Sittercity Founder Named in Crain's 40 Under 40
Tuesday, February 19, 2008FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Chicago, Ill.) - One of the most prestigious recognitions a young businessperson can ever receive is to be named as one of the country's 40 Under 40 by Crain's business magazine. Each year, the magazine brings its readers the best and brightest in each city, and this year, the Chicago version of Crain's has eyed Genevieve Thiers, Founder and CEO of Sittercity, for this esteemed achievement. The theme behind this year's list? To uncover those moments that reveal the selected young dynamos' humanity and to make each of these people real, not just really successful.
Labeled by Crain's as "The Singing CEO," Ms. Thiers is most definitely an inspiration for all other up-and-coming, real-life entrepreneurs. In addition to her job as CEO and owner of Sittercity, America's first and largest online resource for caregivers, Ms. Thiers also runs a professional opera company. Aside from running two successful businesses, this year she also planned her wedding and wrote a book about babysitting.
"Companies like Sittercity are literally willed into existence by force of personality," says Chicago venture capitalist Matt McCall, a principal at Northfield-based Portage Venture Partners, which is not an investor in Sittercity. "Genevieve has that evangelical quality."
"Crain's is the 'business bible' for all industry leaders in Chicago and it's been a goal of mine to be selected for 40 Under 40," said Ms. Thiers. "It's a humbling experience to be viewed as a young powerhouse in your city.”
For more information about Sittercity, visit www.sittercity.com.
About Sittercity.com
Sittercity.com®, the inventor of online caregiving, is America's most trustworthy source for child care and pet care, dedicated to making the process of finding a caregiver fast, easy, safe and fun. With access to hundreds of thousands of sitters nationwide, including babysitters, nannies, petsitters, housesitters, senior companions and tutors, care seekers can find a wealth of qualified caregivers in their area by using Sittercity's four-step screening process, which includes references, parent-to-parent feedback, personal interviews and free access to background checks. Registration for sitters is free, and parents pay as little as $8 per month for a membership, which gives them unlimited ability to post jobs, and search, contact and hire sitters in their areas. A true pioneer in its field, Sittercity.com has been featured by hundreds of media outlets, from the Today Show to the Big Idea with Donny Deutsch to the Wall Street Journal. Sittercity won first place in the 2007 UPS Small Business "Out of the Box" contest as well as a 2007 International Davey Award. Sittercity also won the U.S. Small Business Administration Champion Award in 2006 from President Bush, a 2006 Stevie award, received a Webby Worthy Award in 2005 and won the 2005 Women's Business Development Center Rising Star Award. For more information, visit the company Web site at www.sittercity.com.