to one million euros. It is never easy to raise money and it is not a coincidence that some investors come and invest in you. You have so much to prove but when someone trusts in you and then sees that you implement what you say, he continues to invest. We are going through a good period because, in addition to having achieved above and beyond our goals in Greece, we have crossed borders, something that is difficult for a start-up. Nevertheless, we found ways to do this and we have achieved it.
– What are the features that a start-up could use to cross borders?
– As one distinguished investor told us in London: “you have to know the playbook”. You need to understand exactly what made you stand out in the market that you started, your test market. This is because if you have not understood that and you have succeeded accidentally, you will not be able to repeat your success in a foreign country. It’s certainly true that you have to make some changes to come close to your target market because, for example, the needs of the Greeks and the needs of the English vary substantially.
– How do Greece and the UK differ as regards the mentality/approach to the family?
– The idea of the family is completely different but there are two main approaches that particularly stand out. First, in UK there is no help from the grandparents as there is in Greece and, second, in Greece there is no descriptive status for a babysitter; this does not exist as a separate profession. We are working closely with the state and with public bodies to change that. Given that childcare is perhaps one of the greatest responsibilities, it is a vocation similar to that of the teacher and the professor. A child carer is a person who takes on the education of a child, educating him or her through creative work. In parallel with this, during the absence of the parents the childcarer spends a lot of hours with the child and he/she affects its character since, as we know, the foundations for its future life are set from an early age.
– Can someone who lives abroad and visits Greece use your services?
– We offer the option of a travel nanny for families who need someone with them when they are coming on vacation from abroad. There are many Greek families who come from abroad and many English and Italian families that come to Greece, a fact that helps to spread our brand.
– What is your next goal?
– Elderly care is a big goal for us because there is a large gap in services globally. Therefore, the provision of elderly companionship and care is our next bet. For sure, we want our expansion in London to go well, and we look forward to achieving all of our goals for our company’s future development, by looking ahead.
– Thank you very much.
– Thank you.
