Raul Mihali is a very organized man.
But — like many Westport parents — he finds it hard keeping up with the flood of emails, texts, notifications and more about his children’s activities.
The schools do an admirable job of communicating, he says. But there’s a lot.
“On the bottom of page 6” of one of dozens of emails, he says, “there’s a form to sign so your kid can go on a rollercoaster the next day. If you don’t see it, and don’t sign it, he’s crushed.”
Rahul Milani
That’s a hypothetical. These 2 examples — involving his 12-year-old twins — are true.
Once, Raul forgot to pick up a child at a tennis lesson. A different time, he did not send a lunch for an activity. Another family fed his kid.
“This is just not working,” Raul thought.
So he decided to find a way.
Raul is not some random parent. The Romanian native earned a scholarship to study technology and robotics in the US.
He’s been an entrepreneur ever since. He’s had “some successes, some hard lessons,” he notes. “A lot of learning, not just earning.”
Rahul and his family: With Voonza, their lives are much more organized.
Those experiences stood him in good stead when he started Voonza.com. The site does many things to make a parent’s — both parents’ — lives easier. For example:
- It reads school emails; pulls out dates, forms and deadlines, then puts them on one family calendar both parents can see.
- If you snap a photo of a flyer, or just say “soccer moved to Thursdays.” Voonza recognizes or records it, and adds it in.
- Did you schedule 2 pickups at different spots, at nearly the same time? Voonza lets you know it won’t work.
- It sends reminders about invoices due — tutors, camps, everything else — along with expiration alerts.
- It even reminds you to “leave now” (a gentle reminder to not leave your child stranded at a tennis lesson).
Voonza shows you your week at a glance …
Voonza looks further ahead than you might. It notices your kid’s birthday is 6 weeks away. It asks about your plans, then can generate a few party ideas at nearby venues — including costs, and how many youngsters could attend.
Ask Voonza a question — “What does Theo need for school this week?” “What activities are we paying for this month?” “Is there a swim class nearby for a 7-year-old” — and it will answer.
There’s very little typing (“no one has time anymore,” Raul notes). It scrapes information from your phone, email and other accounts, and responds to voice prompts.
… and daily reminders too.
Ovviously, Voonza utilizes AI. So did Raul, as he created the site. “It made the development really fast,” he notes. “This wouldn’t have happened without it.”
He rolled out the site this spring. Users provide feedback. Raul is quick to respond. Someone asked whether it can manage pet care.
Now it does.
The first 3 months are free. Then it’s $9.99 a month. Users can cancel any time.
But who knows what happens then to their kids?
(To learn more about Voonza, click here. Questions? Email rmihali137@gmail.com.)
(And what about the name? Raul wanted one that did not sound like another calendar app, and whose .com was not taken. Plus, it sounds like “zooming out the door,” which describes every school morning.)
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