What Indy with Kids does

Indy with Kids is a local digital media company serving Indianapolis-area families with curated content on activities, events, schools, camps, and family-friendly resources. Founded in 2010 by Katy Mann, the platform functions as a parent-run guide to kid-focused happenings across Indianapolis and Central Indiana, with a stated mission of helping families "fall in love with Indianapolis."

The core product is a WordPress-based website (indywithkids.com) supplemented by a GetDrip-powered email newsletter, a Weekender activity guide, a community-driven events calendar, vertical resource sections (including a Special Needs section produced in partnership with Tendercare Home Health), and more recently a mobile app and a published "Indianapolis Scavenger Hunt" book. A weekly on-air segment with Fox59 provides broadcast distribution in the Indianapolis DMA, and the brand maintains a multi-platform social presence across Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and TikTok. The team is small — 4 core staff plus 8 contributors — operating on a bootstrapped, privately held basis with no external funding disclosed.

The business model is content-led monetization: revenue is generated primarily through display and programmatic advertising, sponsored/affiliate content, and book sales. Distribution is hyper-local, with no evidence of geographic expansion beyond the Indianapolis metro and Central Indiana. The company's value proposition rests on depth of local curation, community contributor networks, and event submission flywheel rather than on proprietary technology, scale economics, or differentiated AI capabilities.

Name

Indy with Kids

Legal name

Indy With Kids

Website

https://indywithkids.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Indy with Kids is a bootstrapped, Indianapolis-focused digital media platform, founded in 2010 by Katy Mann, that publishes curated content, event listings, and guides on family activities for Central Indiana parents and monetizes via advertising, affiliate links, and a published book.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Family Activity Content

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Kids & Family Curated Content Platforms (MPACAKAL)

Keywords

• Family activity guides
• Local event calendar
• Parenting content
• Kids resources
• Community website

Headquarters

HQ city

Indianapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Website and E-Newsletter Advertising: The website is financially supported by advertiser contributions. Businesses pay for ad placements on the website and in the email newsletter to reach Indianapolis families. The site states it can promote events 'in a BIG way to tens of thousands of Indianapolis families' through advertising.
2. Affiliate Links: Some content (e.g., Date Night Guide) contains affiliate links to help readers find deals, earning commissions on referred purchases.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Indy with Kids operates a local, parent-run digital content website and email newsletter serving families in Indianapolis and Central Indiana. The platform aggregates a searchable events calendar, location-based activity guides, restaurant deals, birthday party resources, and seasonal family activity recommendations, monetized through website advertising and affiliate links.

Product overview

Indy with Kids is a local, parent-run digital content platform and resource guide for family activities in Indianapolis and Central Indiana. The core offering is the indywithkids.com website, which provides an events calendar, location-based activity guides (indoor play places, outdoor adventures, parks), restaurant guides (including kids eat free listings), birthday party resources, and family travel content. The platform distributes content through weekly email newsletters, published books, and social media channels. The main products include the website platform, a weekly Weekender guide, an events calendar with submission functionality, specialized category guides (birthday parties, indoor play, family travel), and an email newsletter subscription service.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Indy With Kids Weekender: Weekly newsletter/guide featuring top family activities and events for the weekend.

Products and services

• Indy with Kids Website Local parent-run digital content website providing guides, event calendars, and recommendations for family-friendly activities in Indianapolis and Central Indiana, including event listings, indoor/outdoor play location guides, kids eat free restaurant listings, birthday party venue recommendations, and seasonal activity guides.
• Weekly Things to Do (Weekender) Guide Weekly event and activity guide curated for families, updated every week to highlight top picks, free events, indoor/outdoor options, and special family festivals.
• Events Calendar Searchable family events calendar covering Indianapolis and surrounding areas with filtering by city, date, category, cost, and age group.
• Kids Eat Free Restaurant Guide Directory of restaurants offering free or discounted meals for children, organized by day of the week (Monday through Sunday).
• Indy with Kids Birthday Party Guide Comprehensive guide to birthday party venues and planning resources for children, including location recommendations, party ideas, and free birthday offerings.
• Indoor Play Places Guide Guide featuring 50+ indoor play locations including entertainment centers, arcades, trampoline parks, sensory play areas, community centers, museums, and free indoor playgrounds.
• Family Travel/Vacation Guide Road trip and family vacation planning content covering Indiana cities, neighboring states, and attractions including theme parks, national parks, and family-friendly destinations.
• Indy with Kids Book (Indianapolis Scavenger) Published book (Indianapolis Scavenger) by the company featuring family-friendly activities and exploration guides for Indianapolis.
• Event Submission Form Public-facing form allowing venues and organizers to submit events for inclusion in the calendar, with support for recurring events, multiple dates, and location details.

