Today we announced that KinderSystems has merged with one of California’s largest subsidized child care software providers, NoHo Software. I am extremely excited about this important step for our combined company and for our customers in both the state of California and the rest of the United States.
Similar Histories
The origins of both Controltec (the original company name of KinderSystems) and NoHo Software are strikingly similar. Both companies started in the 1990s in California as custom software development shops – NoHo Software was founded in greater Los Angeles while Controltec was founded in the San Diego area. They were both hired by industry leaders in subsidized childcare administration to develop custom software (NoHo’s project was for Child Care Resource Center and Controltec’s was for YMCA Child Care Resource Service). Those projects were so successful that both companies transitioned to a sole focus on building software products for the California subsidized child care space.
As the NoHo business grew, founder Grant Rosove chose to go deep in California where he and his team built a strong and loyal community of child care subsidy administration customers who have relied on NoHo Software to deliver outstanding service to their end clients of families and children. NoHo’s growth was fueled by hiring the right team, listening to their customers and taking feedback to heart. NoHo paired their customer-driven software with exemplary support.
While NoHo was focused exclusively on the California market, KinderSystems’ founder Norbert Haupt chose to take the things his team had learned in California and expand to other states – starting with Iowa. Today KinderSystems’ customer base includes many California agencies as well as state-wide implementations in numerous states including New York, Ohio, Washington and Missouri. Right now, we are in the middle of new state-wide implementations in Arizona and Louisiana. In addition, our COPA (Child Outcome, Planning and Administration) product serves Head Start agencies all over the country.
Combining to Have a Bigger Impact
When I had the chance to get to know the NoHo Software team and learn about the business they have developed, the opportunity to bring our companies together was obvious. Both groups are passionate about delivering innovative technology and exceptional service to our customers – so that they can in turn focus on their own missions. Combined, we are now the largest provider of subsidized child care software in California, serving over 245 child care agencies.
I feel very fortunate to have Christi Davis (former Director of Operations for NoHo) joining the KinderSystems’ Leadership Team as Vice President of California Customer Success. She will focus on serving the needs of our valued California customers. Stewart Wilson (former President of NoHo Software) will also play a key role in the integration of the two companies for the rest of 2022.
Why this is good for all of our customers
Many of KinderSystems’ state-wide child care subsidy implementations were born out of our work in California. When we get things right for our California agencies, we know that we can offer software improvements nationally. By design, our combined company, expertise, and service excellence will benefit all our customers across the United States.
Moving forward my team and I will continue to listen closely to our customers to understand what is important to them and to identify ways that our software can provide innovative solutions to best serve their communities, maintain their standards of excellence, and tackle the challenges that they face along the way. That means we will also continue to be responsive to the regulatory changes that impact the work our customers do. Over time we will strive to bring together the best components of each product line. Even with our similarities, our merged teams have a lot to learn from each other. The wheels are already in motion to ensure that we stay true to our mission of ensuring all players in the publicly funded child care ecosystem have the software systems they need to deliver high quality child care to the families and children they serve.
NoHo customers, I look forward to getting to know you and learning from you. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to me directly.
Read more information in our press release: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kindersystems-merges-with-noho-software-301573113.html
Regards,
Lara
loerter@kindersystems.com
