Winnie, The Brainchild Of Two Mothers Who Wanted To Help New Parents

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, most of us have had to rely on online tools and apps to complete our personal chores and work related tasks. Office life isn’t what it used to be either, with many companies opting for hybrid work environments to maintain social distancing guidelines. The effects have also been detrimental to businesses everywhere, which includes childcare facilities.

These days, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find babysitters. Many of them have shutdown for good in the wake of community related infections. Millennials who have now come of age as parents are finding it tough to locate proper childcare centers. That is why Sara Mauskopf, 36 and Anne Halsall, 37 created the Winnie app in the US.

It connects parents with childcare providers with openings. This negates the need to scour the internet in search of a reputable childcare facility that is open for business and is still accepting children. Mauskopf and Halsall created Winnie out of necessity. Both being mothers of young children, they understood the challenges that parents face when looking for quality childcare.

The duo quit their jobs at the smart startup company and went to work to create a platform that would help revolutionize the childcare industry. Six months later, they launched the Winnie app in the app store. Today, it hosts over 200,000 licensed childcare providers nationwide, and more than 12 million parents have used the app.

“Over half of licensed daycares and preschools weren’t online at all before Winnie,” says Mauskopf. “Meanwhile, the millennial generation was coming of age as parents, and we’re used to looking for information online and on the phone — we’re used to having an app for that.”

The team at Apple sat down with the co-founders of Winnie. They wanted to find out what inspired them to start the business and what advice they could give to others who are looking to create their own apps. Click here to read the interview transcript.

Winnie has grown from just 2 people to a 25 strong workforce across 12 states. The company has shifted their workplace model to allow for flexible schedules. It also offers 12 weeks paid parental leave for both women and men. It’s a testament to how success can be achieved by finding a need and fulfilling it using innovative ideas and tools.