EnrichedHQ is an integrated SaaS platform and Marketplace that instantly connects families to live virtual activities for school-aged kids. Pulse 2.0 interviewed EnrichedHQ CEO Carleen Haylett.
Carleen Haylett’s Background
For over 20 years, Haylett held leadership positions in enterprise technology, spanning technology development, product management, marketing, operations, and sales. And Haylett said:
“For the past 15 years, I have led sales efforts focused on highly complex infrastructure programs within Fortune 1000 companies. Having worked for large technology firms like Oracle, Pegasystems, and Infor, I have had the opportunity to solve industry-changing challenges for some of the largest global companies in key verticals such as Healthcare, Insurance, and Financial Services.”
“I am also a single mother of a 12-year-old 6th grader. This experience of needing to piece together the complex needs of caring for my son and managing a highly stressful job was the impetus leading me to build EnrichedHQ. In 2020, I became acutely aware of the gaps in the U.S. educational space when my son began to thrive with homeschooling. The lack of affordable virtual extracurricular programs available for kids his age was astounding. I founded EnrichedHQ to solve the logistical nightmare of finding and managing options for kids who no longer need daycare or a sitter, bridging childcare through high school.”
Formation Of EnrichedHQ
How did the idea for EnrichedHQ come together? Haylett shared:
“Enough! That was the moment I knew it was time to start EnrichedHQ. As a single mom for 11 years attempting to navigate a complex and high-pressure career in Enterprise Technology, I had reached my breaking point of trying to balance it all.”
“The stress and inability to show up fully for my job, my son, and even myself was impossible. Something had to give. A large piece of it was the highly laborious process of finding, engaging with, and managing extracurricular activities, particularly life-skills programs, to support my son’s development journey and augment where traditional schooling and curriculum were leaving huge gaps.”
“As an enterprise technologist, I knew this could be solved with available technology. As a mother, I also knew that every family I encountered was struggling with the same issue. Particularly moms.”
Favorite Memory
What has been Haylett’s favorite memory working for the company so far? Haylett reflected:
“Building a start-up is a lonely business. It’s extremely hard beyond anything I’ve ever done in my life (aside from giving birth), but the journey has led me to build deep relationships with like-minded entrepreneurs on their own journey. I have found a network of incredibly supportive champions who fully understand the rollercoaster that is building a company from scratch.”
“In addition, landing the first corporate customer is of course a major milestone. There is little that beats having a large client who engages in a sale with the solution you’ve built. It’s incredibly gratifying and motivational.”
Core Products
What are EnrichedHQ’s core products and features? Haylett explained:
“EnrichedHQ is a platform and marketplace that brings together best-in-class providers of life-skills-building programs for kids in grades 5+. Here parents select programs from an exclusive community of providers that have been fully vetted and invited to participate in our community. We eliminate the heavy lifting by handling all the logistics for families. Parents can easily find, schedule, manage, and transact with multiple providers across multiple categories, times, prices, and dates to build a comprehensive enrichment program for their kids.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges has Haylett faced in building the company? Haylett acknowledged:
“As a start-up founder of an early-stage venture, it’s always a question of time, money, and resources. There are so many things that you need to get done and an even longer list of things you want to get done. The challenge is forcing yourself to stay hyper-focused on the urgent items and focusing the team on the right place to ensure the right things are getting done AND you’re building a financially viable and sustainable company.”
Evolution Of EnrichedHQ’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Haylett noted:
“Initially, as I was building the platform myself, I utilized prolific ‘off-the-shelf’ tools for their ability to bring solutions to market very quickly and for a very low cost. As the company grew, the limitations of our tech stack became too limited to support our product roadmap. In 2023 the company embarked on a complete re-write and change in the tools utilized to ensure future flexibility and rapid scalability was built in. We’re incredibly proud of this new platform and excited at the possibilities it offers to further simplify how parents engage in the types of activities and providers we offer.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Haylett cited:
“There have been lots. In the start-up world, it can be moment-to-moment wins immediately followed by losses. The initial release of the marketplace platform was massive for us. I largely built it myself with limited outside assistance. In late 2023, the team released v2.0 of the platform, which is a complete architecture redesign that positions us for the growth we anticipate.”
“Being named an Elite 200 EdTech startup in the 2021 GSV Cup competition was a major milestone as validation of our solution in the education market and as an EdTech start-up. In addition, acceptance into the very competitive LAUNCH Accelerator through venture capitalist Jason Calacanis was another major validation of the work we are doing, the market opportunity, and the need for a solution in our particular focus area.”
Customer Success Stories
After asking Haylett about customer success stories, she highlighted:
“Recently, in partnership with a large, global financial services firm, EnrichedHQ hosted a global technology hackathon for the kids of its employees. Each region’s team competed against each other, hoping to be crowned the global winner. Through our partnership with the corporate client, we were able to tap into the company’s technology leadership to participate in launch events, program design, and execution. The kids loved it, and the company employees who participated were excited to hold a second event. Because of the success of this, we are now expanding these exclusive events to other categories like illustration, creative writing, and music.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Haylett affirmed:
“There are three key areas where EHQ stands out:
- Focus on life skills: The programs at the EnrichedHQ marketplace aren’t activities just for activity’s sake—simply to keep the kids occupied. Our focus is to make available and affordable life-skills programs that fill the gaps in what kids learn through traditional school or homeschooling. The current education curriculum isn’t equipping kids with the skills needed to find their passion or even navigate “real life.” Our goal is to fill those gaps so all kids have the opportunity to thrive beyond high school.
- Focus on school-age kids (10 yo+): School-age kiddos represent the largest population of working families in the US. Yet employee benefits (if available) and providers tend to focus heavily on early childhood (daycare, backup nanny services). This leaves about 60% of working parents without support from their companies. In addition, as kids grow, their interests change, and needs evolve. The programs on the EnrichedHQ marketplace are narrowly focused on categories parents have highlighted as needed and wanted for and by their kids.
- Exclusive Activity Provider community: Most other activity marketplaces offer a very broad range of activities and providers in each category. In some cases, it’s thousands of providers offering programs. In our view, this is highly unhelpful for busy parents given the onus still resides with them to weed through the offerings and research the background, curriculum, and certifications of the providers. Parents know that providers who have been invited to join the exclusive EnrichedHQ community are highly vetted, comply with child safety laws, possess the appropriate certifications, and provide the best programs.”
Future Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Haylett concluded:
“EnrichedHQ looks to guide organizations in how they provide family support to all working parents by helping them easily expand beyond simply daycare or nanny benefits. This allows them to include the large population of families with school-age kids with an immediate low-cost, turnkey solution. As a result, working parents are more equipped to balance the competing priorities of work and home. For corporations, it provides financial benefits through the elimination of attrition costs and recruitment of working parents looking for more exhaustive childcare support benefits.”
