Sittercity Secures $22.6 Million in Financing Led by Baird Venture Partners

CHICAGO, April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- America's largest and most trusted website connecting families with child care, pet care, eldercare, home care and tutoring solutions, today announced the closing of $22.6 million in financing.  The Series B equity financing was led by Baird Venture Partners (BVP) and New World Ventures (NWV), joined by new investors State of Wisconsin Investment Board, Western Technology Investment along with existing investors Point Judith Capital, Apex Venture Partners and I2A.

Sittercity plans to use the new round of funding to further solidify its dominance in the online care industry by focusing on expansion both domestically and abroad.  To increase its foothold in the U.S., Sittercity will continue to invest in its innovative corporate program, where organizations such as the Department of Defense offer Sittercity as a benefit to their employees. In January 2010, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) officially selected Sittercity's Corporate Program to help hundreds of thousands of military families across the nation find in-home care.  Funded by the Department of Defense, the Sittercity Corporate Program provides all Army, Marine, Navy and Air Force families (including active duty, reserve and guard) with a paid membership to Sittercity through a custom built military portal www.sittercity.com/dod .

Through both investing capital to expand resources as well as leveraging existing relationships with BVP's corporate partners, Sittercity expects exponential growth in this area of its business.  In addition, Sittercity will tap into BVP's global network to help expedite international expansion with a mission to help families across the globe solve their in-home care needs. Benedict Rocchio, BVP partner who specializes in investments in the Business Services Sector with an emphasis on technology and information services, will join Sittercity's Board of Directors to continue to extend Sittercity's leadership position and accelerate its growth strategy.  Adam Koopersmith, partner with New World Ventures, will also join the Board of Directors, and leverage the firm's experience and network in investing in and supporting next-generation commerce platforms.

"We are excited about the opportunity to partner with the management team of Sittercity and build on the success of their business over the last decade," said Rocchio. "Sittercity is representative of the type of business we look to partner with given its strong market position and management team, operating in one of our core subsectors in the information services industry. Further, this investment underscores BVP's longstanding commitment to Chicago and the Midwest, which is fundamental to our strategy."

"Childcare is a multi-billion dollar business with tremendous untapped opportunities," said Martin Clifford, Sittercity CEO.  "The additional funds allow Sittercity to position our current businesses for unprecedented growth while preparing to launch new initiatives that will continue to redefine the in-home care market and meet the needs of families around the globe in new, innovative ways."

About Sittercity.com®

Sittercity.com, the inventor of online caregiving, is America's largest and most trusted online source for child care, pet care, eldercare, housesitting, housekeeping and tutoring.  Sittercity has a network of more than 2 million caregiver profiles nationwide, and helps families and individuals across America find the perfect in-home care provider quickly, easily and safely. Sittercity's care seekers can use the company's four-step screening process, which includes checking references, reading caregiver reviews, conducting interviews and utilizing free access to background checks. Sitter profiles also come with photos, experience, training, safety skills, availability calendars, reviews and more. Our Corporate Program now serves a number of marquee clients, including the Department of Defense, Avon, MasterCard, FOX Networks, Pitney Bowes and Monster Worldwide. For more information, visit the company Web site at http://www.sittercity.com.

About Baird Venture Partners

Baird Venture Partners, the U.S.-based venture capital fund of Baird Private Equity, makes venture capital investments in early and expansion stage business services and life sciences companies. Baird Venture Partners leverages its in-depth sector knowledge, experienced investment team and network of relationships to serve as a value-added partner for its portfolio companies.  For more information, please visit www.bairdventurepartners.com. Baird Private Equity, the global private equity group of Robert W. Baird & Co. (Baird), makes venture capital, growth equity and buyout investments in smaller, high potential companies in the United States through Baird Venture Partners and Baird Capital Partners, in China through Baird Capital Partners Asia, and in Europe through Baird Capital Partners Europe.  Baird Private Equity has a global team of investment and operations professionals across the United States, Europe and Asia, including a team of operating professionals in Asia.  Baird Private Equity and its affiliates have raised and managed over $2.7 billion in capital and invested in more than 240 companies since the 1980s.  For more information, please visit www.bairdprivateequity.com.

About New World Ventures

New World Ventures, closely affiliated with The Pritzker Group, is a multi-stage venture capital firm helping entrepreneurs and management teams build market-leading, world class information technology companies.  Although we maintain a broad, opportunistic approach to our sector interest, current areas of focus include next-generation commerce platforms, enterprise applications, interactive health, social and mobile applications and services, and intelligent energy systems.  Our dedication to active investing combined with our commitment to long-term business building has helped our companies achieve outstanding success. Among these recent exits are Playdom (sold to Disney), LeftHand Networks (sold to Hewlett-Packard) and TicketsNow (sold to Ticketmaster). For additional information visit www.newworldvc.com.

SOURCE Sittercity