Watch and Learn
Building a business on fulfilling every parent's wish:
cameras in day-care centers
By Devlin Smith
Christopher C. Seminatore knows a good idea when he hears one. After a divorced
friend commented on how much he missed his daughter and wished he could watch her
at day care from his home computer, the 33-year-old entrepreneur got to work, drafting
a business plan and raising funds.
In 1999, Seminatore, friend Jeff Etheridge (the company's idea man), Randy Etheridge
and Daniel Carr founded GuardianCam Inc., a San Diego company that installs cameras
in day-care centers that stream images across the Internet. Family members are given
a user name and password that they use to log on to GuardianCam's Web site and watch
their child learning and playing.
Reaction to the service has been overwhelming. According to Seminatore, centers
that offer the service have seen enrollment jump between 40 and 150 percent. In
addition to bringing more children into the centers' doors, GuardianCam is also
benefiting the families who use the service. "We've got hundreds of stories," Seminatore
says. Recently, a grandfather's dying wish to see his granddaughter was granted
when a computer set to GuardianCam's site was brought to his hospital room. "Little
stories like that, they come in every single day," says Seminatore. "It keeps the
staff dedicated, devoted to what we're trying to do." |
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