USA | GOBABY, The Airbnb for Baby Gear-on-the-Go

(By Marie-pacifique Blanckaert)

Holidays have started, D-Day has finally arrived. Everybody is super excited until you realize, upon leaving the house, the baby bed, car seat, diaper bag, stroller, not to mention the 10 suitcases… Anyway, it’s too late now, you’ll just have to deal with it. But then you get to the airport and the kids are shouting, your phone keeps ringing, your husband is losing his temper while looking for the passports and, truth is, you’re on your knees!

With goBaby, all this (well, almost all this) is over. GoBaby is a peer-to-peer rental marketplace and on demand app that helps relieve families of the stresses of traveling by allowing them to leave their cumbersome strollers, baby seats and Pack ‘n Plays at home. Smart, easy to use, and extremely convenient, this app is going to revolutionize the ways of traveling.

GoBaby was created by Natalie Kaminski, a bright "mum entrepreneur" living in Brooklyn. She has been in software and web development since 1998, worked as Project Manager for several corporations, and has already launched her own web and mobile-based businesses in the past.

After a trip to Chicago in September 2015, where she couldn’t find an easy way to rent a car seat, she decided she had had enough and was determined to prevent other mothers and fathers around the world from ripping their hair out.

"As an entrepreneur myself, the sharing economy was a natural place to turn to for a solution. We’ve trusted sites like Airbnb and Uber to make traveling easier and more affordable than ever. What if we could replicate that with an on-demand community that allows us to rent the gear we need for our children, when we need it — eliminating the need to bring it with us or incur extra travel expenses by buying it at our destination. (...) We want to encourage people to rely more on their peers and provide an ability to share and re-use resources that have limited shelf-life." And thus, the idea for goBaby was born.

Initially launched in NYC in September 2016, the app is now open in all cities across the United States. At present goBaby is only available on iOS, but will be released on Android soon.

GoBaby’s main focus is on traveling families, but really anyone can use it. Grandparents whose young grandchildren visit them a few times a year can rely on goBaby to get everything the kids need, as well as young parents who don’t want to spend a fortune on items that will only keep their children interested for short periods of time (such as play kitchen sets, for example, or starter bikes)...

In a few words, how does it work?For equipment renters:1) Search available items by location, dates, item category, and delivery/pickup information.2) Select an item and submit a booking request.3) Get the item from the owner either by getting it delivered to you or picking it up.4) Return the item back to the owner either by delivering it or getting it picked up.5) Pay.For equipment owners:1) Take a photo of the item you want to rent out. Provide a brief description and set pricing.2) Choose delivery method: delivery or pickup by the renter.3) Give the item to the renter.4) Get your item back: pickup or delivery by the renter.5) Get paid.

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