Key Takeaways

• Technology Can Humanize Parenting Support: The vind een buddy platform shows that digital tools, when designed thoughtfully, can foster real human connection and emotional support.
• Custom Platforms Address Real-World Needs: A tailored web app allowed Like A Buddy to solve a very specific and pressing issue—matching parents with qualified advisors.
• Privacy and Accessibility Are Essential: The platform is invitation-only, ensuring a trusted, secure environment where vulnerable parents feel safe.
• Scalability is Tied to Government Support: With funding from the Dutch government, the platform scales responsibly based on verified demand and social impact.
• Lizard Global Delivers Impact-Driven Tech: From UI/UX to full development and analytics, Lizard Global helped bring a socially impactful idea to life with precision and purpose.

Parenting is a journey filled with love, growth, and fulfillment—but it can also be marked by stress, confusion, and isolation, especially when a child’s behavior becomes difficult to manage. For many parents, accessing the right support at the right time feels nearly impossible. Long waiting lists, lack of tailored guidance, and uncertainty about where to turn can leave families feeling overwhelmed.

Recognizing this gap, Like A Buddy, a youth care foundation based in Rotterdam, envisioned a digital solution that could transform the way parents access support. In partnership with Lizard Global, the foundation brought that vision to life through vind een buddy —a secure, invite-only platform that connects parents with trained advisors (“buddies”) who offer guidance, empathy, and real-life solutions. This blog explores the journey behind the platform, the technology driving it, and the social impact it’s already creating in the Netherlands.

Like A Buddy: Supporting Families With Purpose

Like A Buddy has long been dedicated to supporting parents in navigating the complexities of youth behavioral challenges. Working at the intersection of prevention and empowerment, the foundation identified a consistent pain point: while parents were eager to seek help, many didn’t know where to begin or felt judged in the process.

The answer wasn’t just more services—it was accessibility, trust, and scalability. From this need, the concept for vind een buddy was born. The platform would serve as a digital bridge between parents and trusted advisors, providing both the structure and human connection necessary to create real change.

The Problem: A Digital Gap in Youth Care Support

Before vind een buddy, no centralized, digital platform existed to match struggling parents with trained advisors in a scalable, efficient way. Referrals were often informal and lacked consistency. Like A Buddy needed a purpose-built digital environment —one that would:

• Seamlessly match parents with suitable buddies based on need and location
• Facilitate real-time, secure communication
• Maintain privacy and ensure quality through oversight
• Scale in response to demand and government funding

• Operate as an invite-only platform for safety and reliability

  
  

This challenge opened the door to a full digital transformation, and Like A Buddy partnered with Lizard Global to make it happen.

The Solution: A Tailored Web App That Puts People First

Lizard Global collaborated with Like A Buddy to create a powerful web-based platform, vind een buddy with a clean, intuitive design that prioritized ease of use and emotional safety. From the ground up, the app was developed with one goal: to make it easier for parents to get the help they need, when they need it most.

Access is strictly invitation-only. Once logged in, parents are carefully matched with buddies based on their personal challenges and geographic location. They can start chatting immediately—opening the door to conversations that are supportive, practical, and, most importantly, human.

Key Features of the vind een buddy Platform

While simple on the surface, vind een buddy is packed with powerful functionality designed to ensure smooth, impactful interactions:

• Smart Matchmaking The platform uses criteria such as location and behavioral challenges to match parents with the most suitable buddy, ensuring relevance and empathy.
• Real-Time Chat Parents and buddies can instantly connect through an in-app chat system, removing barriers to timely support.
• Multimedia Messaging Conversations aren’t limited to text—users can share images, documents, and other files to enrich communication.
• Coordinator Oversight Coordinators monitor interactions, provide support when necessary, and ensure that parents always receive high-quality, responsive guidance.
• Admin Controls Admins manage the entire invitation process, buddy-parent pairings, and escalation points.
  

The Impact: A Platform Backed by Purpose and Policy

The vind een buddy platform is more than just a digital product—it’s a social initiative supported by the Dutch government. This subsidy validates the importance of providing structured, scalable help to parents and allows Like A Buddy to expand their reach strategically.

Impacts Include:

• Public Support and Funding With government backing, the platform demonstrates measurable social value. Continued success will justify larger-scale rollouts across the Netherlands.

• Proof of Demand Every connection made through the app provides insight into the real, growing need for accessible parenting support—data that strengthens future policy discussions.

• Scalability with PurposeMore government funding means more invitations, more buddy matches, and more families helped—creating a feedback loop that benefits both users and stakeholders.

Lizard Global’s Role: A Tech Partner With a Heart

Lizard Global brought vind een buddy from concept to code, handling every stage of product development with care, efficiency, and purpose. Our expertise extended beyond just tech—we played a strategic role in making the platform usable, scalable, and impactful.

Lizard Global was responsible for:

• End-to-end UI/UX design for clarity and emotional comfort

• Full-stack development using secure, scalable architecture

• Analytics integration to measure user behavior and platform effectiveness

• Long-term support for continued platform growth and improvement

The result? A digital experience that feels as personal and supportive as the relationships it facilitates.

What’s Next: A Vision for Broader Impact

With Phase 1 successfully deployed, discussions are already underway for Phase 2 of vind een buddy. Planned enhancements include:

• More refined matchmaking algorithms

• Better coordinator tools for oversight and intervention

• Expansion into new cities and regions across the Netherlands

• Additional layers of analytics to support public reporting and funding requests

As the platform evolves, Like A Buddy and Lizard Global remain committed to one goal: using technology to build real, lasting support systems for families.

Lizard Global Brings Vision to Life

At Lizard Global, we believe that digital solutions should solve real-world problems—especially in the spaces that matter most, like parenting, mental health, and community care. Our collaboration with Like A Buddy on vind een buddy reflects our passion for creating meaningful, human-centered technology.

Whether you’re a non-profit organization with a mission, a public institution in need of innovation, or a company ready to bring a digital product to market, we’re here to help. From idea to execution, Lizard Global partners with clients to build tech that changes lives.

Ready to build something with purpose? Let’s connect and make it happen.