What Lil Stars does

Little Stars Daycare Center is a family-owned and operated childcare provider founded in 2002 by Emad Youssef in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. The business operates two physical locations in the same town, with the 77 Park St. headquarters serving as the main site and the 240 Main St. facility dedicated entirely to infants and toddlers aged 0-2. The company runs five distinct programs, Infants/Tots, Toddlers, Pre-K, After School, and Summer Camp, covering children from infancy through school age across the calendar year. The core technology stack is a parent communication mobile application that delivers photos and videos of daily activities, supplemented by a Squarespace-based marketing site with online tour scheduling; no AI, machine learning, or API/SDK layer is documented.

Revenue is generated through recurring childcare tuition paid by individual families on a subscription basis, with pricing not publicly disclosed and prospective parents directed to schedule a tour. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer, relying on word-of-mouth referrals, the website, earned media placements, and a #1 Daycare ranking from BusinessRate (2025) for local SEO. The customer base is entirely retail (individual families) with no enterprise accounts, and the company highlights regulatory compliance (state childcare licensing), universal staff CPR/AED certification, 24/7 surveillance cameras, and proximity to the local police department as core safety differentiators. The business remains privately held and family-controlled, with no disclosed funding rounds, M&A activity, or institutional investors.

Name

Lil Stars

Legal name

Little Stars Daycare Center

Website

https://littlestarsdaycarecenter.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Little Stars Daycare Center is a family-owned childcare provider in Ridgefield Park, NJ, operating two locations since 2002 and serving infants through school-age children across five programs including infant care, Pre-K, and summer camp.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Childcare Services

NAICS

Child Care Services (624410)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Day Childcare Centers (EDACAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Center-Based Infant Care (0–18 months) (EDACAGAA), Extended Day Programs at Preschools & Childcare Centers (EDACAHAB)

Keywords

• Childcare services
• Daycare programs
• Early childhood education
• Preschool care
• Infant daycare

Headquarters

HQ city

San Jose, California

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Childcare Tuition: The company generates revenue through tuition fees for childcare services across its multiple programs including infant care, toddler care, Pre-K, after-school care, and summer camp. Families pay for ongoing childcare services on a recurring basis.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Little Stars Daycare Center provides age-segmented childcare services across two physical facilities in Ridgefield Park, NJ, offering Infants/Tots care (0-2 years), Toddler programs, Pre-K education, After School care, and Summer Camp. The center is fully licensed, CPR and AED certified, and equips parents with a mobile app for daily photos, videos, and activity updates throughout the child's day.

Product overview

Little Stars Daycare Center is a family-owned childcare business offering a unified portfolio of age-specific care programs. The core offerings include five distinct programs: Infants/Tots Program (ages 0-2), Toddlers Program, Pre-K Program, After School Program, and Summer Camp. Each program is individually designed to provide appropriate space, resources, and expertise for children at different developmental stages. The center operates two locations in Ridgefield Park, NJ, with the Main Street facility dedicated specifically to infant and toddler care.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Infants/Tots Program Childcare program for infants and toddlers aged 0-2 years, delivered from a dedicated facility at 240 Main St., Ridgefield Park, NJ. Provides personalized attention, gentle care routines, and stimulating activities tailored to each child's developmental stage, staffed by loving, trained professionals.
• Toddlers Program Childcare program for toddlers that supports the transition from infancy to Pre-K through guided play, sensory exploration, and social interaction in a safe, nurturing environment to build confidence, independence, and communication skills.
• Pre-K Program Pre-Kindergarten program led by certified, professionally trained teachers that balances a creative learning curriculum with personalized care to prepare children for kindergarten success in a joyful, stimulating environment.
• After School Program After-school care program extending daytime warmth and care into later hours, offering relaxing fun activities along with homework support and academic assistance to help school-age children unwind and stay on track.
• Summer Camp Summer camp program packed with fun activities, stimulating events, and educational field trips including town pool visits, local parks, and bowling, combining air-conditioned indoor spaces with monitored outdoor time.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple families have enrolled children for 3-6 years continuously
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Local Police DepartmentminorOthersStrong working relationship established with local police department for emergency response coordination. Park St. location is across the street from police department. Police on speed dial for immediate emergency response.
• Local Fire DepartmentminorOthersCollaborative relationship with local fire department for safety education. Coordinates routine fire drills and police visits to familiarize children with safety routines in a fun, interactive way.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Bright Horizons Family Solutions: Largest U.S. operator of employer-sponsored childcare centers and early education. Comparable as a multi-site daycare provider across infant, toddler, and pre-K age bands, but at vastly greater scale and with corporate-center backing rather than family ownership.
• KinderCare Learning Centers: National chain offering infant care through school-age programs including before/after school and summer camp — a near-mirror of Little Stars' program mix. Operates at much larger scale but competes for the same working-parent demographic.
• Learning Care Group: Operates multiple childcare brands (Childtime, Tutor Time, La Petite Academy) across the U.S. Same core offering — full-day infant through school-age care — with the operational depth of a multi-brand incumbent.

Direct peers

• The Goddard School: Franchise system of private early childhood education centers serving infants through Pre-K with play-based curriculum. Closest comparable in scale of an individual site and program structure to a two-location family-run center.
• Childcare Network: Operator of community-based childcare centers providing infant care through school-age programs. Comparable regional-clinic operating model focused on working families in suburban communities.
• The Learning Experience: National franchise of early childhood education centers offering infant, toddler, preschool, and pre-kindergarten programs. Mirrors Little Stars' age-banded programming and parent-communication emphasis at a comparable local-site level.
• Lightbridge Academy: Franchise early childhood education provider offering infant, toddler, preschool, and pre-K programs with a tech-enabled parent communication platform — directly analogous to Little Stars' parent-app-driven engagement strategy.
• Primrose Schools: Franchise-based private early education and care provider offering infant through after-school programs in single-town/suburban locations. Highly comparable operating model to Little Stars: local footprint, parent-engagement focus, accredited curriculum.
• Kids 'R' Kids: Franchise network of accredited early learning centers for infants through school-age children, including before/after-school care. Directly comparable in single-site operating scope, curriculum approach, and parent-engagement positioning.

Emerging players

• Hutcheson For Kids (H4K): Smaller-scale early childhood education provider offering infant, toddler, and pre-K programming. Comparable as a regional, program-focused operator rather than a national incumbent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lil-stars

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 Lil Stars