Episode 5 Jessica Perno, CEO, Parent Day Out

Episode #6 | Guest Jessica Perno, Founder, Parent Day Out, Fairview, TX

Parent Day Out Founder Jessica Perno’s journey from New York to Texas - and ultimately launching her tech startup here - began like that of many entrepreneurs, just looking to solve a problem she herself was experiencing. That led to a lot of research, including weekend playground surveys she conducted with a trusty clipboard in New York City, where she asked moms a simple question: “What would you do with a few hours to yourself?”

Perno says the answers included a few that one might expect, like a date night with a spouse or a spin class. She said what was most revealing were the many blank stares and sometimes teary eyes from exhausted moms who perhaps didn’t even realize how exhausted they were until someone even asked that question.

She had another aha moment that steered her on her path during another research adventure in 2019, this time still a New Yorker and checking out the vibe at Dallas-area Whole Foods markets when deciding where she and her family would ultimately drop their pin on the map.

Not long after, she and her husband, child, and pup made the move and launched their startup, Parent Day Out.

“Parent Day Out is helping parents get a couple hours of their life back. We are able to do so because we recognize they can’t do that unless they have childcare. So our online marketplace connects families across the country with early education providers and childcare centers so they can choose a participating childcare center that works best for them. They book their reservation, [they] drop off their kids; and they enjoy their parent day out,” Perno says.

The platform is currently accessible via a mobile responsive website and covers the nation with content, so parents everywhere can use it to quickly gather information about communities and the licensed childcare centers, public and private schools within them. The database is searchable by zip code, and each school listing yields the data about their programs and more, plus the communities where they are located, down to the nearest Starbucks. Perno says finding well-organized information like this was impossible when she sought it in 2015was as a soon-to-be new mom. Instead of bemoaning the struggle and letting it rest, she nurtured the seed for a new company that now can help other parents.

“Choosing childcare is one of the earliest decisions that you’re even going to have to make when you become a parent, and it’s a very important decision,” Perno says. “I thought that there had to be a better way, and it was time technology helped in doing that.”

Perno’s Wall Street background combined with her cofounder husband’s tech background created a winning combination to launch Parent Day Out. The ability to work remotely aligned perfectly with their desire to seek a different environment in which to raise their child alongside “raising” a parent-and-child-focused business.

And Texas provided the best possible crossroads where a favorable mindset, climate, schools, and resources for entrepreneurship seamlessly intersect.

“Texas as a state made so much more sense to us. First of all, I think they have such a different mindset. They are very welcoming, especially for entrepreneurs and new ideas. They don’t have the walls up, I feel, like as much as New York does. Or the skepticism. Texas behind California is the largest state in which we have the most childcare businesses. So we wanted to be closest to our customers,” Perno says. “For me, getting plugged into entrepreneurs here that are open to sharing their experience has really been extremely helpful. And they introduced me to people that they found helpful along the way.”



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