Lis Tyroler, center, helped start Nido, a co-working space that offers on-site day care, in Durham, N.C.CreditJeremy M. Lange for The New York Times
The article Starting Up a Business, With Little Ones Close by AILI McCONNON in The New York Times is about incubators, this one that enables working moms, and dads, to take advantage of child care services as well as other typical incubator services, including mentoring.
Funded in a variety of ways that include bootstrapping entrepreneurs and corporate behemoths like Google, these spaces all perform vital functions. Some host meetings with a bank or investors, others help entrepreneurs learn all facets of starting a business, while some simply provide a common space to meet and talk with peers.
One such space in Durham, N.C., called Nido was exactly what Ali Rudel said she needed to fulfill her dream of starting her own bakery while juggling the responsibilities of caring for her 3-year-old and 6-month-old daughters. They attended a Montessori preschool on site while she worked next door on developing her idea over 14 months.
Ms. Tyroler, center, with her children and Tiffany Frye, another co-founder of Nido.Credit Jeremy M. Lange for The New York Times
Google has been a pioneer in providing day care to its employees but with its Campuses it also provides combination incubator/child care to founders around the world.
Ms. Sielicka-Kalczynska, founder of Whisbear and originally from Poland, connected with various mentors at Google and was invited to a workshop in Palo Alto, Calif.
Google started the first Campus for Moms in Tel Aviv in 2013 and now offers this program on six campuses outside the United States. More than 650 parents have gone through the Google program, roughly 10 percent of them fathers.
Google does not charge for the program or take any equity in the new companies.
“We began as a start-up in a garage, so backing start-up communities is part of Google’s DNA,” said Mary Grove, the director of Google for Entrepreneurs, the Google division that runs Campus for Moms. The company does hope to draw on participants’ loyalty by introducing Google’s tools to start-ups.
Ms. Sielicka-Kalczynska now has a group of Google mentors in several countries. Whisbear just won the top award at one of the biggest baby trade shows in Europe.
It’s great to see new incubators spring up, like the one in Austin for foreign founders and Nido, for moms.
Mentorphile 