Poppy

What Poppy does

Poppy (legally "Meet Poppy") was a Seattle-based, venture-backed online marketplace that connected families seeking childcare with vetted caregivers, operating from 2015 until discontinuing services on December 4, 2018. The platform served a primarily horizontal consumer base of working parents and a supply-side network of babysitters and professional nannies, addressing pain points around trust, vetting, and scheduling flexibility. Parents accessed the service through a self-serve website where they could browse caregiver profiles, submit care requests, and receive algorithm-driven matches based on child age, neighborhood, and fit preferences, with a post-booking feedback mechanism to favorite caregivers and refine future matches.

The product surface consisted of two distinct service tiers: Poppy Sitter (starting at $17/hr for children ages 2 and up, staffed by caregivers with multi-family babysitting experience) and Poppy Pro (starting at $20/hr, extending to infants from 2 months at $24/hr, staffed by caregivers with deeper professional nanny credentials). The business model combined a low-friction $8/month membership subscription granting unlimited booking access with hourly transaction-based caregiver fees. Caregiver vetting was a central operational pillar — all applicants completed in-person interviews, three childcare references, county/state/federal background checks, and CPR/First Aid certification verification, with the company reporting it had reviewed thousands of applicants to build this screening expertise.

Commercially, Poppy distributed entirely through its website on a product-led growth basis with no sales intervention, and operated exclusively in the Seattle metropolitan area throughout its life. The company was venture-backed (with Y Combinator as the only disclosed investor, providing $120,000 in March 2016) but was unable to achieve the unit economics or scale required to sustain the on-demand childcare marketplace model. Founder Patel Thompson publicly cited the structural mismatch between what parents were willing to pay and what caregivers expected to earn as the primary reason for closure. Following shutdown, Baby Post acquired the Meet Poppy brand and assets on the same day, while partnerships with Sittercity and UrbanSitter were arranged to transition Poppy families and caregivers to alternative platforms.

Name

Poppy

Legal name

Poppy

Website

https://meetpoppy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Poppy was a Seattle-based online marketplace that connected parents with vetted babysitters and nannies through an $8/month membership and hourly booking model, operating from 2015 until ceasing operations in December 2018 due to unsustainable unit economics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Childcare Marketplace

NAICS

Child Care Services (62441), Child Care Services (624410)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

Date Night & Evening Babysitting (HSAAAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

On-Call & Last-Minute Babysitting (HSAAAAAC), Temporary / Short-Term Nanny (Fill-In) Services (HSAAABAF)

Keywords

• Childcare marketplace
• Babysitter matching
• Caregiver booking platform
• Nanny placement
• Family childcare services

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscription: Parents paid a monthly membership fee of $8/month for unlimited access to the caregiver network and booking capabilities. This was the primary recurring revenue stream.
2. Caregiver Service Fees: Hourly rates charged for caregiver services, with tiered pricing based on caregiver experience level. Poppy Sitter started at $17/hr, Poppy Pro at $20/hr, and infant care at $24/hr.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

Poppy operated an online membership-based marketplace that connected families seeking childcare with vetted babysitters, nannies, and caregivers. Parents paid an $8/month membership for unlimited booking access and could choose between two service tiers — Poppy Sitter (starting at $17/hr for kids ages 2+) and Poppy Pro (starting at $20/hr for infants 2 months+). The platform handled caregiver vetting, matching based on child age/neighborhood/fit, and post-booking feedback. Poppy discontinued services on December 4, 2018, after being unable to achieve sustainable unit economics in the on-demand childcare space.

Product overview

Poppy was a babysitting marketplace platform that connected families with vetted caregivers through a membership-based model ($8/month for unlimited booking access). The platform offered two distinct service tiers: Poppy Sitter (for kids ages 2+, starting at $17/hr) and Poppy Pro (for infants from 2 months, starting at $20/hr). The matching process worked in three steps: Request (families submitted care needs), Match (algorithm paired based on child age, neighborhood, and caregiver fit), and Feedback (post-booking reviews to improve future matches). Caregivers were vetted through in-person interviews, reference checks, background checks, and CPR/First Aid certification. The company operated from Seattle and was venture-backed before closing in December 2018 due to unsustainable unit economics in the on-demand childcare marketplace.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Poppy Sitter

Quantifiable outcome

• All caregivers completed in-person interviews, 3 references, and comprehensive background checks at county, state, and federal level

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SittercitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 December 2018Poppy partnered with Sittercity after discontinuing its services on December 4, 2018, offering Poppy families and caregivers an alternative platform to continue their childcare connections. The partnership was formed through discussions with CEO Elizabeth and her team, noting shared passion for solving the childcare problem using thoughtful technology. Sittercity acquired Poppy's assets.
• UrbanSitterminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 4 December 2018UrbanSitter reached out to offer the Poppy community an additional option for families and caregivers to continue finding childcare services after Poppy's closure.
• Baby PostcoreOthers · 4 December 2018Baby Post acquired Meet Poppy after the business discontinued services on December 4, 2018. This acquisition brought Poppy's brand and customer base under Baby Post's parenting platform.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• Bambino: Neighborhood-based babysitting co-op and marketplace. Directly comparable two-sided marketplace focused on community trust and reciprocal care arrangements.
• Helpr: On-demand childcare provider with an employer-sponsored care benefit angle. Addresses the same parent-affordability/caregiver-pay tension that broke Poppy's unit economics.
• Nanno: Caregiver-focused marketplace connecting nannies with families. Comparable marketplace model with a stronger caregiver-side value proposition than Poppy's parent-led approach.

Direct peers

• Wyndy: College-student-focused babysitter marketplace. Directly comparable marketplace model serving parents seeking vetted sitters, with similar tradeoffs around take rate and caregiver compensation.
• Sittercity: Long-standing online marketplace connecting families with sitters and nannies. Directly comparable two-sided marketplace model; Sittercity even absorbed Poppy families/caregivers after Poppy's 2018 closure.
• UrbanSitter: Bay Area-based babysitting marketplace emphasizing sitter quality and parent networks. Directly comparable marketplace model; also absorbed Poppy community members after closure.

Regional players

• Bubble: London-based childcare marketplace serving UK families. Comparable marketplace model with regional differences in childcare regulation and pricing dynamics.

Broad incumbents

• Care.com: Largest U.S. caregiver marketplace spanning childcare, senior care, pet care, and housekeeping. Comparable marketplace mechanics with far greater scale, geographic coverage, and capital base.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/meetpoppy
• Facebookfacebook.com/meetpoppy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/meetpoppy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Poppy