Otter, A New, Reliable Option for Childcare and Stay-at-Home Parents

Otter is a new childcare platform in Santa Clarita that matches families who need care with stay-at-home parents who can get paid to look after kids in their community, while still watching their own children. Otter has put over $20 million collectively into the hands of stay-at-home parents. 
CEO Helen Mayer founded Otter because of her own journey. At the beginning of the pandemic, alongside 3 million other women, she became the default stay-at-home parent for her then 16-month old twins. She was offered a job she was excited about, only to have to turn it down because she couldn’t find safe, reliable, and affordable childcare.
If her story sounds familiar, that’s because 50% of Americans live in communities dubbed “childcare deserts” where there are three children in need of care for every 1 daycare spot. While the pandemic certainly made things worse, Helen quickly realized this wasn’t just a pandemic-specific problem and that historically it’s overwhelmingly been women who are left stranded. 
This fueled Helen to reach out to others in her community who were running into the same problems and help them navigate childcare. Parent feedback supported her idea of matching stay-at-home parents with families that needed care and Otter was born. 
And now we’re thrilled to offer working parents in Santa Clarita a new, reliable option for childcare and stay-at-home parents in Santa Clarita an opportunity to get compensated for watching their neighbors’ kids, while still being able to stay home with their own children. 
For more information visit: www.withotter.com.