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Working parents need childcare that isn鈥檛 going to cost more than their little one鈥檚 future college tuition. Care providers need a way to navigate the regulatory and logistical challenge of opening a daycare in their homes without losing their minds (and getting paid a fair amount). Therein lies the sweet spot for Boston-based NeighborSchools.

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Using a software platform to make childcare easier and accessible, has raised $3.5 million in a seed round led by . The Boston-based startup will use the money to expand within Massachusetts.

NeighborSchools was founded in 2018 by , , and . I caught up with Garsh, who is also the company鈥檚 COO, after she put her son to sleep Monday evening.

Garsh explained that the company鈥檚 tech platform and support team 鈥渨ork with each caregiver to guide them through the state licensing process, business setup, home setup, marketing, and on-going operations.鈥� The company makes money by signing a revenue-sharing agreement with each caregiver they support, and according to the website, caregivers can聽鈥渆arn up to $90,000 a year doing what you love.鈥�

, where you can 鈥渟tart鈥� a home daycare center. A profile of one daycare, , includes days and times the sitter is free, as well as certifications and ideal age groups.

While the platform doesn鈥檛 cover the costs of certain child care certifications, Garsh said that NeighborSchools walks caregivers through the complex process.

鈥淛ust like you wouldn鈥檛 read the IRS regulations to do your taxes and you would use a system like TurboTax to walk you through step by step, we鈥檙e taking regulatory requirements of childcare and making them digestible.鈥�

Garsh added that beyond this tech platform, 鈥渨e help parents discover daycares in their neighborhoods, learn about the programs, set-up tours and enroll their children.鈥�

One of the company鈥檚 main competitors is corporate childcare facilities, which Garsh said are 鈥渘ot affordable and not accessible.鈥�

鈥淥ne of the things that doesn鈥檛 get talked about is why and what is making [corporate childcare] so expensive.鈥� She pointed to how corporate centers often charge a lot because of space, operations and support teams.

鈥淯nfortunately, that means that parents are paying a lot of money, and that money isn鈥檛 going into the caregivers pockets.鈥� That鈥檚 where, she said, they found the idea for a model like . Keeping childcare in-house through the home daycare model is 鈥渕ore affordable for families, and provides caregivers with more money.鈥�

As a babysitter back in the day, I never got to the world of truly professionalizing my babysitting set ups with various families around my New Jersey suburb. That said, my friends spent summers creating make-shift daycares (and made a good bit of money, too).

If NeighborSchools pulls off creating a professional, replicable way for a trustworthy person to start a childcare daycare, that could be a huge win for many involved.