✨ GrowthMind — Growth Diagnosis

Tiny Whirlwinds

Farnham's only dedicated baby sensory studio. Gentle, developmental, magical — and about to launch something wonderful.

68
Demand Score
CONDITIONAL GO
Verdict
75
Differentiation
75%
Confidence
01 — Company Profile
What We Found
Everything below was researched from your website, booking platform, local directories, parent forums, and competitor analysis.
Business
Baby and toddler sensory classes (0–36 months) offering multi-sensory experiences — music, light shows, tactile play, and messy-safe sensory stations. Designed around EYFS & Birth to 5 Matters frameworks. Based in a dedicated sensory studio in Farnham, Surrey.
Stage
Pre-Launch
Official launch in 2 weeks. 4 term bookings. Trial classes complete with great feedback.
Pricing
£7 trial · £10/class term · £15 drop-in
Classes Running
Tiny Stargazers (0–6mo) · Little Explorers (6–15mo)
Active Adventurers & Parties planned but not yet ready
Schedule
Mon / Thu / Fri
No weekends yet — opportunity for working parents
Target Customer
New parents (primarily mums on maternity leave) of babies 0–15 months in Farnham and surrounding Surrey/Hampshire, seeking developmental activities and community.
Tech & Booking
Custom website · Pembee booking platform · Stripe payments
02 — Founder Profile
Who's Behind the Magic
JM
Jade McDonough
Founder · Farnham, Surrey
A tech founder turned baby class creator. Jade co-founded Dexla (a tech company) before becoming a mum and moving to Farnham. When she couldn't find the gentle, immersive sensory class she wanted for her own baby, she built it from scratch — designing a dedicated studio with professional light shows, curated sensory stations, and a curriculum grounded in early childhood development. She brings a rare combination: the systems-thinking of a tech founder with the empathy and warmth of a new mum who genuinely gets it.
University of Surrey Co-Founder, Dexla Tech Background New Mum Solo Founder 500+ LinkedIn
03 — Market Intelligence
The Landscape
The UK baby class market is growing, post-COVID demand is strong, and Farnham has room for a differentiated independent.
£200-400M
UK Baby Class Market
Estimated annual spend. Growing 5-8% post-COVID.
650K
UK Births / Year
~60% of parents attend paid classes. Falling birth rate is a long-term headwind.
2.6M
Happity Parents/Year
The #1 baby class discovery platform. You're not listed yet.
Local competitive landscape: 3–4 direct competitors in Farnham — Lullababy, Tots Play, Baby Sensory (franchise), and Jo Jingles. Most operate from hired community halls on rotating schedules. Hartbeeps appears to have exited the area (opportunity gap). Key insight from parent forums: overcrowding is the #1 complaint — your dedicated studio with small class sizes directly addresses this.
Key Market Signals from Parent Forums
🗣 "Baby Sensory was so overcrowded" — Mumsnet threads consistently cite 20+ babies as the top frustration. Your studio solves this structurally.

💛 "The teacher matters more than the brand" — Parents say the individual class leader makes or breaks it. Your personal warmth and delivery quality can beat any franchise script.

☕ "It's more for the mum than the baby" — Community and social connection are the real product. Classes that foster parent friendships retain better.
04 — Demand Scorecard
Is There a Market Worth Pursuing?
Six dimensions scored 0–100. Your overall demand score and the conditions attached to the GO verdict.
68
/ 100

Solid Foundations, Marketing-Dependent

The product works, the market exists, and you have real competitive advantages. Your strongest dimension is ICP Clarity (80) — you know exactly who your customer is because you ARE her. The conditional element is entirely about visibility: Jade needs to make Tiny Whirlwinds findable by the parents who would love it.

