Pie for Providers Acquired by Lillio

Chelsea Sprayregen, ’17, says childcare providers do some of the most important work in the country but are burdened with complicated paperwork that causes them to lose out on funds. “Government subsidies often go unclaimed because the process is so complicated,” she says.

Determined to help solve the issue, Sprayregen cofounded Pie for Providers, a venture that offers childcare providers software that minimizes time spent on paperwork and maximizes income. Pie for Providers, which won the 2017 John Edwardson, ’72, Social New Venture Challenge, was recently acquired by Lillio, a Toronto-based company that offers a comprehensive set of products for childcare providers across the United States and Canada.

Sprayregen spoke about the acquisition, the ups and downs of building a social venture, and why she couldn’t stop thinking about childcare providers.

What does the acquisition mean for Pie for Providers?

Pie for Providers is focused on helping childcare providers manage government programs. It’s a complex and underserved portion of the market, but it is also only one part of running a childcare business. We envisioned that our software would ultimately best make an impact by fitting into a suite of offerings. We’re excited to be joining Lillio and exploring new opportunities.

How big is the pie?

Government programs for childcare providers are worth approximately $23 billion per year, across a complex web of federal and state programs. During COVID, the federal government made a one-time $50 billion investment in childcare. Not all of that was available directly to providers, but a lot was. But for all these programs the paperwork is overly complex. And, frankly, the systems can be punitive. Providers are afraid of making mistakes and being audited, and so they tend to lowball when they submit their invoices to the government.

Tell me more.

The systems can be dehumanizing. In many states, childcare providers are required to account for virtually every minute of their time. These states are committed to not paying a single dollar for any time that a child was not in care. That’s not how private childcare centers operate. I pay by the month whether my child attends or not. That’s not how the government designs many programs. It’s starting to change, but it is still a problem.

How did Pie for Providers evolve?

We had two phases. We launched as a for-profit social venture. After two years, I took on the role of entrepreneur in residence at Promise Venture Studio, a nonprofit that supports social innovation in early childhood. That gave me the chance to rethink the model. We closed the for-profit and relaunched as an open-source nonprofit that focuses on one thing—government childcare subsidies—and does it well.

What does your product do?

We help providers maximize revenue by getting every dollar of government funding that they qualify for. Our innovative local rules engine calculates attendance following all the state’s complex rules. The same attendance record needs to be billed as an hour in some states and a partial or full day in others. We tell the provider what to submit and what the state should pay. There’s a huge amount of uncertainty in navigating these programs. Providers often don’t know how much they are going to get paid each month. It’s very challenging to run a business if you don’t know what your revenue is going to be.

What are your plans for the future?

Our product is live in Illinois and Nebraska. We are focused on how we can replicate that and grow to more states. We have a platform that we can customize for each state.

What advice do you have for social entrepreneurs?

It’s exciting to be in this moment, but it has also been very hard. There were times when we didn’t know if we had a path forward or if we were going to run out of money, or when we lost key people. It’s easy to tell a story about how it was all sort of inevitable from the beginning, but it really wasn’t. Keep coming back and trying different angles—but also rest, and be realistic about your energy and capacity. 

What kept you coming back?

Everyone in the early-childhood space could see the problem, but no one was prioritizing it. I just couldn’t let go of the idea that there should be better resources for childcare providers. I was also lucky to have strong support networks. The Rustandy Center stuck with me. The 2017 Edwardson SNVC helped clarify my vision, one of my cofounders was a Tarrson Fellow, we received additional support in 2023 for social ventures coming out of the Edwardson Social Entrepreneurship Program ecosystem, and I have always been able to reach out for advice and connections. Entrepreneurs in an underinvested social impact space are trying to solve thorny problems with little investment. It takes a few tries. We are lucky to have organizations that can see that and support the effort.