Sean Greene was stuck in traffic. He was on his way back to the Palisades from his job as CEO of MatchCraft in Santa Monica. It had been a long work day and he wasn’t looking forward to the chaos waiting for him at home.
All he wanted was a nice, quiet dinner with his girlfriend, but that was never going to happen because it was too much of a hassle to get a babysitter to watch his three kids and her two kids.
Resigned, he drove through the Alphabet streets, past teenagers playing basketball and baseball. All of these kids had the potential to be babysitters and yet, he had no way of getting them to babysit for him.
And so, in May of 2015, the idea for Bambino was born.
Bambino is an app designed to easily connect Palisadians who need babysitters with Palisadians willing to babysit.
“What we’re trying to do is take the stress out of finding a babysitter,” said Greene, who quit his job at MatchCraft, a marketing company, in September.
What this means is that a babysitter can be hired well in advance or on demand, depending on what is needed. It also means that no paper money changes hands— everything is done through the app—and parents don’t have to wonder how much to pay their sitters.
The app, which launched on June 10, is designed to serve the local community using local babysitters. Anyone 13 and older can register to be a babysitter, although those under the age of 18 need their parents’ permission.
The app requires access to the user’s Face- book page and two letters of recommendation, preferably from people the potential sitter has babysat for before (teachers are also a good reference).
Although this process seems relatively simple, Greene says they’ve run into some issues.
“People are very worried about logging in with Facebook,” said Greene, who believes this worry is founded in a fear of spam or improper use of Facebook profiles.
However, he points out, the choice to sign up through Facebook was made only for the connection factor. For example, the app will show users which babysitters their Facebook friends have used, making it easier to find recommendations.
The Bambino app is free and does not
have ads, which sets it apart from competi- tors like care.com, Urban Sitter and Sitter- city. The company makes money by taking a small portion of the babysitter’s fee, which changes depending on the level of babysitter experience and the number of children babysat.
There are three levels of babysitters: jun- ior sitters (aged 13-15), standard sitters (aged 15-18) and advanced sitters (aged 17 and older). The prices vary per level, with rates starting at $12.50 for junior, $15 for standard, and $18 for advanced. For each additional child under the age of 13 there’s a 10 percent fee.
“We want people to go out and relax,” Greene said. “We’re modernizing the way you find, book and pay babysitters.”
Bambino is currently only offered in Pacific Palisades, but Greene plans to expand it into Santa Monica and Brentwood depending on how things progress.
“I really love this community,” said Greene, who moved to the Palisades from North Carolina in 2009. His youngest son Brady, 13, just finished seventh grade at Calvary Christian School while his middle son Carter, 17, will start his senior year at Palisades High School. His daughter Mackenzie, 19, attends Loyola University of Chicago after graduating from PaliHi last year. Both Macken- zie and Brady babysit through Bambino.
Visit: bambinoapp.com.
By Sarah Stockmman
Palisades News Reporter
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