A clip-on beeper for kids is a genuinely viable product that will ride the coming free-range-parenting counter-trend.
Ari pitches kids' beepers (a modern twist replacing the landline-like Tincan.kids), and Sean argues the real driver is an emerging free-range-parenting backlash against overparenting that will make 'unreachable but still reachable' devices mainstream. ✦ AI generated
Sean · My First Million · 2026-08-06 · original ↗
starts at this moment · 27:46
Sean: I think there's going to be a backlash. I think there's going to be a trend later where like free range, more independence, unreachable, but still reachable... Ari: I don't even know where to start, but I'm in line with that philosophy. It'll be a counter trend to like a lot of parents instincts which is to like over over parent everything over coach over parent over control kids and it's exhausting for the parent and it's kind of exhausting for the kids and you raise like a more fragile kid is the idea when you when you do that um versus like letting them build a little independence.
verbatim transcript · starts at 27:46
27:46>> Everyone is sharing their numbers for their kids. So, this is like a it's a landline, but it works through the Wi-Fi and you can like pre-program numbers in it. Um, >> and this is so awesome. Super super safe to use. >> Physical phone, right? It's like a physical physical phone, old school with like numbers, swirly cord that was always fun to play with while you're on
28:08the phone. >> Look, they feature it right on there. Twirl that cord. Okay, so [laughter] >> speaking my language, but this reminded me of a time a few years ago where I was like, you know what? I'm not I'm going to get rid of my smartphone. And what ended up happening with that was that I was like, "Okay, well now I need a Garmin uh GPS. I need an alarm clock. I
28:30need to get a camera. You have to like unbundle all of these things." So when I'm looking at this, I'm like, "Okay, so these kids can reach each other at home, but how are you going to catch them?" So I was like, "How about beepers for kids?" I love how some entrepreneurs right now are trying to ride the AI wave and Ari's like, I'm going to ride this
28:51tin can wave. [laughter] Not a lot of people surfing this tin can wave right now, but I see the future. Wait, by the way, a little stat on this. So, the so the thing costs like 10 bucks a month as a subscription uh to to use. And they say they've sold hundreds of thousands. They just raised they've raised a total of $15.5 million. I'm looking at >> to to grow the business. Uh you so you
29:13buy the phone for 100 bucks and then it's 10 bucks a month to be able to call non-tinan phones. So okay, free to call other tin cans, 10 bucks a month to be able to call normal people's phones. >> The school in Kansas delivered free tin cans to 200 plus families and students. Uh it's a it's like kind of riding the trend of getting kids off of smartphones
29:34as you said and it's super like viral like looking product like it makes you kind of stop and the name is great and stuff like that. Yeah, they keep selling out. >> Have you guys seen um uh what's the little radio, Sean, that I have at my house? Ton >> Tony's. >> Tony. There's Tony's is one and then the other one is called like Yodo. Is it
29:52called Yodo? Okay. >> Uh it's like a a little box and there's cards. You buy the cards for $10. And cards are sort of like a CD album where you like one card each will have an album. We have Beatles, we have Frozen, and then you also record your own. and you put it in this box and it plays music and it's screenfree music. It's so good. And I think that business is doing
30:13north of 100 million in revenue. >> It's music, but it's also like nighttime stories and uh things like that. They they do a little bit more, too. >> And you could also record your own. So, I actually recorded like or we had grandparents record a story and we put it on our phone and then the phone can then be attached to a card and and it's like it's absolutely amazing. This