Helpr is like Uber for babysitters – but will parents trust their kids to strangers?
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Parents generally build a trust with the people who babysit their kids, but a new app turns that notion upside down. It’s called Helpr, and it delivers a babysitter on demand.
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The app comes from co-founders with a lot of experience in childcare – they successfully ran a sitter service in the Santa Barbara area for many years. Now they’re taking that knowledge and how to and applying it to an app. You can get a confirmed sitter to your home with as little as 3 hours notice. It’s sure to be a lifesaver in situations where work demands come up or parents want to have an impromptu dinner date – but the unsettling part is that the person coming to your door could be a total stranger.
Helpr’s co-founders Kasey Edwards and Becka Klauber Richter say the key here is that all sitters on the app are interviewed in person. They also go through a background check and are CPR certified. Additionally, the app instantly tells you who will be arriving at your door so you can connect with your sitter beforehand via phone. Also, for repeat customers the app first attempts to book the same babysitters you’ve previously worked with.
Rates start at $21 an hour. One bonus – since there is a record of the child care transaction, you could get reimbursed through a dependent care account or get a tax deduction.
Right now Helpr is available in the Los Angeles area, the company is working hard to expand to other locations in 2016.
On the web:
https://helpr-app.com/
Extended interview with Helpr co-founder Kasey Edwards: