Chris Bennett
| Chris Bennett | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| 🏳️ Nationality | American |
| 🏫 Education | The Wharton School |
| 💼 Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Wonderschool, Soldsie |
Chris Bennett is a Silicon Valley-based entrepreneur and early childhood education advocate. He is known for being the Co-Founder and CEO of Wonderschool, an education technology company with a network of child care and preschool programs in the United States.[1][2]
Early life and education[edit]
Bennett, the son of Honduran immigrants, grew up in Miami and attended an in-home childcare program. He graduated from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2007.[1] While in college, he started a company called Liquid Books, a textbook reselling business.[3][4]
Career[edit]
After graduation, Bennett worked at a private equity firm in Chicago and then moved to San Francisco. In 2011, he started a non-profit organization called Black Founders, a network that hosts events, hackathons and conferences for founders,[1] and in 2012, he started an e-commerce company called Soldsie.[5][3][4]
While in San Francisco, Bennett learned about the shortage of options for childcare. He started Wonderschool in 2016 with Arrel Gray to address this shortage.[6] Later reports estimated that 51% of Americans live in “child care deserts” without sufficient supply of licensed child care. His company makes technology that enables child care providers to run successful businesses by defining their care philosophies, getting licensed, building a website, and marketing their services. The company has raised $24 million from investors like First Round Capital and Andreessen Horowitz.[7]
In 2021, Bennett gave a TED talk on childcare transformation.[8]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Clifford, Catherine (14 August 2020). "Being a Black founder in Silicon Valley after George Floyd: 'I honestly feel more safe'". CNBC.
- ↑ Peck, Julie. "5 childcare and early-education startups leading the pack in the shift to virtual and pod learning". Business Insider.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 America, North (26 October 2020). "Building a Bigger Tent: How VCs Can Support Black Founders". Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Aladesanmi, Ayo (11 August 2017). "Chris Bennett, CEO of Soldsie and Wonderschool, is a true entrepreneur". Rollingout.
- ↑ Perez, Sarah (15 May 2014). "Soldsie, The Service That Lets You Shop Via Facebook And Instagram Comments, Raises $4 Million". TechCrunch.
- ↑ Shu, Catherine (19 June 2017). "Wonderschool gets $2M to help solve America's childcare quandary". TechCrunch.
- ↑ "Can These Companies Profit Off One Of The Lowest Paid Fields: Home-based Child Care?". HuffPost. 2 May 2019.
- ↑ "A close-to-home solution for accessible childcare". TED (conference).
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