Care.com is often called the Amazon of care, and Sheila Lirio Marcelo, the company’s founder and chief executive, couldn’t agree more. “We’re the one-stop shop for all different kinds of care, whether for nannies, tutoring, housekeeping, pet walking, and more,” she says.
As a working mom, Marcelo started the online caregiver marketplace when she needed help caring for her two sons and dogs. Marcelo, 42, has grown the Waltham company in seven years to the largest online care destination in the world, with 7 million members.
She jokes that her proudest accomplishments of last year were that her son turned 21 — and also that Care.com expanded globally to more than 15 countries, beefed up online security and safety filters, and added payroll services. Marcelo also led the company through a $50 million venture funding round last year, one of the five largest investments in a digital business in 2012, according to Rock Health, a start-up incubator.
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Marcelo is pleased that Care.com is viewed not only as a technology site but a service portal. "The emphasis is on care, not the dot-com," she says.