After doing everything from founding an e-learning company to advising Vice President Al Gore on management practices, Daniel Neal now has a job he can talk to his children about without their eyes glazing over.
Neal is CEO of kajeet, a Bethesda-based cell phone company that uses Reston-based Sprint Nextel’s network to provide a prepaid phone service targeted to teens and “tweens,” focusing on ages 11 to 14.
“We’re really the first and only mobile service that was built from a kid’s point of view,” Neal said.
The company was founded by three fathers, including Neal, with prior experience in the wireless industry. The company raised its first round of financing last year, bringing in $27 million. Kajeet officially launched in February, and began rolling phones out in Best Buy stores last month. The phones will be available this month in Limited Too stores.
“A mobile communicating platform can be extremely helpful to the modern family, but it brings with its share of anxieties,” Neal said. To figure out what families wanted, the company conducted focus groups with hundreds of kids and families, and surveyed thousands of households.
For kids, there was a desire for enhanced security, customized services and interesting Web-based content.
Kajeet users can do things like block text messages from unwanted callers, or set their phones so only parents’ calls can get through during math class. Phones have a number of games and ring tones, as well as Google Maps and AOL Instant Messenger capabilities.
Parents, on the other hand, were worried about hidden costs. One of kajeet’s pledges is that its prices are clear from the beginning — there are no contracts or activation fees, and even tax is included in the initial price, Neal said.
“The family plans out there today are designed for Wall Street, not Main Street,” Neal said.
While not too long ago, the thought of kids carrying cell phones around school may have induced eye rolls from the general population, Neal said he believes the idea has become more mainstream since families are so busy, and single parents particularly can benefit from being in close contact with their children.
BUSINESS
Current job: CEO & founder, kajeet Inc.
Last job: CEO & vice chairman, VCampus Corp.
Essential Web site: Google + Yahoo Finance
Best perk: Having a job that connects me to my children.
Education/credentials: AB, University of California, Berkeley; MBA, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
First job: Delivering the Democrat & Chronicle early every morning at 10
Original aspiration: Astrophysicist, like my uncle
PERSONAL
Hometown: Rochester, N.Y.
Sports/hobbies: Reading, soccer, running,reading, biking, theater
Favorite restaurant: Citronelle
Computer: Dell Latitude D620
Favorite clothier: Nordstrom
Role model: My father — a very kind, intelligent and talented man.
Quote: “There’s a way to do it better. Find it.” — Thomas Edison.
