SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UrbanSitter, an online and mobile service that enables parents and caregivers to connect through people they know, announces today that it has completed the acquisition of Denver-based startup Sitter Inc. Through the acquisition, UrbanSitter expands its umbrella of childcare services to include Sitter Pro, a B2B solution designed to address the operational needs of thousands of sitter and nanny agencies across the nation.
“We realize that families today have a wide range of childcare needs and preferences,” said Lynn Perkins, CEO and co-founder of UrbanSitter. “Our acquisition of the Sitter Pro product allows us to service a broad spectrum of the childcare marketplace that includes parents and caregivers, as well as local childcare agencies.”
Local childcare agencies are known for their ability to provide consumers with a highly vetted network of childcare providers, but are often plagued by operational inefficiencies and antiquated technology that result in poor experiences for both caregivers and families. By completely automating job management from request through payment with little to no involvement from agency staff, Sitter Pro’s highly customizable suite of business tools helps agencies manage their workforces and automates the fulfillment of bookings. It also makes the user experience more efficient for both the agencies’ clients and their care providers via an app.
“Sitter Pro’s well-designed product demonstrates deep industry and technical expertise. Just as UrbanSitter offers the most innovative tools and services for parents and sitters, Sitter Pro offers the best business management and client facing tools for its clients and caregivers,” continued Perkins.
“We recognized that agencies were in need of an integrated solution to manage and grow their businesses. Sitter Pro is the only comprehensive, easy to use platform created specifically with the needs of childcare agencies and their clients in mind,” said Kristen Stiles, former CEO of Sitter Inc., and current VP of Enterprise at UrbanSitter. “We are excited for this opportunity to not only deliver more childcare options to parents, but to also enable nanny agencies to grow their businesses.”
“Sitter Pro has transformed the way we work,” said Vivienne McIntyre, owner and director of Nifty Nanny. “It has increased our productivity by allowing us to spend less time on the tedious management tasks of our business and allows us to focus on what we love most--serving our families.”
Since UrbanSitter launched in 2011 in San Francisco, the company has expanded to serve more than 1 million members in 50 cities. The company has facilitated millions of hours of babysitting jobs, the majority of which receive a response in less than 10 minutes.
Sitter Pro will continue to operate under its brand and the company’s employees will remain in their Denver headquarters.
For more information, visit www.urbansitter.com and sitter.app.
About UrbanSitter
UrbanSitter is an app and website that's making it easier than ever for parents to find, book and pay trusted childcare, from date nights to full-time care. Only UrbanSitter taps into a parent's personal network to connect them with sitters of friends, co-workers, moms groups and parents from their kid's school—to find a sitter they trust. With more than 1 million registered users in more than 50 cities, UrbanSitter is solving the childcare dilemma for families everywhere. The company is backed by Advance Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, DBL Investors, First Round Capital, Match Group - a division of IAC, Menlo Ventures, Rustic Canyon, Aspect Ventures, A-Grade Investments and several angel investors.
