SEATTLE, WA– Avni Patel’s online demand childcare Poppy has raises $589,305 from angel investors, according to media reports.
“In early 2015, Avni Patel found herself at a familiar crossroads for entrepreneurs. She’d left a corporate brand development career to launch a startup — and it wasn’t going well,” GeekWire reported.“ “Between her struggling business and two small children, Patel forgot to book a babysitter for an important event. She tried her usual roster and then violated an unspoken rule among parents. She asked to borrow her friends’ sitters but still had no luck.”
“It baffled me that in this day and age every family was on their own in this most fundamental area,” Patel told GeekWire. “Every family was inefficiently trying to find their own sitters that they hoarded zealously, lest they be stuck without care when they needed it.”
Out of this crucial moment, Poppy was born. Patel decided to cut her losses with startup number one and build an on-demand childcare platform instead. 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, GeekWire said.
GeekWire said Poppy recently closed a fundraising round of $589,305 from several Seattle angel investors, Madrona Venture Group, and Y Combinator.
Patel could not be reached directly for comment.
Poppy’s website, however, states: “Poppy was started by Avni Patel Thompson, a Madison Park entrepreneur and mama to 2 girls. She was tired of feeling panicked and anxious every time she couldn’t find someone she trusted to care for her kids. She realized how powerful it would be to have a roster of talented and trustworthy caregivers only a text away. So she built it with Poppy.”
