(upbeat music) >> From Phoenix, Arizona, theCUBE, at Catalyst Conference. Here's your host, JefF Frick. (upbeat music) >> Hey welcome back everybody, Jeff Frick here with theCUBE. We are in Phoenix, Arizona at the Girls in Tech Catalyst Conference. About 400 people, fourth year of the conference. Something in the water here in Phoenix, every time we come down here to some Women in Tech event. We were here two years ago for the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing which was fantastic, so we're really happy to be here, get a wide variety, really of women in tech stories from the people here at the conference, so we're excited by our next guest, Tejal Shah, the founder and CEO of Kid Admit. Welcome. >> Well thank you for having me. >> So what is Kid Admit? >> So we help parents search, compare, and apply to preschools based on criteria that's important to them. And so we partner with the schools, we give them the technology to bring their admissions process online, hence making it easier for parents to find schools nearby to them and based on criteria like philosophy that's important, schedule, that sort of stuff. >> So just for preschool? >> Right now just for preschool. The bigger vision is to add more products and services as the kids get older and so we'll have this great, rich data set of information on parents, so then we can give them more relevant recommendations and things that fit in their lives for their kids, like other extracurricular activities and that sort of stuff. >> So it's kind of like helping people with the college admissions process but for-- >> For preschool. >> The five year old right? So I mean, I've got kids, it seems like it's really kind of a function of proximity, is probably the number one thing, or is it in route to my office so I can drop the kid on the way to or from. What are some of the factors that are less obvious that people use in kind of deciding where they want their child to go to preschool? >> Yeah, I mean parenting has changed, because everything is available on the tips of your smartphone, so everyone is researching so many more things that are trying to make it more relevant to the child. It's not like, "Oh we're going to send the kid down the street "to the nearby preschool" anymore. It's like, "Oh we really want this philosophy "because they're going to excel in that." And really, that's kind of the more subtle things that parents are doing now is because it's so easy to find this information, matching up what's going to make their child succeed in these environments. >> And then how are the preschools, because now that you are saying that, I'm thinking of all these preschools in our neighborhood, that are very, very different, in kind of look and feel and the way they operate. How are you collecting that data, how are they getting you that data? How excited are they to have the opportunity to actually communicate how they're different, rather than whether they're on the main strip to the freeway? >> Yeah, it's actually really exciting, because I think the technology has changed so much since we started Kid Admit. And at first, there was a little bit of hesitancy, because people are like, "What are you doing? "What is this? "Why do you need a technology solution here?" And as technology has changed so drastic in the last few years, all of these schools are very excited to be part of a platform that makes their reach a lot bigger. You don't have to just put up fliers in your neighborhood anymore. You can attract people in a slightly bigger geo code. And there's been a lot of new preschools opening up as well for the demand. And it's nice for them to be able to be a part of a platform and easily get to families really quickly. >> Okay, so just a little bit more on Kid Admit. So you said you're three and a half years old? >> Yes, correct. >> And did you raise some outside funding? >> Yes, we raised 1.15 million dollars over a pre-seed and a seed round, so we're still early stage. >> Congratulations. >> Thank you. >> And what metro areas do you operate in? >> So we're in about 9,000 preschools across 20 states, and we're poised to be nationwide soon. So we are actually here in Phoenix, we just launched here recently, which has been pretty exciting. And yeah, so we actually have listings for more than that many schools, but the ones that partner with us. So we get the information from the state licensing, and then we do our own data, and get more data on our data-mining efforts. After that, we reach out to the schools directly, so they become member schools, and then they can add any information that they need that makes their program special. And with that, once they be part of the platform, then it's easier for parents to navigate the whole process. >> And from how many preschools do generally people kind of search through, what's kind of their tam if you will when they're trying to figure out their preschool? They start with how many and whittle it down to one, what do you kind of see? >> Yeah, so it's interesting. Most people only hear about five, and then you go on Kid Admit and the search in San Francisco, there's 357 preschools so, obviously that's not the pool that they're going to go after, it's probably based on a couple of criteria filters, it will probably whittle down to maybe 10. And so now you're not researching 350, you're getting down to 10. But even if they go a little bit specific, it's usually they'll really evaluate about four to five. >> And what are the top five factors? Not necessarily the value in the factors, but the factors that they're looking at that help drive the decision? >> Yeah, location is definitely a big, big factor. You want to make your life as convenient as possible, and you don't want to have to, if you're dealing with work, and kids, and if you have multiple kids, you want to keep that obviously pretty proximal. And it