⚡ Verdict: CONDITIONAL GO
ICP Clarity 80
Crystal clear: new mums on maternity leave in Farnham with babies 0–15 months. Jade IS her own ICP — she built what she couldn't find. Age-banded classes show good segmentation.
Competitive Differentiation 75
Dedicated sensory studio is a genuine structural advantage — no local competitor has one. GENTLE positioning fills a real gap. But this only works if communicated — currently invisible.
Timing 75
Post-COVID baby class demand exceeds pre-COVID levels. Sensory classes are the fastest-growing sub-category. Hartbeeps may have exited Farnham. Strong launch window before September intake.
Problem Urgency 72
New parents actively seek structured activities. Emotional need is real — isolation, developmental anxiety, desire for community. Parents search proactively. Need renews with every birth cohort.
Willingness to Pay 70
Farnham is affluent Surrey — parents spend on baby activities. £10/class is competitive with franchises. Free alternatives (library groups at £0–3) are genuine competition for some segments.
Market Size 55
Farnham's catchment is ~500–800 babies at any time within a 15-minute drive. Enough to sustain a solo operator, but a natural ceiling exists without geographic expansion. Franchise ambitions unlock this.
05 — Growth Pulse
What's Working & What Needs Attention

● Working Beautifully

  • The class itself — trial sessions got great feedback. Babies stayed engaged. Jade was confident by session 4.
  • The studio — a purpose-built sensory space with light shows, sound, and tactile stations. No franchise in a church hall can match this.
  • GENTLE positioning — parents find Hartbeeps "too in your face" and Baby Sensory overcrowded. You're the calm, magical alternative.
  • Competitive pricing — £10/class with no franchise fees eating into margins.
  • Tech background (Dexla) — potential for automation and systems that no other local competitor has.
  • Founder-market fit — Jade IS the customer she's serving. Authenticity you can't fake.

● Needs Attention

  • Zero marketing presence — Instagram started 2 days ago, no Facebook, no Happity, no Google Business Profile. In a business where Instagram IS the discovery channel, this is critical.
  • Solo operator with no backup — one illness = cancelled classes = refunds + reputation damage.
  • No local partnerships started — health visitors, NCT groups, and children's centres are the primary growth engine for baby classes.
  • Website has inaccurate info — Parties listed but not ready, "100+ babies" claim may be aspirational.
  • Only 2 of 4 class types running — missing the 15–36 month segment and no weekend classes.
  • Unknown unit economics — breakeven fill rate not calculated.
✨ The One Thing

Get 20 New Parents Into Your Studio
in the Next 30 Days.

Everything else flows from this. Bookings create revenue. Revenue creates sustainability. Full classes create word-of-mouth. Word-of-mouth creates more bookings. But the flywheel can't spin without those first parents in the room. Your class sells itself — the job is getting people through the door. Three actions: (1) Visit 5 local venues with leaflets this week. (2) Message your 4 existing parents with a "bring a friend" offer. (3) Post on Instagram 4x this week. That's it.

07 — Strategic Analysis
SWOT

▲ Strengths

  • Dedicated sensory studio — only one in Farnham. Professional production values that church halls can't match.
  • Founder-market fit — Jade is her own ICP. Built what she couldn't find for her own baby.
  • GENTLE positioning fills a genuine gap between "too intense" and "too basic".
  • Tech background from Dexla — potential for systems and automation most operators can't build.
  • Validated product — trial classes worked, babies engaged, parents loved it.
  • No franchise fees eating margins — £10/class is competitive AND profitable.

▼ Weaknesses

  • Zero marketing presence — Instagram 2 days old, no Google, no directories, no partnerships.
  • Solo operator with no contingency — no backup teacher, no cover for illness.
  • Marketing is the #1 skill gap — Jade's biggest frustration and biggest need.
  • Limited class portfolio — only 2 of 4 types, no weekends.
  • Pre-revenue with unknown unit economics.

◆ Opportunities

  • Local partnerships — one health visitor recommendation can fill a class. None started yet.
  • Hartbeeps exit from Farnham — displaced parents need somewhere to go.
  • Instagram-ready product — light shows and baby reactions are inherently shareable content.
  • Franchise model long-term — dedicated-studio concept is genuinely different from hall-based franchises.
  • Weekend and holiday classes — untapped working parent segment.
  • Happity and Google Maps — passive discovery platforms with millions of parent searches.

