ECS Exchange | Celebrating 5 Years of ECS
5 Years of Early Childhood Solutions
From a Solitary Journey to a Team of 10 ✨
Five years ago, Early Childhood Solutions (ECS) was just me. A single-person consultancy built entirely on long-standing relationships, niche expertise, and a deep-seated commitment to the early childhood system. I wanted to build something impactful but growing a consultancy is a creative process that has to be built with business acumen. Doing this as a single entity is daunting but building toward a 10-person team was never in my thinking.
"Employee #1"
Early on, my biggest challenge was figuring out how, and if, I could even hire. My contracts often barred me from bringing in partners without slashing my own hourly rate (which didn't even account for overhead!). When a massive, critical project landed, I hit a tipping point. I negotiated for staff additions, said yes, and hired Employee #1.
It was a huge success, until the project ended. Transitioning that momentum into a synchronous workflow for our other, vastly different projects didn't work. I tried different strategies, leaned on part-time colleagues for structure, and managed to keep things afloat, but focused growth was on the back burner.
Then came early 2025.
From Shock to Scaling
When the Valentine's Day Massacre occurred (#IYKYK), the sudden instability and job losses left many in shock. In the midst of checking in on those I knew were impacted, I casually threw out an idea to Marissa Mota: “You could always join me at ECS.”
Marissa was a powerhouse with an incredibly diverse track record. Months later, as massive new opportunities arrived, ones I couldn't lead alone, I asked her again. Unbeknownst to me, she was already negotiating other offers. But she chose curiosity. She chose ECS.
I was clear with her: this is my last job. If I am going to employ others, it has to be sustainable, and I need a co-leader across strategy, projects, and operations who can eventually take the reins. Together, investing deeply in our team became our priority, allowing us to work smarter in service of our clients.
What started as a moment of loss and despair in our field seeded a beautiful, unexpected era of growth.
Our "Secret Sauce"
People often ask us, “What exactly does ECS do?” While we are still fully defining it, we now know exactly who we are. We are the architects, the optimizers, and the creatives that mission-driven organizations need.
We are Optimizers: We know there is no lack of talent in early childhood, but there is a lot of heavy "people work." We provide the tactics, tools, and facilitation to build workflows that respect individual expertise.
We are Architects: We love to build internal data systems that make technology accessible, actionable, and impactful.
We are Curious Partners: We seek alignment, not just contracts. If ECS isn't the right answer for a client, we will help them find the way, refusing to do duplicative or incongruent work.
We are Creatives: We bring out-of-industry skills, software engineering, community organizing, management consulting, instructional design, to data-reliant early childhood systems strategy.
Driven by Lived Experience
Of all the things I am proud of over these 5 years, it is this: Everyone at ECS has worked with children, families, child care providers, or school systems. We are the very people we work in service to support.
We represent a beautiful tapestry of journeys, originating from South Korea, Mexico, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, the Philippines, and across the US (the Mountain West, Midwest, Northeast, and South). We bring the gifts of these diverse backgrounds into everything we do.
What We Are Thinking About in Year 5
As we cross this 5-year milestone, our focus is shifting from rapid scaling to intentional sharpening. Here is what is on our minds for the year ahead:
Stabilizing our organization: Ensuring our internal structures are as robust and sustainable as the work we do for clients.
Growing our impact and reach: Expanding the depth of our contributions to the field.
Staying true to our strengths: Doubling down on what we do best as innovators, operators, architects, connectors, and solvers.
Looking Ahead: We are exploring new ways to serve the broader early childhood community, including opportunities to share resources, build connections, and create spaces for learning and collaboration. This year, we hope to release new membership offerings to serve our community even better. Stay connected, we always welcome your feedback and ideas!
Gratitude to Our People
From a solo toddler teacher to the founder of a brilliant team of 10. Thank you to everyone who has trusted us, partnered with us, and grown with us.
Thank you to every client who trusted us, every partner who collaborated with us, every colleague who encouraged us, and every member of our team who helped build ECS into what it is today.
If you are working to strengthen early childhood systems, build organizational capacity, or create more effective ways of supporting children and families, we would love to connect.
Learn more about ECS, follow our work, and join the conversation: earlychildhoodsolutions.org
The next five years are just beginning. Here’s to building stronger systems together. 🤎