could be on your way to work too, like you mentioned earlier. Then philosophy, so Montessori, Reggio, is it play based, those, and schedule is a big thing, whether you want part-time or full-time. Interestingly, people talk about price, but ends up being a secondary factor, cause people want what's best for their children, and they want to see what all of those options that are available. >> What is the most surprising factor that you had no idea mattered so much to people as you've gone through this process? >> That they think that it's going to dictate the rest of their child's life on this first educational milestone. And it's just surprising that how it's completely false. And it's just crazy to see how much people still buy into this. >> Right, right. It's like the old Seinfeld episodes right? From Manhattan, and people trying to get in that first, getting in that school, but that's not what you're about at all, you're really about just knowing what the options are and finding the right fit. >> Yeah, we want to like democratize it a little bit, get the access to it. So a lot of people in Manhattan, or even San Francisco hire consultants to help for this, and they're like $15,000 to help you just with preschool. And so you can search Kid Admit for free, you get to see all the information, things that giving access to more families to make better choices for their kids, and it's all about finding a nice environment for your kid, who's going to develop a life-long love of learning. That's the only thing about preschool that makes it great. >> And how did you come up with this idea? >> So I have kids myself, and I went through the process. It was super, super crazy cause Google didn't spit out any results when I did this, my oldest one's seven and a half. And when I was pregnant, people were like, "Are you on the wait list?" I'm like, "I don't even know my child, "how am I going to go and find a preschool at this stage?" So I didn't take that advice, I'm like, "You know what. "I will do this when it's appropriate, "and I feel comfortable." And I did, and then I created this crazy spreadsheet, and cause there wasn't a lot of information available on the internet, so I'd have to call around, and ended up being another full-time job of mine. And once I created this, then a lot of my friends started using it, and using it, and so that was kind of the start of Kid Admit. >> Awesome. So we've had a lot of conversations here over the course of the day, about pivoting and getting involved in tech, and not necessarily being a tech person, and changing career paths. We talked a little bit offline before we came on air, you've got kind of an interesting journey. You started out as a mechanical engineer I think you said, and then got into finance, and now you're doing a kid based, basically marketplace exchange. >> Yes. >> How did that happen? I think I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur, though I didn't quite, was not truthful to myself when I was younger. I became a mechanical engineer. I worked at Ford Motor Company right out of school designing fuel systems, and then I did a lot of other things. Ended up in finance and I kept switching these careers, but I learned all these different skill sets. And all these different things then when you become CEO and start a company, they actually really are very relevant cause you get to, I have to book keep, and manage my own finances for the start-up. I've had to, for when I did financial services, I also cold called. I did that when I started doing early customer development. I did marketing for a medical devices company a long time ago and that's part of it. So all of this journey, as different as it is, it kind of led me to be able to be a generalist to start a company. >> Right, and then what was the tipping point that you said, "Okay, I'm doing it. "I'm going to start this company, I'm going to quit my job and do this?" >> Yeah, so I wanted to leave financial services after 2008. So it's been a-- >> Good timing. >> Yeah, well, but I still stuck onto it for two more years, because in that timeframe, actually four more years, in 2010 we left to start our own wealth management firm, my husband and I, and then I wanted to ramp that up before I could actually formally leave to start my own. So I always wanted knew I did it, but I wanted to have the timing, as well as the idea. >> Right, right. Okay so we're running low on time. So what advice would you give to the budding entrepreneur out there that's got an idea, that's just needs that final little kick out of the nest to go for it? What are some of the learnings that you can share, and advice that you would give them? >> Yeah, you'll never have, you'll never be ready. Just like anything else in life. You just have to kind of take that leap of faith. You're not going to know everything on the journey, and there's something sweet about that. It's something, I kind of miss some of the naitivity I had when I first started this because it keeps you really excited and passionate and relevant in that. And tenacity, resourcefulness, you definitely have to have those things. And just enjoy the journey cause as much as it's a high and low and roller coaster of a start-up experience, you definitely have to enjoy it. And I've gotten to do some really amazing, amazing things and meet some incredible people along the way, and I relish those times. >> Excellent. Well, Tejal thanks for sharing your story with us. >> Well thank you, thanks for having me. >> Absolutely. So great story on entrepreneurship. Eventually you've got to jump out of the nest. It's never easy, but as you said, there's never a right time. You just got to go for it, like everything else that's important in life. So thanks for watching, we're here at the Girls in Tech Catalyst Conference. I'm Jeff Frick, you're watching theCUBE. Thanks for watching. (upbeat music)