Tinybeans, a niche social media network aimed at parents, has made an unremarkable debut on the Australian Securities Exchange after raising $6.5 million to fund its expansion.
Shares in the company - which allows parents to document their kids progress and milestones online and share them with family and friends - hit the boards at $1.20 a share, a 20 per cent premium from its $1.00 a share offer price.
But the stock had lost ground to 95 cents with about 370,000 shares changing hands in a higher Australian share market by 1305 AEST.
Parents can upload photos and videos of their children via the Tinybean app on their smartphone, which will then send an email to approved family and friends informing them of the latest update.
"Parents love that it's invite only and private. You're in complete control," executive chairman and joint-founder Eddie Geller told AAP on Friday.
There's no direct rival to Tinybeans, with most people using social networks such as Facebook and Instragram, plus instant message service, WhatsApp, to share news and pictures of their children.
Tinybeans was founded in Sydney in 2012 by three executives, Stephen O'Young, Sarah-Jane Kurtini and Mr Geller, who between them now have nine children.
Five years later, the company has 1.6 million registered users in about 200 countries, of which more than a third are monthly active users.
Mr Geller said most of the company's audience is based in the US, citing the country's vast land mass and 319 million population for its accelerated growth there.
More than four million babies are born in the US each year, compared to about 300,000 in Australia, said Mr Geller, who has four sons.
Tinybeans generates revenue from family premium subscriptions, currently $US8 ($US10.60) a month or $US250 ($US332) for a lifetime, plus advertising and marketing campaigns with nappies maker Huggies, printed products and data.
The company plans to spend the $6.5 million raised from the initial public offering on advertising and marketing, developing its technology and potential acquisitions.
Prior to the sale of 6.5 million Tinybeans shares, or 25 per cent of the company, some $2.6 million had been invested in the business, thanks to a series of private funding.
Tinybeans has a market capitalisation of $10.5 million, based on Tinybeans' share price of 95 cents.
