KidHive
A one-stop marketplace where LA & Orange County parents discover, compare, and book trusted kids' activities in seconds. Built on Sharetribe with custom refunds, provider & parent dashboards, a full admin panel, and a Founding Members program.
About KidHive
KidHive is the one-stop marketplace for LA and Orange County parents to discover, compare, and book kids' activities. Instead of hunting across Instagram, Yelp, Google, and mom groups, parents find every local camp, class, and activity in one place.
For providers, KidHive is the operational backbone: a place to list classes, take bookings, manage rosters, and grow attendance without cobbling together spreadsheets, email threads, and third-party payment tools.
The Challenge
Kids' activities aren't the average marketplace transaction. Providers run classes with cancellation policies, roster limits, and refund rules that differ per program. Parents need clarity, real-time availability, and the ability to fix a booking when life happens.
Sharetribe out of the box handles listings and Stripe payments beautifully, but KidHive needed:
- Refund workflows that go beyond Sharetribe's stock cancellation flow, with the platform still in control of what gets refunded and when
- Provider-set cancellation policies so each program can define its own refund rules
- Two listing types (providers themselves and their activities) that link together cleanly
- Purpose-built dashboards for both sides so parents and providers each see the version of the platform they need
- An admin panel with real operational power: issue refunds, change commissions per location, and track waitlist sign-ups
Our Sharetribe Solution
We shipped KidHive as a fully custom Sharetribe build, extending the platform's Stripe integration and layering purpose-built product surfaces on top:
Custom Refunds on Sharetribe's Stripe Integration
We enriched Sharetribe's existing Stripe integration with a custom refund system that respects provider-set cancellation policies. Refunds can be initiated from the provider dashboard or the admin panel, with the platform always in control of what gets refunded and when.
Two Purpose-Built Dashboards
Parents get a dashboard focused on discovery, bookings, and real-time schedule updates. Providers get a dashboard focused on classes, rosters, revenue, and refunds. Each experience only shows what that side of the marketplace actually needs.
Provider-Set Cancellation Policies
Each provider defines their own cancellation policy at the program level. Parents see the policy at booking time; refund calculations enforce it automatically at cancellation time.
Two Listing Types
Providers and activities are modelled as two connected listing types. Providers own their brand and profile; activities live under providers with their own pricing, schedule, and roster. Parents browse activities directly, or explore all classes a provider runs from one page.
Custom Admin Panel
A bespoke admin panel gives the KidHive team real operational leverage: issue refunds on any transaction, change commission rates per location as the platform expands to new metros, and track waitlist sign-ups so demand for oversubscribed programs is never lost.
Founding Members Program
Early providers become Founding Members: a reduced, lifetime-locked platform fee and a Founding Member badge shown on their profile as a trust signal to parents. Built into onboarding and enforced automatically at commission time.
Full Product Design
A complete design pass covering both marketing surfaces and the app itself: parent flows, provider flows, dashboards, admin panel, and the shared component system. The result is a product that feels native to families and providers, not a themed marketplace template.
The Results
KidHive launched as a purpose-built marketplace for LA and OC families, with product surfaces designed for both sides of the transaction:
- A one-place discovery experience for kids' camps, classes, and activities across LA and Orange County
- Two dashboards (parents and providers) tuned for the workflows each side actually does
- Custom refund flows that respect provider-set cancellation policies without ever leaving the platform
- A custom admin panel giving the team real operational control over refunds, commissions per location, and waitlist demand
- Founding Members program encoded into the platform: reduced lifetime fee and trust badge for early providers
- A modeling foundation (providers + activities as linked listing types) that scales into new metros without rework
Technologies Used
Launching a Services Marketplace?
From custom refunds on Sharetribe's Stripe integration to purpose-built dashboards and admin panels, we build the operational surfaces that make service marketplaces actually work.