◆ Threats

  • Established franchise competition — Lullababy, Tots Play, Baby Sensory all have brand recognition and national marketing.
  • Falling UK birth rate — fewer babies, more competition for each one.
  • Cost of living pressure — £10–15/class is discretionary spend.
  • Franchise territory encroachment — Bloom Baby Classes could enter Farnham.
  • Solo operator burnout — new mum + business + marketing overwhelm.
08 — Content Strategy
What to Post & Why
A simple, sustainable content plan designed for a solo founder with a baby. 3–4 hours per week maximum. Three feed posts plus Stories. Consistency beats perfection.
Weekly rhythm: Batch-create on Sunday (1 hour). Schedule with Meta Business Suite. Post Mon/Wed/Fri. Engage 15 mins/day. Stories from class days — phone clips, no editing needed. Saturday: off. That's it. Do NOT try to do more.
🎬 Studio Transformation Reel P0 · Reel
Empty room → sensory wonderland in 15 seconds. Timelapse of setup on your phone, speed up in CapCut. Shows the dedicated studio advantage no competitor can replicate.
Expected: 200–800 views. Builds "wow" factor. 20 mins to create. Post in launch week.
🥹 Baby Reaction Moments P0 · Reel
5–10 second clips of babies seeing the light show or touching textures for the first time. Close-up, emotional music, text overlay. Highest-performing content in the parenting niche. Must have parent consent.
Expected: 500–3,000 views. Most likely to generate DM enquiries. One local viral clip could fill a class. 10 mins to create.
✨ "The Gentle Difference" Brand Reel P0 · Reel
Soft music. Calm, focused babies. Text overlays: "Small groups. Soft lights. Their pace, not ours." This is the positioning Reel that communicates your GENTLE brand to parents who find other classes overwhelming.
Expected: 300–1,500 views. Brand-defining. Pin to profile. Parents who resonate = perfect customers.
🏠 "What to Expect" Walkthrough P0 · Reel
30–45 second Reel: Jade walks through arriving, the welcome, what happens, how it ends. Removes first-class anxiety — the #1 barrier to booking for new parents.
Expected: 300–1,000 views. High conversion — pushes "interested" to "booked". Pin to profile grid.
🧊 "5 Sensory Activities at Home" Carousel P1 · Carousel
5-slide Canva carousel with simple home sensory ideas (frozen fruit in zip bags, pasta trays, ice cubes with food colouring). Provides value even if they never book. Gets saved and shared — saves are the #1 Instagram algorithm signal.
Expected: 200–600 views. High save rate. Builds trust. Positions Jade as the sensory expert in Farnham. 30 mins to create.
💬 Parent Testimonial + Class Photo P0 · Post
Single class photo with a named parent quote. "We look forward to Thursdays now. It's become our favourite thing of the week — Sarah, mum to Ava." Named testimonials carry 2x the weight of anonymous ones.
Expected: 150–400 views. Directly drives booking consideration. Ask after every class. 10 mins to create.
What NOT to do: TikTok (wrong platform for Farnham mums), blog posts (take months to rank), professional photography (phone content performs better), daily posting (will burn out in 5 days), paid ads (build to 300+ followers first), or comparison content naming competitors (the baby class world in Farnham is tiny — everyone knows everyone).
09 — Channel Finder
Where to Be Present
Directories, communities, and physical locations. Your fastest path to full classes isn't Instagram — it's the health visitor who recommends you to every new parent in Farnham.

