Vivvi, a child care and early learning service provider, has recently raised $15 million in a Series B funding round to keep connecting parents and their employers with high-quality child care.
The fresh investment will help the company add up to 30 schools for full-time and backup care, many of which will meet the increasing demand in New York City, according to a news release.
Founded in 2018 by Ben Newton and Charles Bonello, Vivvi provides child care and early learning for today’s families with the mission to create an early childhood experience that aligns the exceptional quality families deserve, with the flexibility they need. It partners with employers of all sizes to make exceptional full-time and backup care more accessible and affordable. Vivvi meets the needs of families by providing well-trained teachers, warmly-designed spaces, and hours that cater to working people. Through real-time communications like messaging, pictures, and videos, the company helps parents feel connected to their children by celebrating moments big and small.
By providing the benefit that working families care about most, Vivvi helps companies drive recruiting, retention, and productivity and lead the new world of work. Vivvi also provides other child care services to families, both through employers and independently.
Vivvi gets its economic engine from employers and landlords who are coming to see accessible, quality child care as a perk to entice employees and tenants. “Employers are leaning into an inclusive picture of work,” Bonello said. “Some of the best landlords see that providing child care as an amenity is a great way to add value to their portfolio.”
Vivvi has six models so far: licensed schools housed at a large employer for both backup and full-time care; independent programs in which any parent can enroll their age 5 or younger child; an in-home program that brings an educator to a family’s home; a national backup care network of vetted schools that serve an employer’s families; virtual tutoring; and a reimbursement program so that employees who don’t use any of the above can still receive child care help as a benefit.
The Hudson Square Company, which already operates three centers in Tribeca, Hudson Yards, and the World Trade Center, has also announced a new campus at 620 W. 42nd St. It said it will occupy 7,000 square feet on the ground floor of Silverstein Properties’ Silver Towers—enough space for more than 80 children to learn and play.
According to Vivvi, a mere 4% to 6% of employers offer any child care benefits at the moment—which is a problem for families scrambling for coverage and for employers who want to keep their employees focused on the job instead of stressed about care. Bonello said, “We need a world with 30% to 40%.”
