Rent A Grandma Shark Tank Update: Is Rent It Still in Business?

If you have ever hired a babysitter only to find them staring at their cell phone while your kids run wild, you are certainly not alone. It is a common and frustrating problem for busy parents.

Back in 2012, an entrepreneur named Todd Colby Pliss stepped into the Shark Tank to pitch a unique, old-fashioned solution to this modern problem: Rent A Grandma.

The idea was incredibly simple but brilliant. Instead of hiring an inexperienced teenager to watch your kids, walk your dog, or take care of your home, why not hire a mature woman with decades of real-world experience?

Even though the Sharks loved the creative concept, Pliss walked out of the Tank without a financial deal. But what happened next? Did the business fail, or did it manage to thrive without the help of billionaire investors?

Here is the complete, fully updated 2026 guide to Rent A Grandma. We will cover their current business status, how much the grandmas actually charge today, how the company is solving a national caregiving crisis, and an exciting new television project based on the brand.

What Is Rent A Grandma?

Rent A Grandma is an online directory that connects families with experienced, mature women for domestic jobs. You can think of it as a matching service for families who want reliable, highly experienced care.

The service aims to fill a massive gap in today’s gig economy. In modern times, families are often scattered across the country, meaning many parents do not have actual grandparents living nearby to help out. Rent A Grandma steps in to provide that special, nurturing touch.

When the business first launched, it focused mainly on traditional babysitting. However, in 2026, the grandmas listed on the site offer a wide variety of services, including:

• Child Care & Nannying: Providing a stable, phone-free, nurturing environment for children of all ages.
• Elder Care & Companionship: Helping older adults who need a friend to talk to, help with grocery shopping, or just someone to make sure they are safe at home.
• Pet Sitting: Feeding, walking, and caring for family pets while owners are at work or on vacation.
• House Sitting: Watering plants, bringing in the mail, and keeping homes secure when families travel.
• Cooking & Chef Services: Preparing wholesome, home-cooked meals for busy families who do not have time to cook.
• Tutoring: Helping kids with K-12 schoolwork and teaching valuable life skills.
• Personal Assistants: Organizing homes, managing daily schedules, and providing extra hands for dinner parties.

The women on the platform are thoroughly background-checked. The main selling point of the company is that these women have a lifetime of wisdom, a strong work ethic, and a level of patience that younger workers often lack.

Who Is The Founder, Todd Colby Pliss?

Rent A Grandma was founded by Todd Colby Pliss, a Long Island native who later relocated to Los Angeles. Pliss is a man of many talents. He is a California-credentialed teacher, but he also has a deep background in the entertainment industry.

Over the years, he has worked as a writer, producer, and director for short films, feature films, and comedy television shows.

Before starting Rent A Grandma, Pliss ran a highly successful tutoring business in California. In fact, he even tutored up-and-coming child stars like the Jonas Brothers!

During his time working closely with families, he kept hearing the exact same complaint from parents. They were incredibly frustrated by young, unreliable babysitters who paid more attention to social media apps than to the children they were being paid to watch.

Pliss saw a wide-open market. He realized that older women who had successfully raised their own families and managed households for decades were often ignored by the modern job market.

He decided to create a platform that valued their wisdom, and the concept for Rent A Grandma was born.

The Shark Tank Pitch of Rent a Grandma

Todd Colby Pliss appeared on Season 3, Episode 8 of the hit show Shark Tank in 2012.

He confidently walked into the Tank asking for an investment of $150,000 in exchange for 20% equity in his company. This specific math gave Rent A Grandma an official starting valuation of $750,000.

Pliss brought a brilliant visual aid to his pitch to prove his point. He had a teenage girl sit on a couch on the stage, completely glued to her cell phone and ignoring everything around her.

Next to her was one of his actual “grandmas,” who was warm, smiling, and even passing out freshly baked cookies to the Sharks. The message was loud and clear: older caregivers provide better, more attentive care.