📋 Online Directories — Get Listed This Week

Google Business Profile
Critical
Parents search "baby classes Farnham." Without this, you don't exist. Free. 2 hours to set up. Upload 10+ studio photos. Add booking link.
Happity
Critical
2.6M parents/year. The Rightmove of baby classes. Competitors are already listed. Your absence is a critical gap. Free to list. 30 mins.
Farnham Rocks
High
Local family directory. Well-indexed for Farnham searches. Free community listing. 15 mins.
Surrey Family Information Directory
High
Official Surrey County Council directory. Health visitors refer parents here. Free. Adds official credibility.
Surrey Mummy
Medium
Award-winning Surrey parent directory. Parents search and review activities here.
Netmums Local + Toddle About
Quick Win
Still used by parents. Good for SEO backlinks. 10 mins each. Batch these.

🤝 Communities — Help First, Promote Later

NCT Farnham / Waverley
Highest Value
Concentrated pool of exact ICP. Contact the branch directly. Offer a free 15-min sensory taster at their next coffee morning.
Farnham Mums Facebook Groups
High
Join 5–8 local groups. Be helpful for 2 weeks. When someone asks "any good baby classes?" — then mention TW naturally.
Instagram Local Engagement
Medium
Follow Farnham businesses, parent accounts, baby photographers. Sarah Angel Photography lists local baby classes on her blog — contact her.
Nextdoor (Farnham)
Quick Win
Free business page. Post a friendly "new local business" intro. Neighbours trust Nextdoor recommendations.

📍 Physical Locations — Visit This Week

Farnham Health Centre
Highest Impact
Health visitors see EVERY new parent. One HV recommendation can fill a class. Visit in person. Introduce yourself. Leave 30 leaflets.
Frimley Park Hospital Maternity
High
Every parent leaving with a newborn passes the noticeboard. Ask reception about community board access.
Farnham Library (Vernon House)
High
Runs rhyme time sessions — parents there are proven activity-seekers. Free noticeboard. Leave leaflets.
Farnham Maltings + Baby-Friendly Cafés
Medium
Cultural hub with parent footfall. Scatter 5–10 leaflets across 4–5 cafés on a walk through town. 30 mins.
10 — Competitive Positioning
Your Lane in the Market
You don't need to attack competitors. Just state your truth clearly. Parents will draw their own comparisons.
Gentle vs High-Energy
Where you sit on the intensity spectrum
Lullababy

Gentle (yoga-adjacent) but lacks production values and wonder element

✨ Tiny Whirlwinds

Gentle but magical. Calm environment, professional light shows, intimate groups. Wonder without overwhelm.

Hartbeeps

High-energy, theatrical. Some parents love it. Others find it "too in your face" for babies.

Indie vs Franchise
Authenticity you can't replicate with a licensing agreement
✨ Tiny Whirlwinds

No franchise fees (£6–25K saved). Full creative control. Founder story parents connect with. Agile.

Baby Sensory

National brand recognition. Proven lesson plans. But franchise formula = generic feel, variable quality.

Tots Play

All-in-one positioning (music + yoga + sensory). Jack-of-all-trades, less specialist.

Studio vs Hired Hall
Your biggest structural differentiator
✨ Tiny Whirlwinds — Dedicated Studio

Consistent environment every session. Professional lighting and sound. Always-ready sensory stations. Clean, purpose-designed, premium feel. When a parent walks into your studio and compares it to a church hall with portable speakers, the choice makes itself. SHOW this advantage everywhere.

