In an interview with GeekWire, Patel Thompson said the company was unable to find a sustainable and scalable business model that could keep prices low for parents and pay caregivers adequately. The unit economics with its on-demand marketplace and larger macro issues with the childcare industry — what parents are willing to pay and what caregivers expect to earn — made it difficult for Poppy to grow revenue and margins, even with the help of technology.
“The economics weren’t sustainable to not only continue but to scale, which is important for us as a venture-backed company,” Patel Thompson said in a phone interview.