Swishboom founder Kellee Mikuls announced that her startup would cease operation on November 3. The announcement came as a surprise to many in the Nebraska startup ecosystem as the company had recently been featured by several Omaha media outlets, including SPN, as a solution to the current lack of high quality accessible child care — a problem made worse because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mikuls sat down with SPN for an interview about her decision to close Swishboom.
Swishboom created a mobile app that connected Omaha parents with a trusted network of childcare providers. Mikuls said that babysitting gigs posted on the app were typically claimed by a vetted child care provider in five to seven minutes. The company had announced plans to expand to the Lincoln market in 2024.
Swishboom has received multiple 5-figure cash awards as the grand prize winner of pitch competitions, including the 2023 Minority Small Business Pitch Competition and the 2022 Get Started Omaha Pitch Competition during Startup Omaha Week.
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The startup most recently appeared on SPN in a story about companies implementing creative solutions to address child care issues for their working parents. Mikuls said the lack of traction with corporate clients ultimately led to the decision to close Swishboom.
Mikuls said the company did not sign enough corporate clients during the open enrollment period — the timeframe when businesses select their benefits providers for the following calendar year. Budget freezes were another obstacle as some companies tightened their spending due to economic conditions and postponed their plans to implement Swishboom among their staff, she added.
According to a post on LinkedIn, Mikuls is holding a call for offers for Swishboom (tech stack, branding assets and trade secrets) on November 20.
