In this episode of The Future of Consumer Marketing, host Roman Kirsch interviews Brett Wigdortz, CEO and Founder of Tiney, a company transforming early childhood education in the UK. After 15 years leading Teach First, which became the largest graduate recruiter in the UK, Brett recognized the critical importance of early years education and founded Tiney to address the shortage of quality childcare. By applying “war for talent” principles to childminding, Tiney is creating a new marketplace that empowers individuals to build their own childcare businesses while maintaining high standards through technology, data, and regulatory oversight. Despite launching during COVID, Tiney has raised over $50 million and is addressing a severely supply-constrained market where quality and trust are paramount.

Topics Discussed:

• Applying corporate talent recruitment strategies to the early childhood education sector
• The science behind early childhood development and its undervalued importance in education systems
• Building a for-profit business in a highly regulated childcare market
• Creating a marketplace model for independent childminders with regulatory oversight
• Using technology and data to ensure quality and safety in home-based childcare
• Marketing strategies in a supply-constrained marketplace environment

Lessons For Consumer Marketers:

Transform Undervalued Professionals Through Business Ownership

Tiney identified that early years educators were severely underpaid despite providing a crucial service. Rather than creating another employment model, they built a platform enabling educators to establish their own micro-businesses, doubling their income while maintaining regulatory compliance and quality standards.

Use Tech to Solve Trust Issues in High-Stakes Markets

In the childcare industry, where trust is paramount, Tiney leverages data and technology to monitor quality, ensure safety, and provide transparency. Their regulatory oversight and data collection systems create the foundation of trust necessary for parents to choose home-based childcare providers.

Focus Marketing Efforts on the Supply Side in Constrained Markets

Recognizing that childcare demand vastly outstrips supply, Tiney directs nearly all marketing resources toward finding potential childminders rather than parents. This insight helped them optimize their performance marketing and referral programs to address the true bottleneck in their marketplace.

Quality Can Drive Growth Rather Than Limit It

Contrary to conventional wisdom that scaling means reducing quality standards, Tiney found that maintaining high-quality standards actually accelerates growth. High expectations attract better candidates and create a positive reputation that fuels organic growth through referrals.

Optimize Referral Programs for Quality, Not Just Volume

Tiney discovered that paying more for referrals yielded better results because referred candidates were more likely to succeed as childminders. This insight led them to prioritize quality of applicants over cost per acquisition in their referral marketing.

Make Continuous Micro-Improvements Rather Than Seeking Silver Bullets

Instead of pursuing a single transformative marketing strategy, Tiney attributes their growth to “about 50 small changes that over time have helped our funnel a lot.” Their ongoing A/B testing and iterative approach to performance marketing demonstrates the value of persistence and continuous optimization.

Build a Senior Leadership Team Earlier Than You Think Necessary

One of Brett’s key learnings between founding Teach First and Tiney was the importance of building a senior leadership team very early. For marketers, this means investing in specialized talent even when it seems premature, as it enables faster scaling and more effective decision-making.