The First Years Parentpreneur Grant Program Awards $13,000 in Funding to Support Bay Area Businesses Founded by New Parents

(JANUARY 18, 2016) ― Recognizing that running or starting a business with kids in tow can throw a lot of unpredictability into life’s journey, The First Years – a leading global juvenile products manufacturer – launched its inaugural Parentpreneur Grant Program in fall 2015. New and expecting parent entrepreneurs from across the United States were invited to apply for a pool of grant funding totaling $50,000. Today, The First Years proudly announces the three new businesses in the Bay Area that will receive a total of $13,000 in grant funding to help new parents make their dream jobs a reality.

Following are the Bay Area recipients of The First Years 2015 Parentpreneur Grants:

Bytes for Bits (San Francisco, California) – $6,000 grant recipient

Michael Leeder (dad of 6-year-old Dylan and 4-year-old Connor) and his business partner Jim Tsiamis (dad of 11-year-old Grace, 6-year-old Theodore, 5-year-old Charlie and 4-year-old Jack) created an after school camp for elementary school kids that teaches the fundamentals of software coding. They provide a project-based learning environment, allowing kids to learn in a fun and collaborative setting. For more information, visit bytes4bits.com.

Bytes for Bits will use its grant funding toward covering the cost of 19 existing Chromebook devices, and purchasing 23 additional Chromebook devices – enough to cover five classrooms and 120 students.

Curiosity Pack (El Cerrito, California) – $4,000 grant recipient

Lily Jones (mom of 3-year-old Matilda and 10-month-old Milo) delivers age-appropriate activity kits to inspire a child’s love of learning while supporting parents’ involvement in their child’s education. For more information, visit curiositypack.com.

Curiosity Pack will use its grant funding toward printing and manufacturing materials for the packs, package design, packaging for retail sales, consulting with leaders in mathematics education, and testing products in classrooms and with families.

Petite Marin (Mill Valley, California) – $3,000 grant recipient

Rachel Schohn (mom of 10-year-old Nathaniel, 7-year-old Juliet and 2-year-old Theodore) and her business partner Melina Harper (mom of 7-year-old Tabitha and 5-year-old Miriam) are launching a sustainable children’s clothing line. They will offer both a ready-to-wear line incorporating vintage textiles as well as custom garments made from their customers’ own button-downs. Their eco-couture company will upcycle treasured garments into classic clothing for the next generation to enjoy. For more information, visit petitemarin.com.

Petite Marin will use its grant funding toward hiring a pattern maker to create patterns suitable for use to upcycle more garment types, to expand its size range offering, and for traditional and social media marketing.

More than 100 applications for individual grants of up to $10,000 were submitted by innovative parents who are running small businesses founded less than five years ago, and parents with new business concepts. These entrepreneurial pursuits and ideas are being developed and overseen by smart, savvy and creative new parents, all with at least one child under five years old.

“For more than 60 years, The First Years has manufactured juvenile products to help prepare new and expecting parents for the unpredictable journey of parenting, from stopping the food fights during mealtime, to soaking up the fun during bath time and providing tools for successful potty training,” says Lynne Mello, Vice President of Marketing Communications for The First Years. “Our Parentpreneur Grant Program recognizes that running or starting your own business while also caring for little ones takes these daily parenting challenges to a whole new level. We were blown away by the innovation and creativity we saw coming from today’s parent entrepreneurs, and were thrilled by the response we received.”

Each grant program applicant was evaluated by The First Years judging panel based on the strength and validity of their business concept or plan, ability to demonstrate need and specify what grant funding will be used for, and ability to best express why their entity is deserving of funding through the application and related supporting documents.

“For the grant program’s inaugural year, The First Years is proud to award funding to ten deserving businesses, including three from a variety of industries all located in the Bay Area,” added Mello. “We’re excited to see how our grants will help these entrepreneurial parents reach their goals.”

For information about the additional seven businesses from across the country that received funding through The First Years Parentpreneur Grant Program, and to see photos of each of the 10 grant recipients with their families, please visit thefirstyears.com/grants.