5 years ago, no one would think that a Mother and her child would talk on a daily basis. Just this March, CEO Marshall Shelton, a 19-year-old from Seattle, brought the world KidConnect. Parents from the East Coast can talk to their young daughter in her liberal arts college. A father can catch up with his son and discuss the latest comparative literature lesson.

“After my first semester, I realized I only called my parents after they sent me a card in the mail with some cash. I felt obligated to thank them on Easter, birthdays, stuff like that,” said Marshall. He has a big smile on his face in his cardigan sweater. Barkley Capital had just injected $550 million to the start-up in Series-A financing.

“I feel really honored to connect kids with their parents.  The 18 to 28 age bracket is always so busy with class, work, and trying to make it in this competitive world. KidConnect brings the closest people in our lives together again,” he added, proud of his creation.

KidConnect is a mobile app where parents pay a nominal fee to lock their child’s cellphone until they answer. The basic service will lock a child’s phone for an astonishing 20 minutes. Premium members utilize one hour of time. The phone is denied all access to any features; especially the deny button. They must answer. And if a child “can’t talk right now,” the fee is billed to the child’s bank account.

And what if a kid doesn’t download the app themselves? Marshall has the answer. “We leave that to the parents. Most of them can hang something over their heads to get them to do something anyways.”

Callie Friedman, a junior at NYU, thought KidConnect was ridiculous until she found the benefits in talking to her father on a regular basis. “For a long time, I only asked my Dad for money about once a month. But with this app, we’ve developed a closer relationship. I feel like I’m living at home. Now, I can ask once a week for a little ‘help.'”

I caught up with Callie’s father, Raymond Friedman, who is an insurance adjuster from Michigan. I asked him what he thought of KidConnect bringing him and his daughter closer together. “Whatever it takes,” he said as he shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes, happy to know that he could win his daughter’s time.

Of course, with every new app, there are people who come out against it; and vocally. Piper is a senior marketing analyst at a large social networking company (last name & company withheld). She explained that KidConnect is another case study in how a niche platform gains momentum really quickly, and will eventually die out in short order. “Just send a text, an email. This isn’t 1995, people,” she stated.

Marshall Shelton is used to skeptics. “With every new kid on the block, everyone’s a hater. For the first time, families are connecting, in real-time, over the phone.”

This June, KidConnect is rolling out a new feature called more-talk. If a parent wants more time with their child, they can instantly press a button and keep the call going.

We’re all eager to see what’s next for this new platform. Parents are invested and Barkley Capital has staked a huge level of confidence in 19-year-old Marshall. The young man’s humility is apparent. “I’m just trying to help people out. I’m still that West Coast kid who juice cleanses and buys organic toilet paper.”