Recently Vault Realty Group interviewed one of the Founders of Kiki Beans: KikiBeans is the only online mobile application that matches parents based on their shared values and interests, personality traits, location and schedule, as well as their kidsâ ages and interests. To learn more please visit: www.kikibeans.com
VAULT: What inspired you to create Kiki Beans? We have read Sarah's story on the website--but it would be great to get your pov too!
MASON:  Iâve always been a pretty solitary person; I have a few close friends, but not a large group that I bounce between. I think thatâs pretty typical for people at my age actually. My wife, Sarah, has a similarly close-knit group of friendsâŚand when she moved up to Northern California, it was hard to leave them behind. She also works from home, which made it difficult to meet new people in the workplace. When we found out she was pregnant, we were hoping that she would find moms through playgroups, etc. She has, but the problem with relying on the Gymboree or play groups is that you usually only meet a handful of people â what happens if you donât click with any of them?
The idea for Kikibeans came pretty quickly after my first daughter (Caitlyn, aka the âKikiâ of Kikibeans) was born â my wife wanted to see if there were other moms who were a bit more like-minded, and not just on the same schedule at the local Gymboree.
VAULT: On the Kiki Beans website it says that you have, "ten years of professional experience in user-centered design and software development process methodologies,"-- What was your initial inspiration for the format and design of the app?Â
MASON: Â I didnât pull my ideas for the application from any particular inspiration â it needed to be fun and friendly, but also easy to use. Sarah and I hashed out some ideas and the look & feel just evolved from the initial sketches. Unfortunately, there arenât any similar applications for parents on the market, and most of the location-based applications lack a real purpose, so there wasnât exactly a precedent to follow. The closest apps, in terms of functionality, are online dating apps, but I didn't
VAULT: Do you know when the app will be available for the iPhone? see anything groundbreaking there either.
MASON: The app should be available on the iPhone, as well as our website later this year. We will be launching a private Beta in the next few months to make sure we catch any outstanding issues, then we will release it to the public. Since the app relies on having other parents to match you with, it may not be available in certain areas until enough people have signed upâŚpeople donât want us matching them with the same two people.
VAULT: Do you have any advice for people trying to create their own social platform or app?Â
MASON: Developing a social platform and/or app is tricky â there are a LOT of things to think about, whether youâre talking about design details, a business model, or your marketing strategy. Until you have something out there, itâs a labor of love, which is why I recommend that people stick to things they are passionate about. We really want Kikibeans to work because we want to use it ourselves, and thatâs what keeps us motivated. If we had simply picked some idea that might be popular or cool, I donât know that we would have stuck with it this long.
VAULT:Â What is your favorite kids's cartoon?Â
MASON: My kidsâ (I have three) favorite cartoons tend to vary on a monthly basis. At the moment, my son (8) is obsessed with the Power Rangers, and Kiki (2) is still down with the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Thankfully, my youngest daughter (8 mos) doesnât watch any TV yet, so itâs just the two kids fighting over the TiVo.
VAULT: Â Do you have any advice for first time business owners?Â
MASON: The hardest thing about starting a new business is having the patience and motivation to push through all of the grunt work it takes to bring a product to market. Itâs exciting when you are forming your plan, and inventing things, but then you have the long road of building and refining the product, then trying to get the workout. It can be a long time before you see the fruits of your labor come back to you â and sometimes, they never do. Pushing through that is tough. But you have to do itâŚshort of an amazing lucky break, that is.
VAULT: What is your favorite children's book?Â
MASON: Â My favorite childrenâs book is a story called The Library Lion; for some reason, it gets to me every time I read it to the kids at bed time.
VAULT:Â You also are a photographer with a keen sense of aesthetics; we love all of your photographs at: www.masonfoster.com--How much does aesthetics and visuals have to do with creating an app, website or social platform in your opinion?Â
MASON: Thanks! I think aesthetics are a crucial part of any user experience, especially today, when people have very high expectations about these things. People love beautiful things, but for applications to be successful, they also need a purpose, and they need to be user friendly. I think we managed to capture all of these things really well in Kikibeans.
VAULT:Â Who would you say is your favorite artist or photograph?Â
MASON: Oh man, thatâs a tough question to answer. Whatâs so great about the world weâre in now is that you get exposed to so many new and unique artists and ideas through the internet, and social media in particular. Sure, thereâs a lot of crap, but you also get a chance to see some awesome work from all over the world. Sadly, I see so much great work perusing Google+, 500px, and Flipbook (my personal favorite source of photography) that I often forget the name of the artist and just appreciate seeing new beautiful work each day.
VAULT:Â Who is your pick for favorite film coming up at the oscars?Â
MASON: I think I mentioned that I have three kids? I donât really see too many movies in the theater anymore. :-)
 Thank you for taking the time to do a virtual interview with Vault Realty! We sincerely appreciate it!Â
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