A Seattle startup is making a lot of money selling something that looks like it belongs in a 1990s kitchen.
The company in question, Tin Can Untechnologies, makes WiFi-connected landline-style phones aimed at children. The device has the look and feel of an old-school home phone, supports speakerphone and voicemail, and comes in loud colors that appeal to kids while triggering something in the parents writing the check. At $100 a unit, it has already moved hundreds of thousands of units since going on sale last April.
The brand recently launched a bulk-purchasing program in which organizations buying 50 or more phones can get at least $25 knocked off each phone. Schools and sports teams are the obvious targets, and the company says some youth groups were already buying the product together before any formal program existed.
Calls between Tin Can devices are free, and so are those made to 911. Outside calls, however, require a $10 monthly subscription.
A growing appetite for offline connection
Greylock Partners led a $12 million seed round for the company last December, which suggests that investors see more room to run.
CEO and Co-founder Chet Kittleson built the product after watching his own children grow up in a world of scrolling and texting. He noticed a real difference when they started using the landline instead. “They are more thoughtful in how they speak, better at listening and just more confident overall,” he told Bloomberg.
The retro design wasn’t accidental. Kittleson wanted the product to land with parents on a gut level. “I wanted this to be something immediately relatable to the buyer, the parent,” he said. “Something understood inherently that reminded them of their simple childhood because that’s what we’re all yearning for,” he added.
Smartphone anxiety among parents is real and growing. So is Millennial nostalgia, apparently. Tin Can figured out how to sell to both at the same time, which goes a long way toward explaining why the device is selling out.