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When Kate Barany became a mum to two high-energy boys, she quickly realised parenting required more planning than a wedding and more group chats than a high school reunion.

Every week was a new puzzle: What’s on? Where can we go? What if it rains? Which mum's group is organising something fun, and wait… was that on WhatsApp or buried in someone’s Instagram story?

Like many parents, she juggled scattered calendars, last-minute plans, and a constant need for kid-friendly adventures. And somewhere in the chaos, she thought: this could be easier.

So, she built the solution.

Playtime Planner is the app Kate wishes she had years ago: a single hub that lists all the local kids' activities, events, and playgrounds, with a built-in calendar and private chat groups to make organising playdates painless. It’s part search tool, part social planner, part community and entirely parent-powered.

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The accidental acquisition

The origin story of Playtime Planner starts with another founder in the Startmate community: Georgina Healy, who had created a discontinued app called Possum Playtime. When Georgina moved on to other projects, Kate (a loyal user) tracked her down and asked what would happen next.

Georgina didn’t just share advice, she handed over her social accounts and app contacts, coached Kate through the handover, and cheered her on from the sidelines.

That leap of faith sparked Kate’s own.

“I sat on it for about six months,” she says. “I started building an online community, seeing what people really wanted and what their pain points were.”

Once the validation rolled in, it was all systems go.

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Backed by community, not code

Kate’s not technical, and that’s the point.

“Before this, I’d had two COVID babies and was full-time parenting. I wasn’t on Instagram. I didn’t know how to code. But I had this problem, and I knew it wasn’t just mine.”

Now she balances her build schedule between playground recon, Instagram surveys, and nighttime feedback loops. Mondays to Wednesdays are app days; Thursdays and Fridays are adventures with the kids that double as product research. Her boys are unofficial product testers (with strong opinions on babyccinos), and her weekends often include “work” in the form of a Vivid trip or a new ballet class discovery.

And her community? They’re helping shape the product in real time. “My original idea for the app is completely different to what it is now. That’s all come from what I’ve heard online.”

She’s also found community in the Startmate Collective, a growing network of ambitious women founders and operators (formerly known as Ladymates). It’s where Kate’s found the kind of energy, support, and shared ambition that gives early-stage building momentum. “Even if I don’t fully understand what someone’s building, I’m inspired by their passion. Just seeing their face light up when they talk about the problem they’re solving, it’s contagious.”

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What keeps her going

There’s a quiet fierceness to Kate - no hype, no bravado, just deep care and clarity about what she’s building.

“It was really self-doubt that held me back at first,” she says. “I didn’t have a tech background. I felt like a small fish in a big pond.”

But with support from her husband (her “pom-poms ready” biggest cheerleader), Georgina, her Google mentor Helen, and the women in the Collective, Kate found her rhythm.

Now, she’s not just solving her own parenting puzzle; she’s building the platform to help thousands of others do the same.

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What’s next

Playtime Planner is currently in beta, with plans to launch publicly within weeks. Kate’s starting local, perfecting the experience in Sydney’s eastern suburbs before scaling across the country. She’s already dreaming of AI-powered content and hopes to join an Accelerator program to keep momentum growing.

Her advice to other women thinking about starting something?

“Just start. Even if you feel like you’re not ‘the right person’, do it anyway. One step at a time.”

And if you’re in Sydney, she might just meet you at a playground with a pastry and babyccino in hand, all in the name of research.

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Interested in joining the Startmate Collective community? Apply here.

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