An Australian child psychology service provider and publishing business run by a Wollongong couple is in the process of releasing a new app as it grows.
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Quirky Kid founders Dr Kimberley O'Brien and Leonardo Rocker are in the business of providing mental health services for children as well as educational publishing services, products and software.
Quirky Kid has just received Federal and State Government support that will help it take its strategies for tackling children's mental health issues to other parts of Australia and the world.
It is among the first seven successful recipients of Department of Social Services $7 million Sector Readiness Fund funding managed through Impact Investing Australia's Growth Grant. The $130,000 will be used to engage Social Impact Hub's services to help Quirky Kid become impact investment ready.
Social Impact Hub supports purpose-driven businesses as they scale up and has been awarded an Impact Investment Ready Growth Grant to work with Quirky Kid which was recently selected to join two International immersion programs. They were the Dubai EdTech Bootcamp organised by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) and the India Entrepreneurs International Bootcamp funded by the NSW Government and led by the Sydney School of Entrepreneurship.
"I went to Dubai and Leo went to India," Dr O'Brien said.
"We got to meet a whole bunch of people in the education industry and find out what they are looking for in their schools. That is why we thought our app would be good servicing people further afield who are able to ask a question and our clinicians can give a quick response".
Quirky Kid recently exhibited at the world's largest trade fair for children's literature and creative content, The Bologna Book Fair. In 2018 it received two prestigious nominations at The London Book Fair. It went on to win the Best Educational Initiative Award for an educational program Basecamp designed to support children by helping them manage anxiety. Basecamp was also named Best Designed Educational Primary / Secondary Book at the Australia Book Designer Awards.
Quirky Kid is used by thousands of organisations globally. It delivers innovative products and solutions for schools and families, such as the new online app BriteChild supporting parents and professionals. Quirky Kid started in Sydney 12 years ago when it opened a clinic at Woollahra. It opened a second clinic at Austinmer seven years ago. The owners then decided the best way to grow the business to the next stage was to become a resident at iAccelerate.
"We needed space to grow the business and this came up. It allowed us to apply for grants and develop an app with an app developer here," Dr O'Brien said.
"iAccelerate is where we do the business development and the clinics are where we do the work".
Mr Rocker said since 2016 the business had been able to raise the necessary capital to escalate its impact and commercial success.
The new app presently in the testing phase began being developed 18 months ago.
Quirky Kid is presently looking for a school where teachers and parents would be willing to trial it as something accessible and affordable that anyone can use.
"Our ambition is to continue to scale without compromising our impact," he said.
Quirky Kid is about to open a third clinic in Canberra.
"We want to roll out more clinics. The aim of the game for us is to service more children around Australia. To be able to open up clinics in different regional areas would be amazing," Dr O'Brien said.
The clinic process is kept as short as possible.
It starts with a parenting session. Clinicians then meet the child one on one. That can be followed by parent child sessions and sibling sessions.Group sessions are also offered at the clinics.
It is hoped the app will be able to be used as a prevention tool to help reduce the need for children to have to visit a clinic.
"We also try and advocate for the young person by talking to the teachers and parents and then giving them the resources they need for the classroom to help the kids express their feelings rather than getting frustrated and expressing it through their behaviour," Dr O'Brien said.
She said mental health, anxiety and depression can prevent people from going to work but there are tools that can help the.
"And kids can learn these skills at a younger age so they can manage anxiety as adults," she said.
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Greg Ellis
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
Almost four decades in electronic, print and digital media. A writer, presenter, emcee, photographer and videographer with degrees in business management, marketing and human resources and tertiary qualifications in photography.
