As a parent, Mahesh Vorkady always wanted to connect with the parents of kids in his daughter's classroom. Talkative Parents, the app he designed to enable parents to connect with one another is a culmination of that dream. Mahesh traces the origin of the app to his daughter's disappointment over not wearing the right uniform to school one day. "We were required to buy a yellow t-shirt for our daughter for a function, but both my wife and I realized it very late in the night when the shops were closed. Our daughter had no other option, but to be the odd one out at school the next day. That's when I felt that it was a lack of communication between parents which stood in our way of being updated with our daughter's needs," he says.
With platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp already catering to such needs, Mahesh admits the app looked redundant at first. But he managed to get one USP that paved the way for the app. That was to hide the phone number and other irrelevant information. "People end up keeping these WhatsApp groups on mute because of some useless conversations and that defeats the entire purpose of the app," he says. To use Talkative Parents, all you need to do is enter the school, class and section of your child and register yourself by providing some basic information. "The platform allows parents to freely interact with fellow parents without compromising on privacy and security of the child," he says.
Mahesh said he also realised that children have unique needs and it would help them if parents come forward and pool in resources, share information and make lives simpler. "The app makes sure you only get information that matters and at the time you need it," he says.
It did not take much time for schools to understand the importance of the app and today over 30 schools are communicating with parents using this app. "It is a concept that cannot be explained in one line, so we held workshops for schools. Soon, positive response poured in and we knew that we were on the right track," he says. Mahesh plans to take the app international. "People from Brazil, Australia and many other countries have started downloading it. I am feeling very positive about its promotion at the global level," he says.