Yoopies

Yoopies operates as a comprehensive digital marketplace for a wide array of home services, connecting families with caregivers and service providers. The company was founded in Paris, France, in 2012 by Benjamin Suchar and Jessica Cymerman. The idea originated from Suchar's personal difficulty in finding a babysitter for a family dinner, revealing a market gap between expensive agencies and unreliable classified ads. This experience, coupled with Cymerman's perspective as a mother, drove them to create a technology-driven solution.

The platform's initial focus was on childcare, aiming to be a 'Facebook for babysitting' by leveraging social networks and recommendations to build trust. Users can search for caregivers based on detailed criteria like location, experience, and qualifications. To further ensure reliability, Yoopies manually verifies profiles by checking identity documents and diplomas. The business model for its direct-to-consumer (B2C) offering is subscription-based; parents can make initial contact for free but require a monthly or annual subscription for unlimited access to caregivers. Over the years, Yoopies expanded its services to include tutoring, housekeeping, pet sitting, and elderly care.

Recognizing the challenges of a purely B2C marketplace, Yoopies pivoted to a B2B2C model in late 2015, launching YoopiesAtWork. This corporate offering provides employee benefits that help staff balance their professional and personal lives. Companies subscribe to the service, giving their employees access to the caregiver network and other services like emergency childcare and administrative simplification. This strategic shift lowered customer acquisition costs and improved user retention by integrating payment processing and administrative paperwork, which helps parents access tax incentives and subsidies. This B2B solution became a significant growth driver, attracting major corporate clients. In October 2020, the company rebranded its corporate arm to Worklife, reflecting a broader ambition to revolutionize employee benefits with a comprehensive platform and payment card.

Keywords: childcare, home services, marketplace, employee benefits, caregiving, B2B2C, subscription model, family support, work-life balance, administrative simplification