In the spring of 2020, Gretchen Salyer suddenly found herself in a new role as a homeschooler for her three daughters after the pandemic closed schools and daycare centers — exacerbating America’s long-standing child care shortage.
“I’m a really bad homeschool teacher, and so it was a really hard time for us,” says Salyer, 40, who lives in Los Altos, California. She quickly realized that her family wasn’t the only one struggling with the sudden lack of care. “My community and my friends and neighbors — they were really struggling. They tried to work from home. They tried to teach their kindergartener virtually.”
To ease the burden, Salyer began organizing childcare exchanges in which she and her friends took turns caring for each other’s children. “We had weekly plans, and then everyone took a day and took the children with them that day,” says Salyer. “Then you would also have reliable childcare on the other four days of the week.”
Salyer was a stay-at-home mom after quitting her job as a director at Intuit in 2018. She never thought she would become an entrepreneur after having three children. But the success of these childcare swaps gave Salyer a new business idea.
“Mothers support mothers in their most important work”
Sayler’s startup aims to alleviate some of these challenges. JuneCare, The company, which she founded in May 2021, connects parents looking for child care with other parents with verified backgrounds who can welcome their children into their home. “Often it’s a stay-at-home mom,” Salyer says. “She’s with her kids too.”
June Care aims to provide a solution for parents seeking flexible childcare as opposed to a full-time weekly schedule with a daycare provider or nanny. Host parents who care for their own children can earn income by welcoming another child for a playdate.
“We’re unlocking the untapped supply of care work happening in millions of homes across the country, making it accessible to families seeking care, and creating additional income opportunities for everyone,” says Salyer.
Host parents set their own rates and charge an average of $20 an hour, Salyer says. June Care charges a 7% service fee.
Salyer wants to help mothers earn money – whether by caring for their children at home or by working a job now that they have access to child care. “Our vision at June Care is for mothers to support mothers in their most important work,” says Salyer. “The work can be work at home or work outside the home.”
“The child care crisis requires innovative solutions”
Salyer never imagined that she would start a business after having three children. As a 40-year-old mother of three, she felt like she didn’t fit the profile of a typical entrepreneur. Self-doubt crept in during the fundraising process, especially when dealing with rejection.
At the time, Salyer only had a few hundred users and barely any revenue. She had to convince investors of her vision of a sharing economy approach to alleviating America’s child care crisis.
“I’m not 25 and I’m also a mother,” says Salyer. “I would wonder if this is because people don’t want to invest? And I’m not saying that’s it, but it’s just all these, yeah, self-doubt questions that I have – I think a lot of women have.”
Salyer says pitching was a very “intimidating” and “vulnerable” process. “I would do a pre-pitch ritual because I got so nervous I started shaking. And so I had to do like the power pose, you know, and then get a warm cup of hot water.”
Salyer’s persistence paid off. In November 2021, it raised $3.6 million from venture capital firm Craft Ventures and several angel investors, including Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp and Instacart co-founder Max Mullen.
As of the beginning of July 2022, the platform says it has around 5,000 members, roughly equally divided between hosts and those seeking care. CNBC was unable to verify these figures. The company currently only operates in California, but has plans to expand nationwide.
“We invested in June Care because the child care crisis requires innovative solutions,” said Jeff Fluhr, co-founder of Craft Ventures and StubHub. “For decades, access to high-quality child care has been limited due to high costs and burdensome regulations.”
June Care investor Brynn Putnam, who founded the smart home gym The Mirror says that what the startup is doing in childcare is “very similar to what Airbnb did in the hotel industry and Uber did in the ride-sharing industry.”
“I see huge potential in the June Care model due to the high supply and high demand on both sides: from stay-at-home parents looking for ways to make money and from parents who want a more personal and flexible approach to looking for childcare,” says Putnam.
The article “This stay-at-home mom turned a pandemic child care hack into a startup that has raised $3.6 million″ was originally published on Grow (CNBC + Acorns).