Childcare capital
that bridges the subsidy lag.

Childcare is one of the hardest businesses to run in America. You are running a service business with the unit economics of a school, the labor structure of healthcare, the licensing burden of a regulated facility, and the cash dynamics of a deferred-payment receivables business. State staffing ratios determine how many children you can enroll regardless of demand. Square footage requirements determine how much expansion is even possible. Background-check compliance, professional development, and CDA credentials shape the labor cost. And then a meaningful share of your revenue arrives on the state's payment calendar, not yours.

Traditional bank lending was not built for this. Banks ask for two years of tax returns, want flat monthly revenue, and treat subsidy receivables as if they were retail AR. They don't understand the CCDBG payment cycle, the state-specific quirks of voucher reimbursement, or the difference between a private-pay center and a subsidy-heavy center. SBA loans take 45 to 90 days to close — long after the licensing approval window has expired or the senior teacher you wanted to hire has signed somewhere else. Goliath was built for childcare operators whose work is essential, whose cash cycle is real, and whose capital needs deserve a partner who understands both.

What we fund inside a daycare or childcare center

Facility build-outs — licensing-compliant room divisions, age-appropriate restrooms, food prep areas, fencing, and the playground installation that meets state requirements. Equipment and curriculum — cribs, cots, age-appropriate furniture, sensory tables, classroom technology, and curriculum platforms like HighScope, Creative Curriculum, or ABEKA. Hiring and staffing through enrollment expansion — lead teachers, assistant teachers, infant-room specialists, and the floater coverage that protects ratios. AR bridges for subsidy reimbursement delays — CCDBG, state vouchers, child-care assistance programs, and Head Start partnerships where payment can lag service by 30 to 90 days. Marketing investments — particularly for centers building out infant and toddler waiting lists where unit economics are strongest. Multi-location expansion and acquisition of existing licensed centers. Working capital across the summer enrollment dip. Compliance upgrades and inspection-driven facility work.

What we don't ask for

We don't run hard credit pulls to quote. We don't ask for two years of tax returns. We don't require collateral on positions under $250K. We don't demand enrollment reports from your child-care management system. We underwrite from bank statements, time in business, deposit pattern, and the texture of how the center operates.

Childcare underwriting at a generic lender misreads several things almost every time. Tuition cadence — whether you bill weekly, biweekly, or monthly — creates deposit patterns the engine doesn't recognize as recurring. Subsidy reimbursement arrives in lumps that look like inconsistency rather than the scheduled receivable pattern it is. Ratio-driven payroll is heavy and rigid, and looks higher than the deposit rhythm justifies until the algorithm understands the licensed-capacity math. Our underwriters read all of it correctly. They look for tuition-cadence signatures, the regularity of state-agency payment identifiers across months, and payroll rhythm consistent with the licensed capacity the center is operating against.

We calibrate to your tuition-subsidy mix. A private-pay center serving primarily working professionals gets a structure sized to weekly or monthly tuition deposit consistency. A subsidy-heavy center serving CCDBG, state voucher, or Head Start families gets a structure that accounts for the longer payment cycle, often with AR bridge funding rather than daily debit. Mixed-pay centers get blended structures that reflect both books. Faith-based and nonprofit-adjacent centers underwrite cleanly when bank statements show consistent deposit identity from the supporting organization or the tuition base.

Childcare segments we fund every week

Independent daycare centers from $400K to $5M annual revenue. Early learning centers and preschools with state-approved curriculum. Infant and toddler specialty centers with stronger unit economics. Faith-based preschools and church-affiliated centers. After-school care programs serving school-age children. Summer camp and seasonal programs layered onto year-round care. Bilingual and Montessori centers serving premium private-pay segments. Centers with significant subsidy revenue including CCDBG and state-voucher heavy operations. Multi-location childcare groups consolidating advances or opening a new center. Franchise childcare operators in major brands like Goddard, KinderCare, La Petite Academy, and Primrose. Family childcare homes scaling into licensed center operations.

Common childcare funding scenarios

A state subsidy program restructures its payment schedule and the center is suddenly carrying 60 days of receivables on 40 percent of its enrollment. We fund the AR bridge so payroll runs unimpeded while the subsidy schedule normalizes. A licensing inspection identifies required facility upgrades — ventilation, fencing, an additional sink in the infant room — and the center has thirty days to comply. We fund the upgrades same week so the inspection passes on the follow-up visit. A neighboring center closes and twenty families need placement; the operator needs to convert a storage room into an additional toddler classroom and hire two more lead teachers. We fund the conversion, the staffing, and the enrollment marketing in a single position. A senior teacher with a state CDA credential becomes available from a competing center and the operator wants to hire her before she signs elsewhere. We fund the hiring bridge inside a day.

The pattern is consistent. Childcare opportunity arrives on the enrollment calendar and the state's payment timeline, not the bank's lending calendar. The cost of waiting is bigger than the cost of capital. The childcare operators who scale through the next decade are the ones whose capital is ready when the licensing window opens and when the next family calls about availability.