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THE BIG IDEA
W
hat’s the big idea?
Bipper, a
company started by mum-turned-
mobile-phone-wizard Silje Vallestad,
designs and builds apps that turn
smartphones into safety devices.
Thanks to their latest product, MobileKids, parents
can monitor – and limit – what their kids get up to
on their phones. It also allows them to add and
remove features remotely and even has GPS-based
safety services. Bipper’s other app, bSafe, is a safety
alarm that sends out a cry for help to a network of
guardians, at the same time as automatically
recording video so they can see what’s happening.
So what made Vallestad want to padlock
phones?
Personal experience. “Back in 2006 when
my daughter started school I realised six year olds
had phones,” says Vallestad. “As a parent you like
the safety and the easy communication the mobile
provides, but you still want to be able to define
limits and to follow what they are doing.”
What spooked her about kids and phones?
A lot. “It was shocking to me,” she says. “You had
mobile bullying with pictures being taken in the
shower and shared with friends at school, contact
with strangers and all these things I had never
thought about.”
It’s a good thing Vallestad had a technical
background before starting her business…
That’s the thing – she didn’t. She was a concerned
mum with a great plan, but no real map of how
to get there. Then she heard about business-plan
competition Venture Cup. “I thought entering
would help me put things into words and work out
a strategy,” she recalls. “I joined Venture Cup in
2007
and won.”
you receive as a parent,” says Vallestad.“Other
companies allow you to download monitoring apps,
but that’s spyware that lies on the phone and gives
you information without your child knowing, which
is something we are against.” With MobileKids,
parents know who their kids are in contact with
and they know what apps are being downloaded,
but they can’t read the text messages.
What about the other app, bSafe? How
effective is that?
It’s so effective, movie star kids
use it. Jada Pinkett Smith is investing in Bipper and
joining the company after daughter Willow started
using bSafe.
How successful has Bipper been as a
company?
bSafe has over 200,000 users in Norway
and the company is making significant inroads in
India. So far about US$5million (NOK 28.5million)
has been invested in Bipper. And with Pinkett
Smith on board, the company should grow quickly
in America; Vallestad is currently busy setting up
a new office in Silicon Valley, California. “We have
been using Norway as our playground but now
it’s about getting a bigger market. My ambition
has always been that Bipper should be the global
leader of safety in mobile phones.”
And Vallestad herself?
She’s now in San
Francisco, after moving there last year. “If you
want to build a global company within tech, Silicon
Valley is the place to be,” she says. “It has been a
big adjustment for my family. My three kids didn’t
speak English when we came. It took about three
months to settle in but my kids have been a big
part of the success of Bipper. It was my desire
to keep them safe that led to me starting the
company, after all.”
bipper.com
“
She was a concerned mum with
a great plan but no real map of
how to get there”
After 12 months,
we’ll award a prize
to the best Big Idea
of the year. If you’ve
got any ideas, let us
know – email editor
Toby Skinner at
toby.skinner@ink-
global.com
Got a
big idea?
Top
⁄
Silje Vallestad and her
three kids, who just moved
to San Francisco with her
Above
⁄
Vallestad’s Bipper
company has had US $5million
invested in it
Why is Bipper’s product better than
what’s already out there?
Because it is made
with motherly love. “The big difference is that
MobileKids has been defined by me and other
parents and not by techies,” Vallestad says.
“
Other services out there only tend to have one
of the components, not the whole block.”
That’s great for parents, but how do the
kids feel about being spied on?
It’s not really
spying as the little munchkins are in on the whole
thing. “We believe it should be open and based
on trust. Your kid should know what information
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