Dec 26, 2016
Admit it: You hate running your kids around. And chauffeuring children to and from after-school activities, play dates and, you're a separated family, to their dad's house, is one of the dregs of parenthood. It is for me. And finding a safe driver, with their own wheels, available for the inconsistent chore of schlepping kids to and fro is a chore in and of itself.
Enter HopSkipDrive, the Uber for kids. Founded in 2013 by three moms of little kids, the California startup is coming to a city near you. To thank for this gift is co-founder and CEO Joanna McFarland, herself a Los Angeles married mom of two sons, whom I interview in this fun interview. Joanna and I discuss:
- How the three founders birthed HopSkipDrive.
- Why so many customers are divorced families (drivers serve as intermediary between the homes of contentious parents.
- Why the service is such a great job for moms.
- The mom guilt that pressures women to assume the onerous task of kid-schlepping.
- How outsourcing this (and other mom duties) enhances earning potential and quality of family time.
- Why this may be one of the only jobs that enthusiastically accepts 'motherhood' as work experience.
- The joys and challenges of entrepreneurship as a mom of young children.
- How McFarland balances her demanding career with family and marriage.
- No, says McFarland, a former investment banker, HopSkipDrive is not a competitor of Uber or Lyft.