Changing how parents
think about gifts
Too many children's birthday parties end the same way: a pile of cheap plastic toys nobody asked for, half of them broken or forgotten within a week. Parents feel awkward asking for money. Guests panic-buy something from Amazon on the way. Everyone loses.
Planiit changes that. It's a platform where party hosts create an event, invite guests via WhatsApp, and offer a group gifting option. Guests contribute what they want toward one meaningful gift, experience, or gift card. The host chooses. Nothing goes to waste.
We didn't just build this for a client. We identified the market, validated the model, designed the brand, developed the product, and took it to market ourselves. That's the consultancy story.
A broken market that
nobody was fixing
The children's gifting market has a structural problem. Parents don't want more stuff. Guests don't know what to buy. The money spent on ten forgettable presents would be better pooled toward one thing the child actually wants. Everyone knows this, but nobody had built a simple way to do it.
Existing solutions were either too complicated (registry-style platforms designed for weddings) or too informal (asking for bank transfers via text). There was a gap for something that felt natural, easy, and designed specifically for how parents actually organise parties today: WhatsApp groups, not email invitations.
Every feature earned its place
Digital invitations
Beautiful, shareable invitations designed for WhatsApp and messaging. RSVP tracking built in. No app download required for guests.
Group gift collection
Guests contribute what they want toward a pooled gift. Stripe integration with Apple Pay, Google Pay, and gift card redemption. Fully PCI compliant.
Gift card catalogue
Integration with Carma for premium gift cards across major retailers and experiences. A tree planted with every gift card redeemed.
Teacher collections
End-of-term collections for teachers and school staff. Class parent creates, parents contribute, teacher gets something meaningful.
User accounts and security
Full account system with two-factor authentication, email verification, and secure session management. Built for real users handling real money.
Real-time interface
Turbo and Hotwire for instant UI updates without page reloads. 60+ Stimulus controllers for rich interactivity. Feels like a native app.
A live product handling
real money
Planiit is live at planiit.io processing real transactions for real families. It's not a prototype or a demo. It's a fully operational product with active users, secure payments, and a sustainability angle (tree planted for every gift card).
This project demonstrates the full consultancy lifecycle. We identified a market, validated the business model, designed the brand and product, built the technology, integrated complex payment infrastructure, and launched to market. That's the difference between a team that builds what it's told and a partner that thinks from first principles.