Maily

Maily was a Brussels-based startup founded in 2012 by Stephane Dehousse, Raphael Halberthal, and Tom Galle. The company aimed to reinvent the concept of email for children as young as four, creating a safe and creative communication channel before they engaged with mainstream social media and email platforms. Maily's application was designed to be visually intuitive, allowing pre-literate children to create and send messages using drawings, virtual paint, photos, and stickers. This provided a secure environment where parents had complete control, managing their child's contact list through a password-protected dashboard and having the option to approve all incoming and outgoing messages.

The service was offered as a free application on iPad, Android, and Amazon mobile platforms. The business model considered generating revenue through in-app purchases of premium features, while intentionally remaining free of advertising to ensure a safe user experience. Maily successfully raised a total of $595,000 in funding over two rounds from investors, including Seedcamp and Faber. The company gained significant traction, being featured in publications like Time Magazine and TechCrunch, and built a user base by focusing on providing a quality messaging system for its niche market. Despite its early achievements and clear value proposition in the family technology market, the company eventually ceased operations and is now considered deadpooled.

Keywords: kids email, family communication, child-safe messaging, parental control app, creative messaging, digital parenting, children's communication app, Maily app, Raphael Halberthal, Stephane Dehousse, Tom Galle, Brussels startup, Seedcamp, safe social media for kids, kids drawing app, parent-approved contacts, family tech, children's privacy