Each blockage HowAboutWe found among the committed couples
they studied has a corresponding feature on the new site.
To overcome the inertia it detected, the site will offer
fully packaged date ideas. To address logistical woes,
HowAboutWe is working to make the packages available with
a single click that will book your taxi, theater tickets
and corner table at the Italian trattoria.
For Mr. Schechter and Mr. Schildkrout, each idea leads to
another. They could arrange babysitters for couples. They
could help slouchy husbands send, with one click, fancy
date invitations that suggest a labor of many clicks. They
could allow couples to follow the dates of other couples
they admire — a digital way to keep up with the Joneses.
One click dates + inexpensive/vetted babysitter would be an enormous recurring revenue market.
Since couples tend to collect a small number of sitters and stick with those - frequently friend-of-friend's older children within social groups (church, suburban neighborhood, etc.) - the most tractable approach is more likely to be a calendaring and booking system for sitters vs. a "vetted employee" paradigm.
Nanny Poppins could leverage this with an API for the approved/vetted sitters that are available for that set of parents.
That's actually a pretty neat idea!
A big part of why I consider HN worthwhile to read and post to: we only have time to even attempt executing on so many ideas, but maybe someone else is working on it. Like a big "take an idea, leave an idea" jar.
Shit, I would use this for regular dating too. You'd just have to ensure that it doesn't make the girl feel like the guy's taking her on a "packaged" date (no common branding or anything).
sittingaround.com is babysitter co-op site, but it just added a paid babysitter function! and you can pay with your credit card! how amazing is that, I never have the cash for sitters. [disclaimer: I am friends with the founder.]
