Watchful eyes on the Web

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT BEACH -- Every day at 12:30 p.m., 4-year-old Kianna stops

what she’s doing at Ocean Breeze Daycare in Costa Mesa to wave at her

grandmother in Washington State.

All she has to do is turn a bright smile toward one of the two cameras

mounted on the walls of her classroom. She knows that her grandmother

will see her because each day at 12:30 p.m., she sits down at her

computer to visit Kianna over the Internet.

She is one of countless relatives who, thanks to Newport Beach-based

GuardianCam, can now see their little loved ones at play from anywhere in

the world -- as long as they have access to the Internet and have a

secret pass code.

Ocean Breeze is one of 15 day-care centers in California that have

installed GuardianCam since January. The cameras allow parents to watch

their children via the Internet while they attend day care.

“I’m thrilled,” said Jennifer Mills, whose 4-year-old son, Christian,

attends Newport Harbor Montessori Center in Costa Mesa, where GuardianCam

was installed three months ago. “It’s nice for my relatives to be able to

check in on their grandchildren.”

Chris Seminatore, 31, came up with the idea about a year ago when his

friend went through a divorce and wanted to be able to see his daughter

in North Carolina.

After about six months of developing his idea, writing a business plan

and gaining start-up funds, Seminatore launched the company in January.

He and his staff of 10 work out of a one-room office in Newport Beach,

choosing to sink most of their money into marketing the rapidly growing

business.

With 15 accounts up and running, the young company is in negotiations

with 70 potential clients, Seminatore said.

“From what I’ve seen, this will be the standard within the industry

within five years,” he said. “If you have the option of sending your

child to a day care with or without this, which would you send them to?”

Installation of the system costs day-care providers nothing, but

GuardianCam charges the centers a monthly fee that usually results in a

$9 to $15 increase in child-care costs per family.

Once the GuardianCam system is installed in a center, parents may go

online to sign up. A GuardianCam employee will verify that they have a

child in the school and then issue a secret password. Parents may also

submit a signed request in writing to authorize other relatives to be

issued a password. If a password is used from an unusual terminal,

GuardianCam is aware of it and can inquire and ultimately put a stop to

it.

“To begin with, I was a little leery that maybe some unwanteds would

be able to get on, but so far -- and I talk to a lot of mothers -- I

haven’t heard anyone say anything bad about it,” Mills said.

Parents can also communicate with their child’s day-care center and

GuardianCam through the Web site.

“I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback,” said Jamee Backus, director

of the Newport Harbor Montessori Center. “And I can post information --

lunch menus, news or just informative letters to families on there.”

After just seven months in operation, GuardianCam’s operators have

aspirations of branching out into schools and other areas of business.

“I’d like to go nationwide,” Seminatore said. “The applications are

endless. We’re looking at schools, dog kennels, nursing homes and the

loss-prevention market.”

For now, however, GuardianCam is concentrating on child-care providers

and seeking larger corporate accounts.