NeighborSchools, the 50 on Fire winner innovating the child care industry, raised $3.5 million in seed funding last week. Boston-based venture capital firm Accomplice led the round with additional funding from Tuhaye Venture Partners and World Within.
“This funding will help us accelerate this vision and make NeighborSchools the go-to platform for parents to discover, research and connect with licensed home daycares near them,” co-founder and CEO Brian Swartz said in a press release.
Founded in October 2018, NeighborSchools helps experienced child care professionals in Massachusetts open their own residential facilities. The team guides educators through the lengthy process required to become a licensed Family Child Care center. Then, the service connects families with these more affordable home daycares.
Co-founder and COO Bridget Garsh said the funding will be used to expand NeighborSchool’s network of care providers.
“We are actively exploring exactly what that will mean in terms of where we will expand beyond Massachusetts,” said Garsh in a phone interview on Friday. “What we are looking for is that balance of lots of people looking for child care and not being able to find available options, so we can really step in and solve the crisis.”
Today, the majority of NeighborSchools' day care providers are located in Greater Boston, especially around the Interstate 495 loop.
The startup also plans to double the size of its eight-person team in the coming months. Garsh said NeighborSchools is scouting for a senior-level marketing executive as one of these new hires.
Sam Clemens, a general partner at Accomplice, said NeighborSchools solves one of the biggest issues plaguing families.
“The founding team has extensive experience building world-class technology platforms and the company’s advisors have decades of experience working at every level of early childhood education,” Clemens said in the release. “Together they have a timely opportunity to tackle a massive industry that’s in desperate need of reinvention.”
The early-stage startup previously raised $150,000 in December 2018, according to a Form D filing with the SEC.
