{"id":341835,"date":"2017-05-24T23:47:33","date_gmt":"2017-05-24T15:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1495155"},"modified":"2017-05-24T23:47:33","modified_gmt":"2017-05-24T15:47:33","slug":"circle-with-disney-raises-10-million-for-its-parental-control-device-for-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/circle-with-disney-raises-10-million-for-its-parental-control-device-for-families\/","title":{"rendered":"Circle with Disney raises $10 million for its parental control device for families"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Circle Media<\/a>, the company behind Circle with Disney<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 a device that helps parents enforce their home\u2019s internet rules and restrictions \u2013 has raised $10 million in Series A funding, the company announced this morning. The round was led by early stage venture fund\u00a0Relay Ventures. There was other\u00a0private equity investment in the round, but the parties didn\u2019t want to be named.<\/p>\n

The Portland-based startup had previously raised $1.5 million<\/a> from\u00a0angel investors.<\/p>\n

The idea behind Circle with Disney is to offer parents a simpler way of managing the devices on their home network, including when family members\u00a0are allowed to be online, and what content they\u2019re able to access. This is not a novel concept, to be fair \u2013 numerous companies have offered internet control software in the past, and there are today several makers of network-attached hardware that can do much of what Circle with Disney can, too.<\/p>\n

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For example,\u00a0Circle\u2019s device competes with newer kid-safe routers like\u00a0Torch<\/a>, as well as modern routers that\u00a0include parental control features, like Orbi<\/a>, Eero<\/a>, Luma<\/a>, and others. It also takes on services like\u00a0OpenDNS\u2019s family shield<\/a>\u00a0or even the newer parental control applications rolling out from larger companies, like Comcast\u2019s new Xfinity xFi app<\/a>, Amazon\u2019s FreeTime, or Google\u2019s Family Link.<\/a><\/p>\n

Like many of these devices and services, Circle with Disney allows parents to set device time limits, device \u201cbedtimes,\u201d configure internet and app filters, track web usage, and pause the home\u2019s internet.<\/p>\n

In fact, Apple\u2019s failure to address some of these parental concerns \u2013 like being able to disable\u00a0internet access, or setting screen time limits \u2013 within its iOS software has left a hole in the market, allowing companies like this to emerge.<\/p>\n

In addition to the basics, Circle with Disney offers ways to reward kids with screen time for doing chores, turn off distracting apps while teens are driving, and more through a \u201cConnections<\/a>\u201d platform that works with third-party apps and services.<\/p>\n

Circle with Disney\u2019s other advantage \u2013 as you can guess by its name \u2013 is its partnership with Disney for use of its brand name and select assets. The device includes access to short-form Disney content, like trailers, video clips, games, social media postings, GIFs, emojis, promos and more. Dozens of pieces of content are added daily, so there\u2019s always something new to see.<\/p>\n

The $99 device is sold through\u00a0Amazon<\/a>, Best Buy,<\/a> Target<\/a>, DisneyStore.com<\/a>, and Circle<\/span>\u2019s website<\/a>, and it recently hit 3,700 Walmart stores in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Circle founder\u00a0Jelani Memory<\/a>, a former creative consultant, photographer, and videographer, declined to say how many Circle devices have been sold to date, but noted that the expansion in Walmart doubled its retail presence.<\/p>\n

Beyond the upfront purchase price, Circle Media also makes money by upgrading customers to its\u00a0Circle<\/span> Go<\/a> subscription. This extends Circle\u2019s feature set outside the home, including to mobile devices on cellular networks, for $9.95 per month.<\/p>\n

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However, for this to work on iOS, it requires the installation of a profile on\u00a0the iPhone. This can be a little tricky to set up. And, because it connects the device to a VPN in order to work, some services may be unavailable or partially disrupted when it\u2019s installed, including Netflix, Hulu, Pok\u00e9mon Go, and Ticketmaster,<\/a> the company says. Others may also perform inconsistently, like iMessage, Snapchat and Instagram.<\/p>\n

This can make for a difficult upsell, obviously, and speaks to the broader issues with not having better iOS parental controls available from Apple directly. (Memory also declined to share details about conversions from device owners to subscribers.)<\/p>\n

The company says it plans to use the new funding to continue to develop the product, expand to new markets, and pursue growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith our current head count at about 30 people, we have plans to double that in the next 12 months across all departments, specifically in our development teams,\u201d notes Memory. \u201cWe\u2019ll also be continuing to work on new product offerings that will be debuted later this year, as well as scaling into additional regions across the globe. We have currently availability in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden and seek to expand that. We\u2019ll also seek to deepen our marketing spend,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe live in an era where parents need solutions to help manage their family\u2019s persistent access to the internet,\u201d said Kevin Talbot, managing partner, Relay Ventures, in a statement about\u00a0the firm\u2019s\u00a0investment. \u201cAs a happy Circle customer I proactively tracked them down and decided to invest because their product simply works exactly as advertised.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\" Circle Media, the company behind Circle with Disney\u00a0– a device that helps parents enforce their home’s internet rules and restrictions – has raised $10 million in Series A funding, the company announced this morning. The round was led by early stage venture fund\u00a0Relay Ventures. There was other\u00a0private equity investment in the round, but the parties didn’t want to… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

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