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Happy Campers
By Nichole L. Torres, Entrepreneur
What: An online service that connects families to their children at camp
Who: Ari Ackerman of Bunk1.com
Where: Chicago
When: Started in 1999
Happy memories from his childhood days at summer camp inspired Ari Ackerman to come up with the idea for Bunk1.com. He originally wrote the business plan for the company for his MBA training, but it seemed like too good an idea to pass up.
His initial concept was to provide a Web service that parents could use to watch their children's camp activities online, with camp administrators posting photos for the parents to peruse. Ackerman then added an e-mail service (called BunkNotes) and an online newsletter service, as well as a search engine to help parents find a camp for their kids.
At first, says Ackerman, 33, the camp directors were difficult to persuade. "To sell them on this concept wasn't easy," he says. But with his camp background, he knew the market well. He knew parents would be willing to pay for this convenient connection to their kids—and he was right. The first camps he sold his service to got good response from parents immediately—and the number of concerned phone calls from parents (the "What's my child doing?" sort) to the camps decreased, as moms and dads had tangible evidence that their babies were alive and well.
Word-of-mouth started to build demand for the concept, and, to date, the Bunk1.com service is offered to close to 2,000 camps nationwide. Camp directors either purchase the service and include it in the price of the camp or simply offer parents the option to purchase Ackerman's Bunk1.com service a la carte.
Revenues are projected to reach more than $3 million for 2004, and Ackerman has already expanded into two other Web services—CampAlumni.com (a service to reconnect old summer camp friends), which is already online, and EmailGrandparents.com (a service that prints out and delivers e-mails from anyone to people in assisted-living facilities), which is expected to be up and running by June. For Ackerman, it's all about staying connected.
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BUNK1 MESSENGER IS LAUNCHED
By: Andrew Ackerman
TECHNOTRENDS: BEYOND CAMPER EMAIL
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WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY?
By: Andrew Ackerman
TECHNOTRENDS: CELLPHONES, BLACKBERRIES ... WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE?
(A LOT, ACTUALLY)
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WHAT IF PHONE CALLS WERE AS EASY AS EMAIL?
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THREE YEARS OF COPING WITH COPPA
By: Andrew Ackerman
KEEPING YOUR WEBSITE FRESH
By: Andrew Ackerman
10 THINGS YOUR CAMP WEBSITE ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE
By: Andrew Ackerman
STAFFING
YOUR CAMP IN THE AFTERMATH OF SEPTEMBER 11TH
By: Andrew Ackerman
COPING
WITH COPPA:
PROTECTING CAMPERS' PRIVACY AND AVOIDING BIG GOVERNMENT FINES
By: Michael Steinig, Bunk1.com
CAMP
SEARCH ENGINES: IF YOU BUILD IT… SO WHAT?
By: Andrew Ackerman and Ari Ackerman
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