Some high school students babysit for extra cash. Noa Mintz launched her own babysitting agency.
Today, Nannies by Noa, a full-service childcare agency serving families in New York City, Brooklyn and the Hamptons, boasts 25 full-time nannies, 50 babysitters and nearly 250 clients. Mintz, a 15-year-old high school freshman, initially began the company to find the perfect sitter for her family.
“A good entrepreneur has firsthand experience of the issues,” said Mintz, who started matching her parents’ friends with caregivers she found on career websites aimed at college students and through word of mouth.
“I want to revolutionize the nanny world,” said Mintz, who personally background checks all of her employees. She places a high value on hands-on caregivers. “I want the nanny who will go down the slide with you, not just stand by and watch.”
Still Mintz hasn’t allowed the company’s success to steal her focus. Last July, Mintz hired a full-time CEO (formerly one of her nannies) so she could focus on schoolwork.
“I have to start thinking about college!” she said.
Nannies By Noa is not the first time Mintz has channeled her entrepreneurial spirit to kick-start an idea. She also uses it for philanthropic efforts. In 2012, Mintz worked with UJA-Federation of New York’s “Give a Mitzvah-Do a Mitzvah” program to create a therapeutic knitting group for young girls in Sderot coping with the trauma of Hamas rocket attacks. In 2014, she joined the board of UJA’s Teen Philanthropic Leadership Council, this year raising money for organizations that aid survivors of domestic violence.
Mintz is also an advocate for inclusion — she is an active volunteer for Friendship Circle, an organization that provides social and recreational programs for Jewish children with special needs. This summer, she is launching Friendship Circle of the Hamptons.
Though she’s not yet sure where the future will lead, improving the lives of others remains her goal.
“There are so many small ways to make the world a better place for everyone,” she said. “If we all help in small ways, the world will change."
Brain boost: Mintz says she thinks of her best ideas while at spin class, where the fast-paced music and motivational instructors give her the boost she needs.
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