How Childcare Booking App Bumo Raised $10 Million: Pitch Deck - Business Insider
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Modern life makes it easy to order late-night cars home, book spontaneous vacation rentals, and get lightning-fast takeout. But getting childcare on short notice? For many, that's still a pipe dream.
Joan Nguyen founded Bumo, an app that allows parents to book empty slots at local childcare centers, after starting two childcare ventures during the pandemic.
From working with parents, Nguyen said she realized that they often needed what she calls "fractional childcare," such as when their nanny called in sick or something pressing came up at work.
"As a parent, I also felt the pain of not being able to get childcare when you absolutely needed it," Nguyen told Business Insider. "Why is it easier for me to find a dog walker than it is to find a sitter or a nanny?"
Launched in 2024 after raising $10 million, the Bumo app was co-founded by Nguyen and Chriselle Lim. It's a continuation of a joint co-working and childcare center they launched in late 2019, followed by BumoBrain, an online learning platform they created at the height of the pandemic to help working parents.
The app, which has about 10,000 users and offers services in 200 locations within 13 states, works similarly to Airbnb. Parents can filter and sift through childcare options from drop-in daycares to summer camps, some of them offering same-day availability.
Nguyen said Bumo also fits in with the consumer demand "to want things instantly," now accustomed to quick bookings and deliveries. Meanwhile, "you see childcare as this kind of monolithic thing that hasn't really changed a lot," she said.
Bumo aims to offer more convenience and fill a gap in the US childcare system.
Parents are more isolated than they have been in generations, not always being able to rely on family members to help them. Many also can't afford full-time daycare, but still need some part-time childcare options.
To ensure safety, Nguyen said every service listed on Bumo is licensed by their respective state and has a "digital footprint" including past reviews. Bumo staffalso interviews with each facility at least once a year (sometimes virtually depending on the provider's location) to make sure that they're up-to-date on background checks and that all staff have proper certifications.
Nguyen said that Bumo only uses original photography and videos for each facility instead of stock photos. Parents can also write reviews.
Bumo's next step is to keep expanding in other cities; right now, Los Angeles has the highest number of childcare offerings on the app. The goal is to increase Bumo's density in San Francisco and to introduce its service in New York City.
It sums up the key benefit of Bumo: expediency.
The slide features the team members' experience levels, follower counts, and press mentions.
The slide includes a graphic of the app in action.
A simple graphic illustrates the obstacles parents face in securing childcare.
It highlights the practicality of the app: childcare providers have empty slots they want to fill, incentivizing them to use Bumo.
It uses a similar calendar booking system to Airbnb or Rover.
Parents don't have to commit to full programs they can't afford.
It emphasizes the mutual relationship between parents and childcare providers.
It addresses how many families currently use Bumo, the number of providers, and the social media reach. It also shows investors the opportunities for growth.
It shows a concerted strategy to promote the app in smaller parenting communities on Facebook and Instagram.
It illustrates how big the childcare market is.
It also asserts that, unlike the other apps, Bumo has no competition so far.
It includes other methods of revenue and its target numbers for childcare service expansion.
It brands Bumo as a company that also cares about parents' well-being and understands their struggles.
July 7, 2025: An earlier version of this story stated that Bumo had raised $10 million, with a second $10 million seed funding round coming up. Bumo raised $10 million total in one seed funding round. An earlier version of the story also mentioned that parents can upload photos. They can only write reviews.
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