We know parents are ridiculously busy, increasingly mobile, and generally just want things to work.
That’s why we’ve developed Famigo.com and Famigo Sandbox.
They’re both simply designed to make your life a whole lot easier and a bit more fun.
The Famigo star rating is different than the ones you find in the app markets. Our five stars are assigned based on how well an app is designed for families.
How is the Famigo Family Rating determined?
Our trained team of app reviewers fills out a lengthy questionnaire for each app that will algorithmically determine its star rating.
This questionnaire addresses: ease of use, educational value, level of entertainment, family-friendliness and appropriateness for all ages.
Our review process was developed from extensive research and feedback from parents like you.
You’ll only find apps rated 3 stars or higher on Famigo.com.
Although we do review apps that receive lower than 3 stars, we only bring the top-notch stuff to your attention. We know you don’t have the time to sort through the rest.
Check out Famigo’s Promises to see how we’re working to find the best apps, create the best resources, and develop the best tools for families.
Famigo’s vision is simple: mobile technology should simply “work” for families.
Famigo provides a platform for families to safely discover, manage, and enjoy content and apps on smartphones and tablets. We want everyone from toddlers to grandmothers to have successful interactions every time they use a smartphone or tablet in a family setting.
Smartphones and tablets have penetrated the consumer market faster than any other electronic device, and it’s been difficult for families and media companies to keep up with the blistering pace of the mobile media economy.
The result is that families struggle with the day to day management of mobile content and mobile devices. The modern family runs multiple devices with different operating systems and differing form factors. In fact, their mobile device management problems rival that of many small companies, and Dad ends up being the IT manager while Mom is the family CFO.
Famigo has built an enterprise-class solution for content and device management just for families. We take into account differences in age, mobile device type, and even account for the way families make purchases. We’re the champion of families.
Our investors make everything we do possible. Our thanks are never-ending, from solid advice to continued funding, Famigo wouldn’t exist if it weren’t these organizations that have placed faith in our team and our work.
Silverton is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on Texas-based companies. Their culture is people-driven which leads them to partner with exceptional entrepreneurs who are committed to attacking growth markets with proprietary products or services.
Capital Factory is an early-stage accelerator program for tech startups that provides a small amount of seed capital and weekly mentoring sessions by entrepreneurs who have founded successful companies
Sometimes we need to bounce ideas off of someone that doesn’t live, breathe and dream about Famigo every waking moment of the day and night. It’s invaluable to get someone else’s take on the projects we have in the works. Our advisors provide insight from years as high-ranking executives within relevant industries.
As a team of developers, we absolutely love meeting and working with other developers.
Whether you want to let us know about your awesome new project, are interested in sharing your app with our audience, or simply want to give us your ping-pong secrets, we’re all ears. Feel free to contact us at any time at info@famigo.com or call at 888-509-5850 x702.
This program recognizes developers who create delightful, family-friendly apps that have passed through our rigorous review process with flying stars (literally).
By awarding stellar developers with the Famigo APProved badge, we make it easier for families to find the truly great apps that are so easily lost in the crowded markets.
We honestly get incredibly excited when we review a beautifully designed and clearly lovingly crafted app. If you think your app will be the talk of our office, send an email to reviews@famigo.com.
Families are searching for great content, are you being discovered?
Escape the mess of the app markets. Famigo is where parents come to easily find awesome new apps for their families. If you’re seeking a family audience, you’ve come to the right place.
We offer a bunch of different ways to promote family-friendly apps, both on Famigo.com and within Famigo Sandbox.
Check out our media kit to explore your options.
And if you’re interested in finding in finding different ways to work with us, we’re interested in talking to you! Send us a note at info@famigo.com or give us a call at 888-509-5850 x702.
Famigo is 100% COPPA compliant and always has been. Long before media outlets spilled barrels of ink exposing deceptive online information collection practices, we made a promise to all families:
Famigo will never, never distribute your information without your direct permission.
We made this promise and all of Famigo's Promises because it's the right thing to do. As we like to say, "What's good for families is good for Famigo," and we can't imagine what's more important to families than protecting the privacy of our children.
If you have questions about the details of our Privacy Policy, you should consult it directly. The following summary specifically addresses COPPA compliance in an easy to understand, family friendly format.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, the primary goal of COPPA is to put parents in control of the information that is collected from their children (defined as under 13 years of age) online. We extend this privacy protection to any user, regardless of age.