Your positioning in one sentence: "Farnham's only dedicated baby sensory studio. Small groups. Gentle approach. A space designed entirely for your baby's wonder." Put that everywhere. Website. Instagram bio. Leaflets. Say it until you're bored of it — you'll still be saying it when parents hear it for the first time.
11 — Growth Experiments
8 Experiments to Fill Your Classes
Deliberately simple. None require marketing expertise. Designed for someone who's great at building things and connecting with people — but hasn't done "marketing" before.
1. Health Visitor & Midwife Leaflet Drop P0 Before Launch
"If Jade visits local health centres with leaflets and introduces herself in person, at least 5 new enquiries will come from this channel within 4 weeks — because health professionals are the most trusted recommendation source for new parents."
Duration: 1 week setup + 4 weeks Effort: Low Cost: ~£30–50
Success: Leaflets at 5+ locations. 5+ enquiries. 2+ trial bookings from referrals.
2. Google My Business Launch P0 Before Launch
"If TW has a complete Google Business Profile with photos and reviews, it will appear in 'baby classes Farnham' searches — driving 3+ organic enquiries per month."
Duration: 2 hours to set up Effort: Low Cost: Free
Success: Profile live and verified. Appearing in Maps within 2 weeks. 5+ reviews within first term.
3. Instagram Content Engine (30-Day Sprint) P0 Through Launch
"If Jade posts 3–4x per week for 30 days, the account will grow from ~90 to 300+ followers, generate 10+ DM enquiries, and become the primary discovery channel."
Duration: 30 days (then ongoing) Effort: 3–4 hrs/week Cost: Free
Success: 300+ followers. 10+ DM enquiries. 3+ bookings traceable to Instagram.
4. Launch Week "Bring a Friend" Offer P0 Launch Week
"If all 4 existing parents bring a friend to launch week, at least 1 friend will convert to a term booking — because word-of-mouth from a trusted friend is the highest-converting channel."
Duration: Launch week + 2 weeks Effort: Very low Cost: £0
Success: 3+ friends attend. 1+ converts to term booking. Make it permanent if it works.
5. Website Cleanup & SEO Quick Wins P0 Before Launch
"If the website is cleaned up (remove Parties, add Jade's story, add 'Farnham' to titles), conversion rate will improve and organic search will grow."
Duration: 2–4 hours Effort: Low Cost: Free
Success: Parties removed. Jade's photo and story on homepage. "Farnham" in page titles. Instagram link added. Google Search Console set up.
6. Farnham Mums Facebook Group Presence P1 First Month
"If Jade becomes a helpful presence in local Facebook groups (not hard-selling), she'll receive organic recommendations when parents ask for baby class suggestions."
Duration: Ongoing (20 mins/day) Effort: Low Cost: Free
Success: 3+ groups joined. 1+ organic recommendation. 3+ bookings from Facebook groups.
7. Happity + Discovery Platform Listings P1 First Month
"If TW is listed on Happity and other free platforms with complete info and photos, it will receive passive discovery traffic and 2+ bookings per term."
Duration: 1 hour to set up Effort: Very low Cost: Free
Success: Listed on Happity, Farnham Rocks, Surrey directory. Complete profiles with photos. 2+ platform bookings.
8. NCT Coffee Morning Taster Session P1 First Month
"If Jade hosts a free 15-min sensory taster at a local NCT or children's centre group, she'll convert 3+ attendees into trial bookings — because experiencing the product removes all purchase anxiety."
Duration: 1 session + 2 weeks Effort: Medium Cost: Free
Success: 8+ parents attend. 3+ trial bookings. Builds reputation even if nobody books.
12 — Founder Mirror
Honest Reflections
This isn't a performance review. It's a conversation with a friend who's been around the block and wants to see you succeed. Take what's useful, park what isn't.
You've built the hard thing. Now do the uncomfortable thing. Key Insight
Your classes work. Babies stay engaged, parents love it, you're confident by session 4. That's genuinely impressive — most people never get past the idea stage. But here's the tension: you've solved the product problem and now you're staring at the marketing problem, which feels completely different. Product is craft. Marketing feels like performance.
"If your best friend had a baby and moved to Farnham, how would you tell her about Tiny Whirlwinds? That's your marketing voice."
Reframe: Marketing a baby class isn't selling. It's helping isolated new mums find something wonderful you've built for them. Every time you don't post, a mum in Farnham is scrolling at 2am wondering what to do with her baby tomorrow — and she doesn't know you exist.
