When Regnard and Liza Raquedan moved to Toronto from the Phillipines in 2009, they did so in search of new opportunities. Not even they, could have anticipated how much success they would find. Four years after the move, the couple had established themselves in Toronto, making friends and almost acclimating to the weather. However, when Liza became pregnant, an unforeseen issue arose for the small family: the logistics of daycare.
“When it came time to find daycare, we struggled. In Toronto, especially, it’s quite hard, from what I’ve heard, compared to some other places in the country. That’s certainly been our experience. There’s usually a waiting list....we were relatively new to the country and the city, we didn’t feel we had enough resources to find the right one.” - Regnard Raquedan
The daycares were full, and the family of three - with the recent addition of a daughter, Elise - would not have access to a daycare for over six months, when a spot opened up elsewhere. This struggle caused them to wonder if other families encountered this same problem. Sure enough, the Raquedans ran a survey of over 100 parents in the Toronto area and quickly found that they were not alone, with many families struggling to find daycares.
After personally experiencing a shortcoming in the childcare market and equipped with an idea to fix it, the Raquedans found themselves at the Toronto Founder Institute. After the four-month program, CubbySpot was born. They had successfully transformed their frustration with the child care system into a mobile app.
“Founder Institute reviewed who to talk to when it comes to funding, incorporating, and other building blocks. The start-up market has got help here”
CubbySpot’s app helps parents find the best available daycare for their child while giving daycare centers the means to quickly fill vacancies. The app helps parents identify the perfect daycare for them, and alerts parents about daycare availability when a vacancy arises. It also provides centralized information about daycares and allows parents to review care centers and share feedback. The app has gained a tremendous amount of attention as their service has expanded to over 12,000 daycares across Canada, landing a 2018 Brightlane Entrepreneur Award and securing a finalist position at 2015 Tech-I.
“If there are any awards, that’s good. If there’s any recognition, that’s good, but if parents can find a spot for their child and daycares can get their spots filled, that’s a success for us.”
The couple plans to expand their product to include other children’s services, maintaining long-term business and cultivating relationships with their users. They intend for parents to use CubbySpot services to find classes, summer camps, and more; fostering life-long relationships between CubbySpot and its users.
Graduates of the Founder Institute are creating some of the world's fastest growing startups, having raised over 2BN in funding, and building products people love across over 200 cities worldwide.
See the most recent news from our Grads at FI.co/news, or learn more about their stories at FI.co/journey.
