Napp

What Napp does

Napp is a privately held, women-owned LLC that operates a mobile-first marketplace connecting families seeking childcare with vetted, background-checked sitters. Founded in 2016 by former professional nannies Claire Cianos and Katie Carroll, the company is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, and is structured around a single product — a native iOS and Android app available through the App Store and Google Play — through which families post childcare needs and sitters post availability for matching. The platform layers two core third-party integrations: SafetyPIN Technologies for criminal, financial, and behavioral sitter screening, and Stripe Connect for booking payments with 1-3 day payouts to sitters. Napp operates fully in Maryland and runs Beta launches in Myrtle Beach SC, Los Angeles CA, and Denver CO.

The company monetizes through a combination of marketplace commissions of up to 20% on completed bookings (the primary stream), family membership economics of a $55 one-time joining fee plus an $11/month subscription, a $25 pay-as-you-go booking option for non-members, sitter-paid background checks, and transaction-based cancellation fees. Distribution is app-store only, with no web booking flow, and demand generation relies on a content-and-community stack (Bright Ideas blog, Nappchats workshops, #NappNews newsletter, and broad social media presence) plus word-of-mouth. In April 2020 the company added a Virtual Companionship + Assistance Program to extend the service into remote offerings during COVID-19.

Napp serves two primary customer segments on a horizontal basis: families seeking short-term, last-minute, or recurring vetted childcare (including pet-inclusive care), and sitters/caregivers — students, single parents, career caretakers — seeking flexible gig income. The company is privately held, reports no outside funding rounds, has no disclosed parent or subsidiary relationships, and is governed as Napp, LLC under Maryland law. Recognition to date is regional, including the 2020 Baltimore Tech Start-Up to Watch listing.

Name

Napp

Legal name

Napp, LLC

Website

https://nappnetwork.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Napp is a women-owned mobile marketplace that connects families with vetted, background-checked childcare sitters via an iOS and Android app, operating in Maryland with Beta launches in Myrtle Beach, Los Angeles, and Denver, and monetizing through booking commissions and family memberships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

On-demand Childcare Marketplace

NAICS

Child Care Services (62441)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

Night Nanny/Overnight Care Placement (HSAAALAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Overnight Babysitting (Ad Hoc) (HSAAAAAJ)

Keywords

• Childcare marketplace
• On-demand babysitting
• Background-checked sitters
• Mobile childcare app
• Gig childcare platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Baltimore

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Platform Commission: Napp charges up to 20% commission on bookings (depending on city/location), included in the rate of the booking. This is the primary revenue stream from successful childcare gig completions.
2. Family Membership Fees: One-time family joining fee of $55, charged after onboarding call. Monthly membership subscription of $11 after first 30 days. Optional one-time booking for $25 (for out-of-towners without membership).
3. Sitter Premium Background Check: Sitters pay for premium background checks as part of the admission process before joining the network.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Napp operates a mobile-first marketplace platform (iOS and Android) that matches families needing childcare with vetted, background-checked sitters for short-term, long-term, or last-minute gigs. The service includes SafetyPIN criminal, financial, and behavioral screening for all sitters, Stripe Connect-backed secure booking and payments, photo updates during gigs, and pet-inclusive care. A Virtual Companionship + Assistance Program was added in April 2020 to provide remote childcare support.

Product overview

Napp offers a single unified product: a mobile app-based on-demand childcare platform available for iOS and Android. The core product enables families to connect with vetted, background-checked sitters for short-term, long-term, or last-minute childcare needs. The platform handles matching between families and sitters, background verification through SafetyPIN Technologies, and payment processing via Stripe Connect. A Virtual Companionship + Assistance Program was introduced in April 2020 as a remote service offering during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Napp Mobile App (iOS & Android) Mobile application for iOS and Android that allows families to post childcare needs and sitters to post availability, then facilitates matching, confirmation, scheduling, photo updates during gigs, and secure payments. Designed for parents seeking short-term, long-term, or last-minute vetted childcare and for sitters seeking flexible gig work.
• Napp Virtual Companionship + Assistance Program Remote childcare support offering delivered virtually, providing services such as Virtual Story Time, Virtual Tutors, Virtual Mindfulness/Yoga, Virtual Dance Parties, Virtual Arts & Crafts, and Virtual Companionship for families needing non-in-home childcare engagement.

Quantifiable outcome

• Sitters available for short-term, long-term, or last-minute childcare needs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SafetyPIN TechnologiescoreTechnology or IntegrationSafetyPIN Technologies provides comprehensive background checks for all Napp sitters, including criminal, financial, and behavioral assessments. This partnership is fundamental to Napp's value proposition of vetted, trustworthy childcare providers.
• Stripe ConnectcoreTechnology or IntegrationStripe Connect handles all payment processing for Napp bookings. Sitters receive payouts on a 1-3 day schedule. This third-party processor ensures secure transactions for both families and sitters.
• Bar Method BaltimoreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partnership where Napp serves as the official childcare provider for the Bar Method Baltimore studio. The only studio in Baltimore to offer on-site childcare. Bar Method offered virtual memberships during COVID-19 pandemic.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• UrbanSitter: UrbanSitter is a directly comparable online marketplace connecting families with vetted babysitters and nannies. Both companies operate on a similar model: family-side booking, sitter-side background checks, and take-rate-based commission revenue, making it Napp's closest U.S. competitor in on-demand childcare.
• Helpr: Helpr is a mobile-first, on-demand childcare platform offering vetted sitters for last-minute and recurring care. Its positioning, age cohort (infant through school-age), and app-driven gig matching overlap materially with Napp's core product.
• Bambino: Bambino is a community-driven babysitting marketplace leveraging neighborhood connections and social verification. It overlaps directly with Napp's parent-sitter matching model and competes for the same on-demand household use cases.
• Sittercity: Sittercity is one of the longest-running online marketplaces for babysitters and nannies. Like Napp, it enables families to search and book caregivers with background-checked profiles, serving the same primary use cases (date nights, after-school care, on-demand coverage) nationwide.
• Wonder (formerly Wondrium Care): Wonder is a childcare marketplace providing on-demand, vetted sitters and nannies in select U.S. metros. It directly competes with Napp for families seeking flexible, background-checked caregivers through a mobile-first experience.

Broad incumbents

• Care.com: Care.com is the dominant generalist care marketplace covering childcare, senior care, pet care, and housekeeping. It competes head-on with Napp in family-facing childcare search, but operates on a subscription/listing model rather than a per-gig commission, making it a broader incumbent rather than a niche peer.
• HopSkipDrive: HopSkipDrive is a marketplace for trusted ride and care services for children, expanding from transportation into supervised care. While anchored in kid transport, its CareDriver model overlaps with Napp's family-sitter trust-and-safety proposition.

Emerging players

• Komae: Komae is a cooperative childcare platform that enables parents to exchange babysitting and share caregiving within vetted groups. It intersects with Napp's on-demand sitter use case but differentiates via a cooperative, peer-driven model rather than a paid gig marketplace.
• TrustedSitter (Care.com-owned): TrustedSitter is a sitter-booking service from Care.com focused specifically on on-demand, in-home childcare for date nights and short engagements. It targets the same narrow use cases as Napp and represents Care.com's direct response to marketplace competitors.

Regional players

• Bubble Babysitting: Bubble is a UK-based on-demand babysitting app that matches vetted sitters with families for evenings, days, and holidays. Its product, take-rate structure, and use cases are nearly identical to Napp's, but it is geo-restricted to the United Kingdom.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/nappnetwork

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Napp