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About

AP

Avni Patel Thompson

09/22/17

@ Y Combinator

I started Poppy not because I'm an expert in child care, but because I wanted to solve the anxiety I felt about who was taking care of my daughters.

Video

YC

Building a Startup is About Solving a Problem - Avni Patel Thompson of Poppy

@ Y Combinator

Building a Startup is About Solving a Problem - Avni Patel Thompson of Poppy

09/22/17

Related Takeaways

AP

Avni Patel Thompson

01/31/19

@ Y Combinator

I founded Poppy to connect families with vetted childcare providers, aiming to create a modern village for parents.

AP

Avni Patel Thompson

01/31/19

@ Y Combinator

I realized that the childcare market is inherently margin-challenged, making it difficult to scale Poppy effectively.

AP

Avni Patel Thompson

03/03/18

@ Y Combinator

After my first startup failed, I started talking to parents to understand their biggest challenges, which led me to childcare.

AP

Avni Patel Thompson

01/31/19

@ Y Combinator

Poppy was not a failure; it achieved its mission of helping thousands of parents and caregivers, even if it didn't scale as I had hoped.

AP

Avni Patel Thompson

09/22/17

@ Y Combinator

I realized that many parents are struggling with child care and that the caregivers deserve more recognition and opportunities.

AP

Avni Patel Thompson

01/31/19

@ Y Combinator

I explored three options: pivoting the business, seeking acquisition, or shutting it down completely, ultimately deciding to close Poppy.

AP

Avni Patel Thompson

03/03/18

@ Y Combinator

I realized that what parents really need is a sense of community or 'village' to support them in childcare.

MM

Miles McCain

12/13/24

@ Anthropic

I found a significant number of users asking for parenting advice, which I had never considered before, and it led me to create educational games with my kids using Claude.

AN

Adam Neumann

06/13/25

@ a16z

I realized that my childhood challenges, including my mother's struggles as a single mom and a doctor, shaped my desire to make a difference in the world.