Siran Cao, CEO of Mirza, joins me to discuss some of the fundamentals of the care economy, including what it means to build a business that is focused on honoring and valuing a workforce that is so vital to the success of our economy.

In this episode, Siran and I dig into the definition of the care economy and why investing in this sector is so important. We also cover how Mirza is solving childcare affordability through zero-interest forgivable childcare financing, how they’re selling this benefit to employers, and some of the unique challenges of operating in the childcare space.

Highlights:

• Siran introduces herself and how her gender studies degree played a big role in her career (0:40) 

• Siran defines the care economy and explains why caregiving is the backbone of our economy (2:52) 

• What Mirza is as a software platform and what problems it solves (5:50) 

• Why employers aren’t spending more money on care related benefits and how COVID is changing people’s perception (11:52) 

• A glimpse of what it looks like to work at Mirza and how the team carries out their mission (14:55) 

• Top challenges of working as an operator in the childcare space (21:16)

• Siran reveals some key insights from working with and selling to employers (25:10)

Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siran-cao 
Mirza: https://www.heymirza.com 
Parento: https://www.parentoleave.com/ 
Elanza: https://www.elanzawellness.com/