Classlist is a service that offers an online parent to parent community exclusively for people with school aged children. It was created by two female entrepreneurs, Sarah Burton and Clare Wright, keen to connect

parents in a world where they spend less time at the school gate than ever before.

The free-to-use service has received more than £840,000 in crowd-funded investment, backed by investors including Chairman Will Hobhouse who grew Tie Rack, Whittard of Chelsea and Jack Wills from start-ups to leading brands.

Classlist, which earns all of its revenue through advertising, aims to connect parents in a world where they spend less time at the school gate than ever before. Having amassed thousands of parent users in its pilot stage, investment will enable the company to go fully mobile and expand internationally. The new platform offers brands and businesses the opportunity to target and reach parents specifically, in a community they are already engaging with.

Classlist enables parents to get to know one another personally through organising social and fundraising events, lift-shares, playdates and birthday parties. Alongside social planning, the platform lets parents to communicate about homework, manage lost property and post classified ads. Users can also view and contribute to community

discussion groups; post and respond to event invites, and ask questions that mother parents can help with. Parents control how much information they want to share, and can update their profile whenever they like.

Parent Teacher Associates and Class Reps are major beneficiaries, with the platform saving them weeks of effort through instant calendaring and ticketing of events, sharing newsletters, and finding volunteers. Most Classlist sites are managed by the school PTA, who also authenticates joiners. The school itself has almost no involvement or liability.

Susan Burton, co-founder of Classlist, says, “Classlist solves a very simple problem: most schools don’t give out parent contact information. Schools are rightly concerned about data privacy, and few people are willing to put their phone number or home address on a big social media site. It is incredibly important for parents to build a trusted community. Having these details makes it a lot easier.”

Clare Wright, co-founder of Classlist, adds, “Parents increasingly juggle responsibilities between full time jobs and school, and some tell us they struggle to identify other parents in their class. Classlist has all the information a parent needs in just a click or two.”