Why we built HappyGarden — from a Noe Valley classroom

Seven-forty in Noe Valley. The first stroller hits the door. Someone still has to be the person with the list.

HappyGarden started here — at Happy Garden Child Care Center, a daycare and preschool in San Francisco. We wanted software that was better and more affordable than what was on the market. The number was never on a page you could screenshot.

So we built it. We ran it on our own rooms first: check-in, messages, the invoice that used to wait until the kids left. Only then did we offer it to everyone else.

The software lockup is HappyGarden, one word. The center keeps its name: Happy Garden Child Care Center, in Noe Valley. We did not wait for a sales team to tell us what a morning costs. We used the product on our own rooms, then put Seedling, Sprout, Bloom, and Grove on a page anyone can read.

If you want the short version, it is on the about page. If you want the number, it is on pricing — Seedling free for up to 4 children, no credit card.