Famony Inc.Sachiko Amanuma

Tell us about "Mama-to-ko Time" of Famony.

Famony Inc. provides a service named "Mama-to-ko Time," which aims to alleviate the worries of mothers going out with their small children by offering a babysitting service at the shops of their destination. Specifically, our professional babysitters come to hair salons, chiropractic clinics and other shops our clients are visiting and take care of their children on the spot. While our staff are taking care of their children, our clients can take their time and receive services at hair salons and chiropractic clinics.

Existing temporary childcare services are not necessarily convenient, as mothers need to bring their children to childcare centers or as it is very hard to make a reservation in Tokyo. With Mama-to-ko Time, however, mothers can go straight to their destinations without visiting a childcare center beforehand, since our staff take care of their children at the shops for which they have made a reservation.

Famony Inc. operates a B to B to C business model. Our direct customers are not mothers but shops that use the Mama-to-ko Time service. Since the childcare fees are paid by the shops, mothers can use the childcare service for free. Although on-site babysitting services are also provided by other companies, we believe that we are the only company that offers a completely free service to mothers.

Our service is also beneficial for the shops in terms of increased customer acquisition opportunities, as it encourages mothers with children to repeatedly use the shops and creates opportunities for obtaining new customers.

Tell us what made you start your own business.

Before founding Famony Inc., I ran a hair salon reservation service. That was when I realized that many mothers could not go to hair salons even if they wanted to. Specifically, these mothers said to me, "what if my child starts to cry and disturbs other customers at the hair salon?" and "what should I do about breastfeeding and changing diapers at the hair salon?" Some mothers simply wanted to go to hair salons on weekdays as they wanted to spend time with their families on weekends. At the same time, hair salons were also unconfident about accepting mothers accompanied by their children as their manpower was insufficient for that. I wanted to create a service that can solve issues on both sides, and this was why I started my company.

Moreover, when we were test-marketing our childcare service at shops, I myself became pregnant and had a baby. While the time that I spent with my child was full of joy, I also came to realize how tough a mom’s life could be. Since raising a child is not a job that ends in one or two years, I wish to help mothers to have their own time and be happy through our service.

Tell us about the future developments.

As Mama-to-ko Time has received very positive response from mothers, I would like to further increase user shops in more convenient areas, such as those located in terminal stations. With an eye to providing our service across Japan, we would like to start by increasing the number of user shops in major cities in the Kanto region. We are currently working on providing useful information for mothers at our user shops in order to make Mama-to-ko Time into a more efficient touchpoint for our client companies and their customers.

Moreover, we are also working on the development of a childcare service for female employees working at shops (for example, stylists and hairdressers). Through this service, we hope to contribute to the creation of a women-friendly working environment and the solution of labor shortage at shops and companies.