The latest startup to be announced aims to make finding childcare simple. Congrats to the founders!
By Jessica Stillman (Editor, Women 2.0)
Parents Patrick Matos and Jen Usmanova faced a struggle that will be familiar to many families — they wanted to find the best childcare provider available for their kids, but were frustrated by all the research, calls and facility visits the search entailed. Some people might just sigh and start yet another Google search, but these two weren’t content to complain — they founded CareLulu instead.
Along with co-founder Gabriel Chagas Marques the pair started the online marketplace to help provide parents with an easy way to find a daycare or preschool that fits their family’s needs. The resulting product offers personalized search, verified parent reviews, photos, and tuition rates, so parents can now find all the information in one place.
Want to hear more? Join us in Vegas where the company will be presenting live on stage in front of a panel of awesome judges as the latest finalist to be announced for our upcoming PITCH competition.
Founder Bios
Patrick Matos (co-founder & CEO) is an engineer with ten years of experience as a project manager, technical lead, consultant, and entrepreneur in the US and in Europe. He grew up in France and studied at the Grenoble Institute of Technology as well as UC Berkeley, and has a Masters in Chemical Engineering. He holds eleven patents and speaks fluent French, Portuguese, Spanish, and knows basic Russian.
Gabriel Chagas Marques (co-founder & CTO) is a computer engineer who started coding as a teenager, back when IRC was popular. Instead of using available scripts, he created his own. Since then, he studied Computer Engineering at the best engineering school in Brazil (ITA) and at Penn State. He has worked for many companies both in the US and in Brazil.
Evgeniya (Jen) Usmanova (co-founder & CMO) began her entrepreneurial journey at 16 when she single-handedly created a publication and ran it for four years. As the former coordinator of the US-Russia Innovation Corridor, administered by American Councils for International Education, she recently worked on fostering entrepreneurship across US and Russian universities.
Which finalist are you most excited to hear more from in November?
Jessica Stillman (@entrylevelrebel) is an editor at Women 2.0 and a freelance writer with interests in unconventional career paths, generational differences, and the future of work. She writes a daily column for Inc.com and has blogged for CBS MoneyWatch, GigaOM and Brazen Careerist, among others.
