Brad- thx for sharing your insights. While I agree property values and regulation keep entrepreneurs from entering the market I wonder what you would see if you looked deeper at the underlying factors driving regulation in childcare, which are of course the risk of injury and death and the inevitable lawsuits and justified or unjustified outrage that would follow. Insurance and a pass the buck attitude is increasingly driving everything to do with children into the laps of overburdened parents. Yet at the same time, parents who expect customized environments for their children (ranging from the understandable like a nut-free classroom to less-so like individualized discipline.) drive the trend because they are unhappy with anything less.

Finally, entrepreneurs use phrases like “move fast and break things,” which does not inspire trust. Regulators could reasonably argue that this is one area where the laws are doing their job, keeping babies safe from disruption!

On another note, Avenues is opening a spectacular pre-K, but it’s not daycare. Anyway, I’d love to chat with you about this sometime. It’s something I think about.