Pebble
Pebble is a UK vertical SaaS and marketplace platform that helps children's activity providers manage bookings, payments, registers, and parent communication, while enabling parents to discover and book classes across categories like sports, dance, and performing arts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Pebble does
Pebble (legal entity: Sprout Care Limited, registered in England & Wales) is a UK-based vertical SaaS and marketplace company purpose-built for the children's activities sector. Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Ilford/London, Pebble operates a dual-sided platform: the Pebble Platform provides children's activity providers with booking management, payment processing (including Tax-Free Childcare voucher reconciliation), digital registers and attendance, automated parent communication, marketing attribution and reporting, and multi-site/franchise management. The Pebble Activities & Classes Marketplace is a parent-facing discovery and booking channel spanning categories such as dance, drama, sports, performing arts, baking, LEGO robotics, and parent-and-baby classes. Pebble targets a fragmented SMB customer base of after-school clubs, holiday camps, sports clubs, dance studios, and performing arts providers, with secondary traction among multi-site and franchise operators; case-study customers include Beyond Blocks, Dolce Senso Baking Academy, Complete Coaching, Proformance Coaching, Musical Bumps Croydon, Boogie Beat, and Little Fizz.
Pebble firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Pebble
- Legal name
- Sprout Care Limited
- Website
- https://bookpebble.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Pebble is a UK vertical SaaS and marketplace platform that helps children's activity providers manage bookings, payments, registers, and parent communication, while enabling parents to discover and book classes across categories like sports, dance, and performing arts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Pebble industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Childcare & Children's Activity Management Software
- NAICS
- Child Care Services (6244)
- SIC
- Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Board Games & Puzzles Retail (CRALAIAN)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Educational/Children’s Learning Games & Puzzles Retail (CRALALAN)
Keywords
Where Pebble is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Pebble business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Management Software Subscription: Pebble provides booking and management software to children's activity providers on a subscription basis. Providers pay for access to the platform to manage their bookings, payments, registers, and communications. The company also generates revenue from transaction processing including Tax-Free Childcare voucher handling.
- Marketplace Commission: Pebble operates a marketplace connecting parents with childcare and activity providers. Parents can discover, browse, and book activities through the platform, with Pebble facilitating the booking transaction.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Management Software Plan for children's activity providers |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Pebble product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Pebble operates a dual-sided platform serving the UK children's activities sector. For providers, it offers a cloud-based management software that handles bookings, payments (including Tax-Free Childcare voucher reconciliation), digital registers, parent messaging, reporting, and multi-site/franchise operations. For parents and guardians, Pebble runs a marketplace where they can discover, compare, and book vetted children's activities across categories including dance, drama, sports, arts, and parent-and-baby classes.
Product overview
Pebble is a dual-sided platform comprising the Pebble Platform (children's activity management software for providers) and the Pebble Activities & Classes Marketplace (for parents to discover and book activities). The core Pebble Platform is a unified, purpose-built software solution for children's activity providers featuring modular capabilities: Bookings, Payments and Promotions Module; Reporting and Marketing Insight Module; Messaging and Parent Communication Module; Registers, Attendance and Key Information Module; and Multi-site and Franchise Support Module. The platform also includes a free Pebble Free Scorecard assessment tool and documented case studies demonstrating provider success across various activity categories.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Pebble Platform
Quantifiable outcome
- Case study: Complete Coaching used Pebble to cut admin time and boost bookings
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Pebble
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Pebble technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Pebble partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Busy BeescoreMajor childcare provider network integrated into Pebble's marketplace, allowing parents to discover and book Busy Bees childcare services through the platform.
- Daisy First AidcoreLargest paediatric first aid franchise in the UK providing accredited courses to parents, carers, and children's activity providers. Their venue classes are bookable through Pebble. Accredited by the British Franchise Association with over 4,500 5-star reviews.
