What you need to know
- Apple is highlighting Winnie for Mother's Day.
- The app helps parents find certified childcare providers in their area.
Apple has put the spotlight on one particular app in celebration of Mother's Day.
In a press release, Apple is highlighting Winnie, an app that helps mothers find childcare. Samantha Burns, a mother who had a tough time finding childcare during the pandemic, was able to use Winnie to find someone.
"When COVID-19 hit, everything closed down," says Burns. "After a while, our daycare just never reopened." Luckily by then, she had discovered Winnie, an app that helps connect parents to childcare providers with openings. "I used Winnie, and within 48 hours, we had a new daycare for our son," says Samantha. "It was really easy to check inspection and citation reports, and read reviews from other parents. And the new daycare was even closer to our house."
Sara Mauskopf and Anne Halsall are the minds behind Winnie. Both were mothers with young children when they met at the same startup six years ago. The two started the app, which helps parents find "safe and certified childcare in their area."
"Over half of licensed daycares and preschools weren't online at all before Winnie," says Mauskopf. "Meanwhile, the millennial generation was coming of age as parents, and we're used to looking for information online and on the phone — we're used to having an app for that. And when it came to this really important purchasing decision, it was really hard to get good information and connect with providers."
The app, which is five years old, now boasts a network of over 200,000 licensed childcare providers.
The app now hosts over 200,000 licensed childcare providers nationwide, and more than 12 million parents have used Winnie, accessing a provider's license status as well as parent reviews, photos, and discussion forums. The company has grown to a staff of 25 people across 12 states. Building technology that supports people whose needs are often underrepresented is a key value for the team, 60 percent of whom are women, and 48 percent of whom identify as people of color. Over the last year, Halsall and Mauskopf have shifted their workplace model and now employ part-time workers with flexible schedules who are on salary, have equity in the company, and receive benefits — including the company's 12 weeks of paid parental leave for both women and men.
To celebrate Mother's Day, Apple sat down for an interview with Mauskopf and Halsall. You can check it out on the Apple Newsroom website.
