A new startup called Auggie aims to offer parents a one-stop platform where they can purchase products and connect with each other. The company’s new app, launched this week, provides parents with a platform where they can share product recommendations, purchase curated products, and find a community with each other for real-time advice on different parenting issues.
Auggie was founded in August 2023 by Lily Walla, an entrepreneur who previously founded an edible brand startup called SPOTS NYC that sold to Branded Treats, a 1-800-Flowers food distributor.
Walla came up with the idea for Auggie while she was pregnant with her first child. She sought advice from those around her to help her decide which stroller to buy or which pediatrician to choose. After juggling multiple spreadsheets and group discussions, Walla decided to create a product that would make it easier for parents to find approved products and get advice from other parents.
Walla decided to name the startup after her son’s month of birth: August.
“Parents are looking for advice and product recommendations at every stage of parenting,” Walla told TechCrunch. “They prefer word of mouth recommendations. I can attest to this and hear from parents who share similar experiences. But shopping, sharing and building community have always been siled.
Auggie wants to solve this problem by connecting the dots between community and commerce for parents, future and current.
The company launched a WhatsApp community in January to test a way for parents to connect for real-time advice and the community ended up exceeding WhatsApp’s limit for members and subgroups. After seeing more than 450,000 messages and 35,000 product recommendations shared across the WhatsApp community, Auggie accelerated plans for his own app, which would be the new home for his community. The app is now available on iOS, while an Android launch is expected in the coming weeks.
The app aims to help parents find advice, companionship and practical tips throughout their parenting life. Parents can explore themed spaces to delve into different discussions, from feeding to sleeping to travel and much more. You can also find a community based on your due date or location.
The app is currently free, but the startup could explore a subscription model at some point in the future.
In March, the company launched the second part of its mission: its desktop marketplace powered by recommendations shared by parents in its community. The marketplace currently offers 10,000 products from popular brands such as BabyBjörn, UPPAbaby, Skip Hop and many more. In addition to products, it also offers services, meaning parents can use the marketplace to find pediatricians, lactation consultants, doulas, and more.
The marketplace is not directly integrated into the mobile application. So when a user clicks on a recommended product, it is linked to the web application. Auggie, however, plans to integrate the marketplace into its app in the near future.
Auggie’s current business model is based on affiliate marketing, so the company earns a commission on every product sold on its marketplace. As for the future, Walla says Auggie is working to diversify its business model by unlocking dropshipping and partnering with brands.
The startup targets the default parent, which Walla says tends to be the mother who is sometimes overwhelmed by decision fatigue. The startup also primarily targets parents of children under five.
“Our Northstar is to filter out the noise at every stage of parenting to have content, community and commerce in one place,” Walla said. “We’re really focused on growing the community, our business partners, and creating an ecosystem of parenting recommendations.”
Auggie raised $1.7 million in seed funding in August 2023 from NFX, Accel, Allison Stern of Mother Ventures, XFactor Ventures and a few strategic angel investors.
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