In order to understand COPPA, you must understand the distinction between two types of information. "Personally Identifiable Information” (PII) is information that can be linked to you or your child, e.g. email addresses and credit card numbers. You will always know when we collect this kind of information because you, the parent, will choose when/if to provide it.
"Non Personally Identifiable Information" (Non-PII) is information such as the type of operating system or web browser that you use. Non-PII information is used to improve the user's Famigo experience, e.g. by generating app recommendations appropriate for the types of devices your family owns. This information is collected periodically, and is always collected anonymously.
| COPPA Requirement | Famigo's Solution |
|---|---|
| Post a clear and comprehensive privacy policy. | Famigo's Privacy Policy and this page. |
| Provide notice to parents and obtain consent before collecting personal information from children. | We only collect personally identifiable information that parents choose to provide. We'll always prompt you before we ask to collect this information. |
| Allow parents to consent to the collection of information for internal use without consenting to its distribution to third parties. | We do not allow third-party companies to solicit or advertise to our users. |
| Provide parents access to their child's information to review and/or have it deleted. | To do so, just contact support@famigo.com. |
| Give parents the opportunity to prevent further collection of their child's information. | Again, the only PII information we collect is what you provide. The parent is always in control. |
| Maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and security of the information collected from children. | We do this for all data, no matter the user age, and we take the security of all of our data very seriously. |
We have all of the usual legal documents and Terms of Service agreements (you know, all that tiny text you scroll through in order to checkmark the “I’ve read and accept…” at the end). We realize that no one reads those (except lawyers) and generally the only purpose they serve is to keep lawyers happy. (They actually really enjoy reading and writing them!)
But what we’re really interested in is keeping you and your family happy, so we want to make sure you know what to expect from Famigo.
Our Golden Rule: What’s good for families is good for Famigo.
Everything that we do will be in the best interest of families and we’ll treat you like we would our families and friends (and don’t worry, we absolutely love our families and friends!). We’re a great big Famigo family!
Inspired by our Golden Rule, and free of any indecipherable lawyer-speak, here are the promises that the Famigo family makes to your family:
Famigo will always work to bring families together.
Too many things (specifically our gadgets) are creating very separate lives for each member of our families. We’re trying to bring families together through, around and within technology, and everything we create is built to serve this specific purpose.
Famigo will only share the very best content.
There’s a lot of junk out there that is either terribly made or not made for families. Our function is to bring the great stuff to your attention, not the bad. This is the stuff we share with our own family and friends, and we want you to know how awesome it is too. At the same time, we’ll let you know about the really bad stuff you should avoid. (We’re talking about technology here, not food. We’re huge fans of ice cream and tacos; that will never be bad stuff in our eyes.)
Famigo will always be relevant.
We will never create anything without a purpose. From our products to our blog posts, everything will have meaning and be valuable to families and all of their members. Our driving passion is based in making family-friendly content easy for families to find, why would we add to the clutter by creating irrelevant anything?
Famigo will be entertaining.
Or, at the very least, try our hardest. We think we’re pretty funny most of the time…
Famigo will listen to you.
We want to help families, and even though we all have families, and like to think of ourselves as a family, we know that every family is different. We want to know what makes your family unique, what entertains you and what brings you together. Your opinions and thoughts are absolutely invaluable to us. Nobody knows your family better than you, so tell us about you guys!
Famigo will never lecture you.
We’re not your parents. (Unless, for some reason, our children are reading this some day, in which case, yes, we are. Go to bed, or do your homework, or whatever it is that you should be doing!) Our purpose isn’t to tell anyone what to do or how to do it. We’re working to give you the tools to make your family an awesome team. How/when/where/why you use them is up to you. We just promise to make everything we create as useful to your family as possible, the incredible things that you do with these tools are up to you.
Famigo will be reasonable in our views.
We will never be the harbingers of doom, there’s no point in that (and doom is really just a sad word, why not harbingers of joy or unicorns maybe…). Everyone knows there are bad things in the world. What it comes down to is how we go about dealing with those things and solving any problems that we find. We’ll never bring up this stuff to scare you, only so we can work together to find a solution.
Famigo will never, never distribute your information without your direct permission.
