Melanie Wolff & Darien Williams

For our first-ever virtual episode of The Founder Hour (thanks, Coronavirus!), we sat down with Melanie Wolff and Darien Williams, co-founders and co-CEOs of Brella, an on-demand and high-quality center-based child care. 

A little over 3 years ago, Darien met Melanie on a blind friend date. Darien was an architect living in New York, who brought up the idea of an on-demand childcare space with Melanie, a marketing executive. Both women were working mothers who had not found a good solution to childcare. 

Darien and Melanie moved to Los Angeles with their families and set out to solve a painful problem in their lives (and the lives of all other working moms). Brella was born. 

We spoke with Darien and Melanie about how they got the business going, raising $3 million, how Brella is different than other daycare solutions and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their business and its trajectory, as well as the impact it could have on developing children at a young age.