Nanno

On-Demand Marketplace for Childcare

Company Information

Website:

https://www.nanno.com/

Sector:

Childcare

Location:

Denver, CO

There are 34 million families in the U.S. with children under the age of 18. These families spend an average of $1,000 per year on informal childcare, creating a $34 billion market.

Nanno is targeting this market with its digital marketplace that connects parents with fully-vetted sitters on-demand.

Nanno launched nationwide in 2018, and has raised nearly $2 million from notable investors including Quake Capital Partners and 500 Startups. The platform has more than 35,000 users in 45 states, and has processed more than $1 million in babysitting transactions.

Unlike other platforms in this market, Nanno features a proprietary vetting process for sitters. This includes a full background check, skills test, and behavioral test. This helps ensure parents are booking qualified, capable sitters to look after their children.

For many of these families, finding a qualified sitter isn’t easy. The few technology solutions that exist are antiquated and unreliable. As a result, most parents use old-fashioned methods to find sitters, and pay them offline with cash.

As “millennials” transition into parenthood, they are seeking a fast, reliable solution that solves this problem the same way technology has solved numerous others — with a simple, on-demand app. Nanno aims to be the solution this demographic is looking for.

Here’s how the process works with Nanno:

First, parents set specific criteria they’re looking for in a caregiver. Next, details of the booking (requested date, time, location, pay rate) are sent to all sitters who meet this criteria.

Booking works in order of the parents’ preference. Specifically, the details are first sent to the parents’ list of “favorites,” then to caregivers trusted by friends, and finally to groups of eligible sitters.

When a sitter accepts the booking request, the parents’ credit card is charged.

Rates for childcare vary by metro area. In most U.S. cities, the rate is $20 per hour for up to 2 kids; however, in larger/more expensive areas, the rate can be as high as $35 per hour.

For parents who only book occasionally, Nanno adds a 20% to 30% commission to the hourly rate. Parents who book more frequently can opt for a monthly subscription, which offers lower hourly rates.

According to Nanno CEO Liz Oertle, the biggest “selling point” for the platform is the speed at which parents can find suitable sitters. 90% of booking requests are filled within 15 minutes. Based on its speed and convenience, ABC7 in Denver dubbed Nanno “Uber for childcare.”

Said parent Khara Muniz in an interview with ABC7, “The last time I used Nanno I was like, ‘I need a sitter in an hour,’ and they placed me.”

The platform offers various protections to sitters. For example, if a parent cancels a booking within 24 hours of a job, the sitter will still be paid either half price or a flat $50 fee. If a parent comes home earlier than expected, the sitter still receives the full amount charged.

As mentioned, sitters on Nanno must complete a proprietary vetting process. This includes a full background check, skills test, and behavioral test. The skills test deals with basic safety rules and first aid procedures. The behavioral test looks for personality characteristics that could potentially be detrimental to being a good caregiver — for example, if the sitter is more likely to prioritize his/her own needs or desires above the child’s.

“The vetting process is the crown jewel of our company,” Oertle told ABC7 in Denver, “because as parents ourselves we know how important that is.”

This vetting process is what separates Nanno from other companies in this sector, including Care.com, UrbanSitter, and SitterCity. According to Nanno, these competitors also serve primarily as just a directory to give parents access to a list of available sitters, but don't go a step further in enabling parents to book services.

It costs Nanno $50 to acquire each customer, and each one’s lifetime value is $1,200.

Moving forward, Nanno will offer additional childcare and enrichment options to parents. This includes services for booking tutors, art and music lessons, and STEM classes.

Team Background

Liz Oertle - Co-Founder & CEO

Liz brings an extensive legal background to Nanno.

Prior to starting the company, she worked for SheEO, a global initiative focused on supporting and celebrating female entrepreneurs.

Before that, she founded Independent Law Group, a collection of attorneys that strived to provide the legal experience of a national law firm, while charging lower fees comparable to small-firm practices.

For six years, Liz was an associate at Davis Graham & Stubbs, a Denver-area law firm. And before that, she was an associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, a law firm based in New York City.

She began her career as a copy editor for Penguin Group, a leading book publishing company.

Liz earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from Binghamton University and a Law degree from the University of Michigan.

Desi McAdam - Co-Founder & CTO

Desi is a software developer with more than 17 years of experience.

Before founding Nanno, she co-founded DevChix, a company that helped give female software developers tools and guidance in the industry. She ran this company for 14 years and attracted more than 2,000 women developers worldwide.

Prior to DevChix, Desi was a mentor at the Telluride Venture Accelerator, a program for startups in the outdoor, travel, and wellness sectors. Before that, she spent three years as Managing Director of thoughtbot, inc., a consulting business for digital product companies.

She started her software development career as a developer for Hashrocket, a web design company, and working in production operations for MediaOcean, a computer software company.

Desi earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Georgia Tech.

Nelio Carneiro - Chief Technology Officer

Nelio has more than a decade of experience in web and mobile development. He joined Nanno in March 2021.

Previously, he was a software engineer with Toptal, a platform connecting businesses with software engineers and designers. Before that, he founded SuperFax, a software company enabling users to send faxes over the internet.

Earlier in his career, Nelio was a software engineer with eFacil, a Brazil-based e-commerce platform. Prior to that, he held the same position with Martins, a wholesaler of consumer packaged goods.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the Universidade Federal de Goias.

Co-Investors

500 Startups

Prominent seed fund and accelerator program founded by PayPal and Google alumni. Investments include AngelList, Unbounce, and Behance.

Quake Capital Partners

A venture capital group and startup accelerator investing in seed-stage companies.

Raising
$500K
Committed
$56.872K (11%)
Current Valuation
$11 million Cap / 10% Discount
Min. Investment
$100
Deal Type
Title III
(For all investors)
Offering Type
SAFE
Finance History
  • $205K
    2017-09-01
    Quake Capital Partners
  • $55K
    2018-02-01
    Unknown
  • $150K
    2019-07-22
    500 Startups
Notable Investors
  • 500 Startups
  • Quake Capital Partners
Learn more on Republic