This is the most lawyer-y of all our promises, but one that we think is very important. Know that Famigo will never use your or your family’s information in any way that you don’t explicitly approve of. There’s nothing to be gained from this sort of shady business and there’s no way it can be good for families, meaning both the Famigo family and yours. We’re all in this together.
Famigo actually believes all of the above.
Honestly, from our family to yours, we promise all of the above.
Famigo is the passion, purpose and product of these six fine looking folks.
Our team was founded by a former Nickelodeon exec, a metrics crazed neuroscientist and a software genius (who also happens to be a dad).
They’ve since been joined by three more Famigo fiends who love everything fun and family-friendly. And robots and tacos, those are pretty delightful too.
We’re highly engaged, super responsive, incredibly friendly and we want to welcome you to the Famigo Family.
Q Beck co-founded Famigo during the 2nd semester of his MBA program. Q teamed up with Matt Sullivan while they were both interning at the Austin Technology Incubator. They pitched the idea of making mobile work for families during 3 Day Startup weekend and one thing led to another.
Prior to business school, he spent 9 years in the film industry as a development and production executive for numerous companies, including Nickelodeon and DreamWorks. He earned a BA from Columbia University and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. Q Beck is of average looks and stature.
Matt trained as a brain scientist prior to co-founding Famigo, and although he’s made great strides in his recovery from being a lab rat, he still enjoys running experiments a bit too much. Immediately upon earning his PhD in neuroscience, Matt went to work as an associate at the Austin Technology Incubator where he discovered that the skills he learned as a graduate student were easily extensible to an early stage company. Soon after, Matt, Q, and Cody teamed up to launch Famigo with the help of Capital Factory. Matt was recently married, loves stand up paddling, traveling, and claims he will try almost anything once.
Cody Powell is a cyborg sent from the future to save humanity's software. Okay, not quite. At Famigo, Cody writes a wide variety of software (web, mobile, API, whatever), and also keeps the hamsters inside of our servers from overheating. He thinks a lot about the way we build software and companies, and how we can make both processes faster and more fun. In addition to the software thing, Cody is a proud papa to 1 human (August) and doting husband to another, separate human (Laura). He jams on music, movies, wine, reading, cooking, and punning. He accepts all challenges at the ping pong table or the Settlers of Catan board.
Taylor recently entered the world of professional software development after slinging code for the better part of a decade. He's well-versed in most aspects of web-based programming. Recently, he helped Cisco test voice-over-IP phones, and created an iOS application for Famigo Games. Taylor studied Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin.
Shaun has worked in everything from high energy storage to autonomous systems modeling. His love of cutting edge innovation brought him to the mobile world, which he sees as a giant playground where high speed processors, network access, sensors, and users combine to reshape how humanity interacts with itself and technology at ludicrous speed — yeah, he thinks mobile development is neat. He counts himself lucky to have found the folks at Famigo who share his passion for neat stuff and worthy causes.
Sarah is a word magician, of sorts. From 140 character tweets to blog articles (and any other random copy) she spends way too much time figuring out how to get across a lot of information in very little space. She manages, edits and writes for the Famigo blog, is the informative and (hopefully) sometimes humorous voice behind @Famigo, helps with marketing efforts and generally performs any tasks that the Famigo dudes need done. She has played more preschool learning based Android apps than any other 21 year old, and is working on coming to terms with that.
You know how they say it takes a village to raise a child?
Well, the same can be said for a small family-based company.
Famigo is our kid, but we’ve found a few moms and dads that want to help us raise it to become a well-rounded, family powered and community centric tool that is dependable and super useful for parents and families everywhere.
These dedicated moms and dads make up what we refer to as the Famigo Parent Advisory Board. They’re parents who have decided to take Famigo under their wing and spread the word about the great things that Famigo has in the works.
As members of the P.A.B. these parents advise Famigo as to what products and ideas work and what doesn’t for families and how we can become an invaluable resource that is made by families, for families.
In a former life, Carissa Rogers was a molecular biologist. In her current life, she is the chief researcher of bloggy karma, parenting dos (and some don'ts), new recipes, and for spice she pretends to be a photographer. She started blogging in February of 2008 and publishes her good & crazy thoughts on GoodNCrazy.com. Also find her on Twitter and Facebook.
