Start Early

What Start Early does

Start Early is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1982 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, focused on prenatal-to-five early childhood education and care. The organization operates a platform-plus-network model comprising the Educare Network of 25 schools delivering birth-to-five evidence-based curricula, federally-funded Early Head Start/Head Start programs serving low-income families and pregnant mothers (including seven centers in Indian River County serving 300+ children annually), and integrated family support services such as doula services, home visiting, and early intervention support. Programs are provided free of charge to eligible families meeting income requirements, eliminating a traditional commercial pricing layer.

Start Early's revenue mechanics depend on a blend of federal and state government appropriations for Head Start/Early Head Start contracts, grants, and philanthropic donations from corporate and individual supporters. Under outgoing President Diana Rauner's 15-year tenure, the organization grew from a $35 million Illinois-focused entity to a $125 million national operation, now employing 251–500 staff across multiple states. The organization monetizes not through tuition but through sustained public funding and contributed revenue, with delivery executed via direct program operation and community-based partnerships rather than a channel-mediated GTM.

The organization's go-to-market is community-led and advocacy-driven, including hosting and participating in industry summits such as the CAKES Childcare Summit and joining coalitions like the Moms First National Business Coalition for Child Care. Customer segmentation spans low-income families with children prenatal to age 5 (primary), early childhood educators and workforce (primary), and school districts and policymakers (secondary). Notable ongoing strategic activity includes the groundbreaking of the Educare Lake County facility in Zion, Illinois (38,000 sq ft, opening late 2027, serving 174 children) and a planned June 2026 leadership transition from Diana Rauner to Celena Sarillo.

Name

Start Early

Legal name

Start Early

Website

https://startearly.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Start Early is a national nonprofit founded in 1982 that operates the 25-school Educare Network and federally-funded Head Start/Early Head Start programs, delivering free birth-to-five early childhood education, family support, and workforce development to low-income families across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early Childhood Education Services

NAICS

Child Care Services (62441), Educational Services (61), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Early Childhood Education & Childcare Nonprofits (BPAGADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Head Start & Public Pre-K Programs (EDACABAK), Early Head Start & Publicly Funded Infant/Toddler Programs (EDACAGAH), Parenting Skills & Child Development Education (EDACALAA), Standards Alignment & Curriculum Mapping Resources (State/NAEYC/Head Start) (EDACAJAN)

Keywords

• Early childhood education
• Family support services
• Head Start programs
• Educator professional development
• Early learning advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Grants and Donations: As a national nonprofit, Start Early generates revenue through grants, corporate donations, and philanthropic support. Received a $20,000 grant from Name Bubbles and receives product donations to support programming.
2. Government Funding: Operates federally-funded Early Head Start/Head Start programs serving low-income families, representing a significant portion of program operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Start Early is a national nonprofit that delivers prenatal-to-age-five early childhood education through its 25-school Educare Network and Head Start/Early Head Start programs, alongside wraparound family support services, educator professional development, applied research, and public policy advocacy aimed at expanding access to high-quality early learning for underserved children and families.

Product overview

Start Early is a national nonprofit early childhood education organization founded in 1982, operating a platform-plus-network model consisting of the Educare Network (25 schools providing birth-to-5 programming), the Early Head Start/Head Start program (free services for low-income families), and integrated family support services including prenatal care, home visiting, and workforce development. The Educare Lake County facility represents an expansion of the network model to address documented child care deserts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Educare Network
• Head Start Program
• Early Head Start Program
• Family Support Services
• Educator Professional Development and Training
• Applied Research and Policy Advocacy
• Educare Lake County

Quantifiable outcome

• Educare programs significantly improve school readiness outcomes including literacy proficiency and math skills compared to children in other programs.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CAKES BodycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 April 2026CAKES Body partnered with Start Early, Moms First, and TOOTRiS to host the CAKES Childcare Summit in New York City, advancing the 'Childcare 2.0' movement to promote childcare as essential workforce infrastructure. CAKES released its Childcare Credit Policy as an open-source model for employers, reporting 100% enrollment among eligible staff and 26% of total employees using the benefit.
• Moms FirstcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 April 2026Moms First partnered with Start Early and CAKES Body at the CAKES Childcare Summit to advance childcare as essential workforce infrastructure. Both organizations are inviting other companies to join the Moms First National Business Coalition for Child Care.
• TOOTRiScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 April 2026TOOTRiS partnered with Start Early, CAKES Body, and Moms First at the CAKES Childcare Summit to advance the 'Childcare 2.0' movement and redefine the future of work through childcare policy reform.
• Name BubblescoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 13 January 2026Name Bubbles, an award-winning company for kids' custom name labels, contributed a $20,000 grant and $5,000 in product donations to strengthen Start Early's programming and family support services. The partnership integrates Name Bubbles' personalized labels into Start Early's directly operated programs, distributing products to teachers, doulas, home visitors, and families across the United States.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• National Head Start Association: National membership and advocacy organization for Head Start grantees, directly comparable to Start Early as a federally-aligned nonprofit supporting Head Start / Early Head Start delivery and policy advancement.
• Child Care Aware of America: National nonprofit advancing child care access and workforce supports, directly comparable to Start Early in mission around early childhood advocacy, family support, and addressing child care deserts.
• ZERO TO THREE: National nonprofit focused on the prenatal-to-age-3 period, overlapping directly with Start Early's birth-to-five programming including doula services and home visiting supports.
• Sesame Workshop: Nonprofit behind Sesame Street, producing evidence-based early childhood curriculum and content. Directly comparable in deploying research-backed curricula to improve school-readiness outcomes at national scale.
• National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC): Professional association setting quality standards for early childhood education. Comparable to Start Early in advancing practitioner credentials, curriculum standards, and workforce-development initiatives.
• Parents as Teachers: National nonprofit delivering evidence-based home visiting and parent education from prenatal through kindergarten, directly overlapping Start Early's family support and home visiting services.

Broad incumbents

• Bright Horizons Family Solutions: For-profit global provider of early education and child care serving infants through school-age; comparable scale of operating classrooms and employer-sponsored child care partnerships that Start Early advocates for through Childcare 2.0.
• KinderCare Learning Companies: Largest U.S. provider of early childhood education and family support services. Comparable national classroom footprint and birth-to-five programming, differing primarily as a commercial vs. nonprofit operator.
• Teach For America: Large national education nonprofit with comparable scale ($100M+ revenue) and national footprint. Both operate as mission-driven nonprofits influencing educator pipelines and early learning policy; relevance is in scale and governance model rather than direct service overlap.

Others

• National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER): Academic / policy research center producing the annual State of Preschool report; an adjacent research counterpart that informs the same school-readiness evidence base Start Early uses to differentiate Educare outcomes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/startearlyorg
• Facebookfacebook.com/startearlyorg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Start Early