- Dot & StripeminorMarketing agency specializing in businesses targeting families. Tamara Holland, award-winning marketing consultant at Dot & Stripe, contributes marketing expertise articles to Pebble's blog and offers exclusive 10% discount on programs for Pebble members.
- Sport & Activity ProfessionalsminorConsultancy firm in kids activities and sport sectors. Director Mark Rasche contributes expert content to Pebble's blog on topics including franchising and sector growth.
- Cerys KeneallyminorMulti-award winning business trainer and author specializing in helping children's activity providers build relationships with schools and nurseries. Provides content and resources through Pebble blog.
- The Children's Activities AssociationminorIndustry body for children's activity providers. Mentioned as a resource providers should consider for benefits and customer peace of mind.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Pebble competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Sawyer: US-based marketplace and booking platform for children's activities and classes. Direct functional peer in the activities marketplace category, though operating in North America rather than the UK.
- Class4Kids: UK-based booking, payment and management software for children's activity providers and parents. Operates an almost identical dual-sided marketplace and SaaS model in the same geography, targeting the same SMB provider base.
- BookWhen: UK-focused online booking system used by a wide range of activity providers including children's classes, sports, and adult education. Directly competes with Pebble for activity-provider SaaS contracts, with overlap in sports clubs, performing arts, and classes.
- ActivityHero: Online marketplace for parents to find and book children's camps, classes, and after-school activities. Closely comparable two-sided marketplace model for kids' activities discovery and booking.
- Famly: Childcare and nursery management platform with parent communication, billing, and attendance tools. Comparable vertical SaaS for the child care sector with stronger orientation toward nurseries and daycare, overlapping with Pebble's marketplace childcare use cases.
Emerging players
- Outschool: Online marketplace for kids' classes and educational activities with live video instruction. Adjacent marketplace model connecting parents with activity providers, but differentiated by online live delivery rather than in-person local activities.
Broad incumbents
- Acuity Scheduling: Widely-used SMB scheduling and booking platform with payments and client management. Competes with Pebble for general booking workflows, but lacks the children's-activity vertical specialization and marketplace functionality.
- Calendly: Mass-market scheduling tool used by SMBs for appointment booking. Represents the horizontal competitive threat to vertical activity-booking platforms, though it lacks payment processing depth and parent communication features.
- SimplyBook.me: General-purpose online booking system with custom website widgets, payments, and marketing features. Competes with Pebble for activity-provider SaaS contracts but without the children's-activity vertical focus.
- Procare Solutions: Established US-based childcare and daycare management software serving centers and after-school programs. Comparable vertical SaaS in the child care services space with broader back-office functionality but weaker marketplace and parent discovery.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Pebble social profiles
Digital presencePebble financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Pebble leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Pebble funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Pebble M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Pebble
What does Pebble do?
Pebble operates a dual-sided platform serving the UK children's activities sector. For providers, it offers a cloud-based management software that handles bookings, payments (including Tax-Free Childcare voucher reconciliation), digital registers, parent messaging, reporting, and multi-site/franchise operations. For parents and guardians, Pebble runs a marketplace where they can discover, compare, and book vetted children's activities across categories including dance, drama, sports, arts, and parent-and-baby classes.
Is Pebble a public or private company?
Pebble is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Pebble founded?
Pebble was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Pebble based?
Pebble is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Pebble make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Management Software Subscription is the primary driver. The others are marketplace Commission.
Who are Pebble's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Sawyer, Class4Kids, BookWhen, ActivityHero and Famly. Outschool is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Acuity Scheduling, Calendly, SimplyBook.me and Procare Solutions.
Does Pebble have an API?
No public API is recorded for Pebble.
What industry is Pebble in?
Pebble's product category is Childcare & Children's Activity Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRALAIAN, Board Games & Puzzles Retail, with a secondary code of CRALALAN, Educational/Children’s Learning Games & Puzzles Retail. Its NAICS code is 6244 and its SIC code is 5945.