Andy Robertson is a videogame expert who specializes in family gaming. He writes for The Telegraph, The Times, the BBC and runs the GeekDad blog for Wired. He produces the Family Gamer TV show, published on Wired, that offers parents a space to learn and engage with videogames without hype or jargon. He speaks about videogames and culture regularly on Radio 4’s You and Yours program, Greenbelt and at TEDx 2012.
He produces alternative responses to videogames on his Game People website. These take the form of songs, plays, comedies and art that offer a playful and creative way to engage with videogames. The work has appeared nationally in both newspapers and television. Along these lines, his Family Gamer TV show, published on Wired, offers parents a space to learn and engage with videogames without hype or jargon. By featuring real families it uncovers videogames successes and failures as a way to engage parents and children with these experiences.
Mary is an enthusiastic proponent of using technology to bring families closer together. Blogging for over 15 years, Mary founded StayatHomeMom.com, was a guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show, and has spoken to several groups on internet safety, social media and connecting families through technology. Mary has volunteered with Wired Safety, the world's first Internet Safety and Help group for over 10 years. Mary and her husband Tom have 4 amazing kids and have lived in 6 different states and 2 countries. They love travel, video games, reading and staying connected with friends from around the world. Learn more about Mary and keep the conversation going with @maryheston and @wiredmom.
Roo Ciambriello (that's ru cham-bree-yellow) is never far from a notebook and pen. When she's not teaching her three little girls (her? three children!? I KNOW!) moves to early 90s dances, she's storytelling on her blog, NiceGirlNotes, as well as turning out some fun copy for websites, food packaging, and even the little slips of paper inside fortune cookies. Roo lives in Connecticut with her aforementioned little girls, musician husband, and possibly a rabid raccoon.
Amanda Rodriguez, also known as Dumb Mom, has been wowing the Internet since 2008 when she launched her pretty-much-useless guide for parents, parenting BY dummies. As it turns out her parenting advice is not generally useful for more than a good laugh, but sometimes that's exactly what you need! Dumb Mom spends her online time (which is embarrassingly limited) running a photography business, working as a social media director for a local print publication, writing freelance articles about stuff she loves, wrangling Dudes, petting her Baby Dog Daughter, and eating cupcakes in her garage to escape the crazy. You can Tweet with her as @dumbparent, but don't expect her to be serious. It's virtually impossible.
Come join our development team and help build the Famigo Sandbox, an Android app used by thousands of families every day! At Famigo, we make mobile work for families by helping them find and manage mobile content. This role would be a key contributor, leading the charge on new Sandbox features, helping to port the Sandbox over for new international audiences, and integrating the Sandbox with Famigo's key partners.
Competitive salary + equity + benefits.
If you're interested, send your resume and some Android titles you've worked on to: info@famigo.com.
Famigo currently is a team of hackers and hustlers and we have an opening for a lead designer.
This position is top level. Meaning that you'll be the lead of a growing front-end development team. You'll be first on board and will have the opportunity to build your team as we grow.
More importantly you'll own the design.
You must have previous design experience at a consumer web company — a startup is ideal. You're creative and an artist that uses Photoshop as your primary canvas but enjoys sketching and illustrating as well. When it comes time for a design to go live, you want to be the one to code it so it's done right. Finally, you seek out and implement user feedback to iterate on your designs.
Just to note, this job has nothing to do with game design or iOS.
Life has taught you many lessons that you thoughtfully use to guide your design.
You will be very well compensated.
If you're interested please email the Famigo team with a link to your portfolio: info@famigo.com.
Famigo focuses its family lens on choosing, reviewing and rating family friendly apps for the Android and iOS platforms to make browsing and discovering apps a safer and more engaging experience.
You dream in stylesheets, scripts, and markups, but sometimes see the world through Python.
We push code several times a day, and your responsibility will be to work with our resident metrics master to quickly iterate on everything consumers see on the web
If there's a funnel that needs tracking, an action item that's not feeling the love, or a page that needs SEO juicing — you'll be on top of it
You'll be responsible for what you're best at, but can be part of whatever you're interested in — but whatever you do for Famigo, it'll be done out of your heartfelt desire to add value to a company and a mission that you love
Competitive salary + equity + benefits
If you're interested please get in touch with the Famigo team via email: info@famigo.com.