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Indiana 529 College Savings PlanminorGTM or Marketing PartnerIndiana 529 College Savings Plan sponsors advertising on the Indy with Kids website, visible in banner ad placements on the homepage. This represents a sponsorship/advertising relationship targeting Indianapolis families.
• Tendercare Home HealthminorGTM or Marketing PartnerTendercare Home Health co-branded content partnership for the 'Indianapolis Guide to Adaptive Activities and Inclusive Places,' indicating sponsored content focused on special needs resources. The guide is 'created in partnership with Tendercare Home Health.'
• Event Organizers and Venue PartnerscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerIndy with Kids provides free event submission forms allowing local venues, event organizers, and attractions to submit events for inclusion in the calendar. This creates a mutually beneficial relationship where organizers gain visibility and the site maintains fresh content. The site also mentions personal invitations and press release submissions as ways to get featured.
• Fox59 (WRTV)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerWeekly television segment on Fox59's IndyNow show features events selected from the Indy with Kids website, providing broadcast visibility. The relationship allows the site to curate and select 'the funnest and best family events' for television exposure, driving awareness for both the site and featured events.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Yelp: Major consumer platform aggregating local business information, reviews, and events. Competes with Indy with Kids for local family-activities discovery and for SMB advertising budgets in Indianapolis, though it is not specifically a kids/family publisher.
• Only In Your State: Large multi-state digital publisher producing local attraction and activity content, including family-friendly travel coverage across Indiana. Less specialized to the parents/kids niche than Indy with Kids but competes for the same local discovery and travel-related search traffic.

Direct peers

• Macaroni KID: National franchise of hyperlocal family-activity publications with the same model: local events calendar, curated guides, weekly newsletter, and local advertising. Macaroni KID is the closest direct comparable — same audience (families with kids), same product mix, and same monetization approach.
• Red Tricycle: National digital publisher focused exclusively on kids and family activities, events, and local recommendations. Comparable to Indy with Kids in audience (parents), content pillars (events, guides, things to do), and ad-supported monetization, though operating at larger multi-metro scale.
• Hulafrog: Franchise-style network of local "What's happening for kids and families" publications across many U.S. towns. Highly comparable model — community contributors, events calendar, local vendor directory, and local advertising — making it a near-twin peer for Indy with Kids's operating approach.
• Kidding Around: Network of hyperlocal "things to do with kids" sites in multiple U.S. cities (e.g., Kidding Around Greenville, Kidding Around Columbia). Same hyperlocal content and ad-supported family activities niche, with shared monetization from local SMB advertisers and event organizers.
• Mommy Poppins: Long-running family events and activities platform originally built for NYC families, now expanded to multiple metros. Closely mirrors Indy with Kids's content pillars — events calendar, things to do, seasonal guides — and serves the same parent audience with the same editorial-advertising hybrid model.

Others

• Visit Indy: Official destination marketing organization for Indianapolis. Comparable in that it aggregates Indianapolis events, activities, and attractions for visitors and locals, but its goals and funding model (DMO/tourism budget) differ from Indy with Kids's private family-focused publisher model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/indywithkids
• YouTubeyoutube.com/indywithkids
• Facebookfacebook.com/indywithkids
• Instagraminstagram.com/indywithkids
• TikToktiktok.com/@indywithkids
• Pinterestpinterest.com/indywithkids
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/indy-with-kids

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Indy with Kids