UrbanSitter Secures $6 Million in Series A Round Led by Canaan Partners

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UrbanSitter, an online service for parents and sitters to connect through people they know, today announced it has closed a $6 million Series A round of funding. The round was led by Canaan Partners with participation from existing investors First Round Capital, Menlo Ventures, Rustic Canyon Partners and several angels. The additional funding will be used to accelerate product development, advance the company’s mobile efforts and further expansion into new markets.

“As the first and only babysitting service that intuitively mirrors how parents find trusted sitters offline, we think that the company is capitalizing on an enormous market opportunity and look forward to participating in their continued growth and product advancement.”

“We see incredible promise in UrbanSitter’s differentiated social model and exceptionally talented team,” said John Balen, General Partner, Canaan Partners. “As the first and only babysitting service that intuitively mirrors how parents find trusted sitters offline, we think that the company is capitalizing on an enormous market opportunity and look forward to participating in their continued growth and product advancement.”

This new round of funding comes on the heels of a year of explosive growth for UrbanSitter. Since launching in San Francisco in Sept. 2011, the company has acquired more than 22k members and is increasing the number of sitter bookings at an average rate of 35 percent per month. The service has expanded to a dozen cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Seattle and Denver. The company also recently launched an iOS app that enables parents to search and book sitters on the go.

“This has been a highly successful inaugural year for UrbanSitter,” said Lynn Perkins, co-founder, UrbanSitter. “The distinct need in the marketplace, the ease of our interface and the high repeat rates from our users combined to create a growth trajectory that we are extremely proud of. We’re thrilled by the vote of confidence from Canaan Partners and our existing investors.”

UrbanSitter makes booking a trusted sitter as easy as booking dinner reservations. Parents sign up at UrbanSitter.com or via the mobile app for iOS devices and can instantly view sitters known through friends or affiliations—including schools, sports teams and parent groups—and can view each sitter’s availability in order to select a sitter for a specific date and time, or plan an outing when they know their favorite sitter is available. Jobs or interviews can be booked in minutes and parents can contribute written reviews, ratings and Facebook “Likes” to sitter profiles.

John Balen of Canaan Partners also joins the company’s board of directors.

For more information, or to sign up, please visit: www.urbansitter.com.

About UrbanSitter

An online service for parents and sitters to connect through people they know, UrbanSitter makes booking a trusted babysitter as easy as booking dinner reservations. The site enables parents to search, book and review trusted sitters within minutes.

Headquartered in San Francisco, UrbanSitter was founded by a group of Internet veterans who wanted to use technology to power a faster, more personal babysitting service. The company is backed by Canaan Partners, First Round Capital, Rustic Canyon Partners, Menlo Ventures and several angel investors. For more information or to sign up, visit www.urbansitter.com.