It Takes A Village

In Founder Focus we introduce entrepreneurs and change-makers working on innovative startups, social enterprises and SME’s around Aotearoa New Zealand.

At a glance

Founders: Nikki Pak and Sophia Phieros

Business: It Takes A Village

Founded: 2024

HQ: Waikato

Can you tell us a bit about your business?

It Takes A Village is the creation of Nikki Pak and Sophia Phieros — We are two passionate mums committed to solving the babysitting challenge for New Zealand families. As busy professionals and parents, we both experienced the struggle of finding trustworthy, reliable, and available babysitters. This challenge inspired us to create a solution that goes beyond a simple babysitting app. It’s about rebuilding the sense of community that has been lost in modern times.

At It Takes A Village, we connect families with vetted babysitters who are not just caregivers but trusted members of the community. Our platform is designed for Kiwi families who value safety, trust, and genuine connections. We provide a space where babysitters are trained, supported, and empowered to become integral parts of the families they work with.

Our approach is simple yet effective: we combine rigorous vetting processes, including criminal record checks, with a user-friendly app that makes finding a babysitter as easy as a few taps on your phone. Families can view babysitter profiles, including details on allergies and other important information, ensuring peace of mind.

We do this because we believe that every family deserves to feel supported and every babysitter deserves to feel valued. It Takes A Village isn’t just a service; it’s a community-driven platform that brings back the village-like support system Kiwi families need.

What’s the backstory for your business idea?

Sophia and I, both busy professionals and mothers, struggled to find babysitters we could trust. Frustrated by the lack of safe and dependable options, we realised this was a challenge faced by many Kiwi families.

Drawing from our personal experiences and a shared vision of rebuilding community support, we co-founded It Takes A Village—a platform designed to connect families with trusted babysitters, restoring the sense of a village in modern parenting.

What programmes, learning or mentoring, or resources have been of assistance so far?

We have benefited greatly from the SODA Inc. program in Hamilton, which provided invaluable guidance on scaling our business and navigating the challenges of a startup.
One significant challenge we faced was the “cold start problem”—the difficulty of building a two-sided marketplace from scratch. To overcome this, we focused on building strong relationships with both families and babysitters early on, creating a foundation of trust and community that would attract others.