Founders Law advises MEplace on its £1.2 million raise to provide holistic early year’s childcare focused on mental and physical health
Cullen Gordge, senior associate at Founders Law, has advised MEplace, a London-based early year’s nursery group promoting both mental and physical health, on raising £1.2 million in seed funding from leading consumer investor Active Partners. Additional participants in the round include existing angel investors Thomas Schreiber, ex Startup Advisor at Google, and Igor Tikhturov and Oleg Tikhturov, Partners at TrueSight Ventures. The new funds will be used to open more sites across the UK capital, including two central London locations, and strengthen their education offering for parents.
Founded in 2020 by Vlada Bell, MEplace is on a mission to empower parents to raise happier, healthier children through its holistic approach to early education that focuses on both mental and physical health. Informed by scientific research into paediatric neuroscience, child development psychology, learning sciences and language development, MEplace’s bespoke curriculum nurtures a concept of self through six key pillars: Mind, Body, Life, Planet, Fun and People. Children take part in daily mindfulness sessions, yoga, park visits, music and play therapy, and eat healthy, mostly organic plant-based food created by a nutritionist. The focus on children’s psychological development is also reinforced by the selection of teachers who typically have degrees in psychology and early years education, as well as in-house teacher training using bespoke MEplace-designed psychology courses.
Since its first two sites opened in Hackney Wick in 2020 and 2022, MEplace has been praised by parents, with an NPS +90 and both nurseries over subscribed. MEplace is also in the early stages of rolling out the MEplace app to help educate parents on how to raise happy and healthy children from a psychological perspective through its childcare academy content and recommended children’s activities. The latest investment will be used to open more sites across London as well as strengthen its parent education offering through its app.
Vlada Bell, Founder and CEO of MEplace said: “I started MEplace because I had trouble finding the right nursery for my son that focused on the mental and physical well-being of children. It was important for me that the carers have a deep understanding of child psychology, emotions, behaviours and could communicate with children in a way that a therapist would approve of. I also wanted my child to be in an environment with a team that shared my values, caring about inclusivity, sustainability, growth mindset, and where he could have a lot of fun.
Nutrition was also a major factor, as I wanted to find a place that served plant-based meals without processed food, sugar, soy, or dairy. I became so invested in my search and learning about child development, that I teamed up with experts to help me create this warm, conscious and nurturing environment for kids.
I am proud of what we have achieved so far, but the best is yet to come, and we are thrilled to have Active Partners onboard to support us in bringing our unique childcare approach to many more children across London.”
On the role of Founders Law, Vlada added: “I couldn’t have asked for a better partner than Cullen and the team at Founders Law. Their expert legal guidance, combined with their unwavering support and dedication, helped me navigate the challenging and intricate process of fundraising. Cullen’s exceptional negotiation skills and interpersonal prowess were invaluable in achieving our desired outcome, while always keeping my best interests in mind. I was impressed by their transparent and fair pricing model and appreciated Cullen’s willingness to go above and beyond, even working out of hours. I look forward to continuing to work with Founders Law in the future and can confidently recommend their services to any entrepreneur seeking a reliable and skilled legal partner.”
Thinking of raising? Founders Law are experts in working with firms on their fundraising and maximising the return on their investment.
Book an introductory chat with our corporate team by clicking here
Cullen Gordge – Senior Associate, Corporate – Founders Law