Poppy (W16) Provides Trusted Childcare, On-Demand

by Y Combinator1/30/2016

For many families, finding a babysitter is still a slow and time-consuming process. Busy parents still spend weeks finding and vetting
potential childcare providers, and hours checking in with multiple
sitters to see who is available at any given time. 

Poppy is a company in our Winter 2016 class that connects parents with a team of trusted sitters they can access with just one text. Poppy vets all caregivers on its platform through a rigorous 7-step process, ensuring that all its sitters have certifications such as CPR and First Aid and extensive childcare experience. Poppy is currently available in several neighborhoods in Seattle, with plans to launch in more areas soon.

Geekwire wrote about Poppy and its founder Avni Patel in a story published this week:

“Poppy curates a list of verified caregivers, by neighborhood. When
parents need childcare, they can access a roster of sitters they’re
familiar with via text or the Poppy app.

…Rates for childcare are fixed by Poppy, at $16/hour for
one child, $17/hour for two, and so forth. According to Patel, taking on
the pricing and vetting process has provided value to both caregivers
and parents.

‘For us the singular thing that the whole team is focused
on, every single day is: Where do we find the very best people? How do
we set them up for success and give them what they need to make every
single booking an amazing one for parents? Because that dedication is
what has gotten our parents to rave about Poppy,’ Patel said.”

Read the full story here.

Author

  • Y Combinator

    Y Combinator created a new model for funding early stage startups. Twice a year we invest a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200). The startups move to Silicon