🧠 Competence Bias — we gravitate to what we're good at (building) and avoid what feels unfamiliar (promoting)
"I'll run classes even when sick" is a red flag, not a badge of honour. Important
We understand the instinct — you're building something precious. But: you run a class with a cold, a baby catches it, that parent doesn't come back. You push through an injury, deliver a subpar session, parents form their opinion based on your worst day. You burn out by month 4 and the business dies.
"Who in your life could learn to run a simplified version of your class? A friend, a fellow mum, someone from your NCT group?"
Action: Your job isn't to run every class. It's to make sure Tiny Whirlwinds runs every class. Find one person who can learn your format and cover for you. Start looking now, before you need them. Even a "class in a box" at 70% of your quality is better than cancelled.
🧠 Heroic Founder Fallacy — the belief that the business needs YOU specifically to function at all times
The franchise dream needs the Farnham proof first. Grounding
You want to build a renowned sensory brand across multiple towns. The market supports it. But right now you have 4 term bookings. Every ounce of energy spent on franchise thinking is an ounce not spent on filling Farnham classes. Baby Sensory was Dr Lin Day running classes from her living room. Your franchise dream depends on Farnham being a screaming success. That's where 100% of focus belongs.
Action: Write your franchise ideas in a "Future" doc. Close it. Don't open it for 6 months. Document what works in Farnham — that becomes your franchise operations manual, written in real time.
🧠 Premature Scaling — the temptation to build for 10 locations when you haven't nailed 1
You have a tech superpower you're not using. Encouraging
You co-founded Dexla. Most baby class operators use shared Facebook events and bank transfers. You can build automated email sequences, track fill rates in a dashboard, A/B test Instagram captions. That's playing a completely different game. Your tech background isn't separate from Tiny Whirlwinds — it's your unfair advantage.
Action: Set up a simple analytics tracker (even Google Sheets): enquiries, trials, conversions, rebookings, and source. Automate booking confirmations and review request emails. The franchises have HQ systems; you can build better ones.
You're not behind. You're right on time. Reassuring
We hear it underneath everything: a feeling of being behind. Instagram should have started earlier. Partnerships should be in place. Here's the truth: you're a new mum who built a sensory studio from scratch, designed a curriculum, ran trial classes, got great feedback, and is launching a business in 2 weeks. The Instagram is 2 days old because you were busy building the actual business. That's the right order.
"What would you tell a friend in your exact situation — would you tell her she's behind, or would you tell her she's doing brilliantly?"
🧠 Comparison Trap — seeing Baby Sensory's 1,500 classes and feeling you should be there already. They've had decades. You've had months.
13 — 90-Day Roadmap
What to Do Next
Days 1–30
Launch & Be Visible
  • Visit 5 local venues with leaflets (health centre, children's centre, NCT, 2 cafés)
  • Set up Google My Business with 10+ photos
  • List on Happity + Farnham Rocks
  • Post on Instagram 3–4x/week for 30 days
  • "Bring a friend free" offer to all 4 parents
  • Clean up website: remove Parties, add Jade's story, add "Farnham" to titles
  • LAUNCH and deliver brilliantly
✓ 8+ parents per class by week 4. 300+ Instagram followers. Google profile live with 2+ reviews.
Days 31–60
Fill & Retain
  • Join 3+ local Facebook parent groups
  • Host a free taster at NCT coffee morning
  • Ask every parent for a Google review (target: 5+)
  • Collect video testimonials (phone clips)
  • Calculate actual breakeven fill rate
  • Build 1+ health visitor relationship
  • Track: what content drives bookings?
✓ Classes at 8–10 attendees. Trial-to-term conversion above 40%. Clear understanding of unit economics.
Days 61–90
Grow & Systemise
  • If 80%+ full: add a new time slot or Active Adventurers waitlist
  • Identify and train a backup class leader
  • Build a simple parent CRM (Google Sheet)
  • Plan Term 2: dates, bookings, email existing parents first
  • Test one Saturday class if demand is there
  • Double down on winning channels, drop losers
  • Set up automated booking + review emails
✓ 60%+ rebooking rate. Waitlist forming. Backup teacher identified. Revenue covering costs.