Mum launches app to help parents find child-friendly spots in Edinburgh

Gill Mudie came up with the idea for Dribble, a ratings and recommendations platform, when she was on maternity leave with her first child, Alastair, now three.

When pregnant with her son, she and her husband had moved back to Edinburgh from London where they had lived for eight years.

She said: “I didn’t really have that many friends round about that already had kids. I did an NCT class and that was a lifesaver but I had to find my way around Edinburgh again.”

She made sure that she took her newborn out every day, which made her feel like she had “achieved something”.

She said: “For my own mental wellbeing I loved getting out of the house.”

Struggling to find buggy-friendly coffee shops or places she felt comfortable, Gill realised she needed to “rediscover” the city she grew up in through a mum’s eyes.

And so, the idea for Dribble was born.

She said: “I thought there would have already been an app for that but there wasn’t so I did a bit of research and I thought, well if there isn’t one I won’t be the only person looking for something like that, why don’t I go ahead and create it.”

When Gill, who had previously worked as a management consultant, was pregnant with daughter Rachel, she started the company with the help of a start-up business incubator in London, Gate One.

Soon she had secured two grants from Scottish Enterprise and the app was taking shape.

After Rachel was born in January 2018, Gill spent her second maternity leave, “really kicking it off”.

She set up a Facebook group and soon had a loyal community of parents who helped her with marketing surveys and focus groups and it was clear to her that there was a gap that her app could fill.

She said: “As well as finding myself in a situation feeling like it was a bit of a need, I realised after I became a parent how much parents like to support each other and help each other out.”

That was something she wanted to harness in the app, which is populated by information provided by the people that use it.

Not only does Dribble help parents plan their days out, they host a breast feeding mums group and have plans for more offline meet ups next year.

Importantly for Gill, the app also supports local businesses through recommendations and a partner scheme that offers discounts to users.

Gill wants people using her app to always have options at their fingertips for the best places to take their families.

She said: “I feel like people getting out and enjoying the time they’ve got with their kids is important.

“It’s an online app but it’s actually trying to bring you more real life experiences.”