Qustodio, a leading parental control software start-up, announced that it has successfully closed a $1 million seed round of funding.

Although the company has been around for less than a year, Qustodio already has a fully operational product that is downloadable for Windows and Android, with a Mac version coming at the end of the month. The company is already doing revenue sales and beginning its efforts to create traction in the marketplace.

The investment comes as a time when interest in online privacy and protection of children has become a top issue worldwide. There is huge growth in awareness by parents of online dangers, and an increasing vacuum of effective solutions. Very few players have visibility into the social aspects of children's time spent on connected devices. Qustodio hopes to be the first major player to crack the code in the marketplace.

Qustodio is unique in that it takes a dual approach to the problem. First it understands that the average family has more connected devices than the average small business did five years ago, and that parents have no simple way to manage and control so many devices. Qustodio brings device-level controls that do things like blocking of applications and setting house rules for using the Internet.

Secondly, Qustodio can see inside social networks like Facebook and can report on all the activities that a child conducts on a device: search, chat, use of applications and web-browsing. It has a dynamic on the fly web-filter to do monitoring and blocking of content. All monitoring and controls are done from a simple online dashboard that provides real-time information.

Qustodio's business model capitalizes on acquiring users through a fully functional free version that places no limits on the number of children or number of devices that can be monitored. Advanced features, like application blocking, or time-limit scheduling by device are part of a premium version upgrade.

According to a recent study published by the Boston Consulting Group on behalf of Telenor, 100 million new children will be online by 2017. Those children face a variety of risks from privacy, to bullying, to inappropriate content. Qustodio is banking on a massive marketplace growth as all families realize that they must purchase some type of child protection software in the coming years.

Qustodio achieved its funding round through successful participation in a Harvard Business School Alumni Angels pitch event. Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of London has a goal to help promote early stage investment and early growth companies in the UK and European start-up sector, including networking pitch events were prospective companies and investors can connect. Qustodio was one of very few companies selected for the pitch events, out of hundreds of companies that apply. Qustodio impressed HBS Alumni Angel members with a strong team, plan and technology demonstration, which helped lead to a $1 million investment led by a HBS Alumni Angels member from W8 ventures.

W8 Ventures, a London-based firm focusing on tech and clean technology investments, led the round. The original founders also participated in the seed round. The founders bring to the table extensive experience in the security software sector.

"We see that parenting in the age of multiple connected devices and social networks is extremely difficult. Parents have little visibility with whom their children are spending time with online, and have little to no control over how and when mobile devices can be used. Qustodio is eager to help parents solve these problems with simple, easy-to-use solutions that protect children in real-time," said Eduardo Cruz, CEO and co-founder of Qustodio. "We're very pleased that W8 endorsed our technology and vision with its investment."

About W8 Ventures
W8 is a leading early stage investment firm based in London, United Kingdom that focuses on Technology and Clean Technology investments.

About the Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of London
The Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of London is a Harvard Business School affiliated group committed to investing in early stage and growing businesses and supporting the rapidly growing UK and European start-up ecosystem. The primary mission is to add value to angels and entrepreneurs by connecting them together through networking pitch events and helping both groups to enhance their skills and knowledge through educational evens and resources. Harvard alumni members, many of who are successful entrepreneurs or venture investors, help provide strong proprietary deal flow from across Europe. With identification of high quality deals by a multi-sector experienced screening committee, no investment fees, together with pitch companies enjoying a high success rate in fund raising, HBS Alumni Angels of London is developing rapidly. See http://www.hbsangelslondon.com for full details, membership interest and important legal information.

About Qustodio:
Qustodio develops leading parental control software solutions for families worldwide. Our solutions empower parents to have greater visibility into their children's online activity, including social networks. Our revolutionary approach provides quick and actionable information for parents, enabling parents to ensure their children use connected devices safely and responsibly. We are passionate about Internet security for children, and we love creating well-made products with excellent user experiences. We want to work with you to make the Internet a safe and enjoyable place for your kids. Qustodio is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain and can be found online: http://www.Qustodio.com, via Twitter: @Qustodio and on Facebook: Qustodio.