At the time of the television pitch, Pliss had about 50 grandmas working locally in the Los Angeles area. He told the Sharks that the business had made about $25,000 in sales during its very first year. His ultimate goal was to use the $150,000 investment to start franchising the business nationwide.

Why Did the Sharks Say No?

Despite the clever pitch and the clear demand from parents for the service, the Sharks were not ready to hand over their money.

• Kevin O’Leary was worried about the low sales numbers. At the time, the business model involved Pliss taking a 15% cut of what the grandmas earned. Kevin did not think this model would generate enough money to scale the business quickly.
• Daymond John and Robert Herjavec also decided to drop out, feeling that the current sales were just too low to justify the high $750,000 valuation.
• Barbara Corcoran loved the catchy name but said she just did not see herself working in the domestic staffing industry.
• Mark Cuban thought the business was a genuinely good idea, but he joked that he did not want his personal brand associated with an “old lady rental” service.

Pliss left the Tank without a deal. However, as is often the case with determined entrepreneurs, he did not let the rejection stop him from growing his brand.

What Happened After Shark Tank? The 2026 Reality

Usually, when an entrepreneur does not get a deal on Shark Tank, the business struggles to survive. That is exactly the opposite of what happened with Rent A Grandma.

The massive national television exposure flooded Pliss with phone calls and emails from families across the country begging for his services.

Pliss quickly realized that his original plan to build a massive, highly regulated franchise network was going to be far too complicated and expensive. Instead, he made a brilliant pivot that saved the company.

He transformed Rent A Grandma into an online directory, very similar to websites like Angie’s List or Care.com. Today, the website operates on a much simpler, decentralized model.

How the Business Works Today

Instead of taking a 15% cut of every paycheck the women earn, Rent A Grandma now charges potential caregivers a small, one-time registration fee of $25.

This single fee helps the company cover the cost of running a background check and setting up the caregiver’s profile on the website.

Once the grandma is approved and listed online, families can browse the site, read through resumes, and contact the grandmas directly.

Because the grandmas are considered independent contractors, they get to keep 100% of the money they earn from the families. This simple model allowed Rent A Grandma to expand rapidly without massive corporate overhead costs.

By early 2026, the website features active resumes from grandmas joining from all over the United States, and even internationally in places like the United Kingdom.

How Much Does Rent A Grandma Cost in 2026?

If you are a parent looking to hire a caregiver from the site, you are probably wondering about the price.

In the old days of the Shark Tank pitch, the grandmas on the platform charged between $14 and $20 per hour. However, the economy has changed a massive amount since then.

In 2026, the cost of living has gone up significantly, and caregivers are in higher demand than ever before.

Today, Rent A Grandma does not set the hourly rates. Families and caregivers negotiate the pay directly with one another.

Because these women have decades of experience, they generally charge the going market rate for high-quality care in their specific state. In 2026, the national average for in-home caregivers and home health aides ranges from $33.99 to $35.02 per hour.

However, your specific location matters a lot. For example, the average rate for a caregiver in New Hampshire is around $38 per hour, while the average rate in Georgia is closer to $30 per hour.

Depending on where you live and what services you need, you might find grandmas willing to work for less, or requiring more for highly specialized care like tutoring or culinary chef services.

The following table breaks down the average hourly rates you can expect to see in the 2026 caregiving market:

Caregiving Service Category	2026 Average Hourly Rate
National Average (Home Health Aide)	$35.02
National Average (Homemaker Services)	$33.99
High-Cost State Example (New Hampshire)	$38.00
Lower-Cost State Example (Georgia)	$30.00
Rent A Grandma Las Vegas Branch Average	$20.00

Solving the 2026 Caregiving Crisis

To understand why this business is still thriving over a decade after being on television, you have to look at the current state of the world.

In 2026, America is facing what experts call a severe “caregiving crisis.” The population of older adults is growing faster than ever before.

Between 2025 and 2030, the number of Americans aged 65 to 84 is expected to grow by 7 million people. At the exact same time, it is incredibly hard to find reliable childcare workers and home health aides.

Because professional care has become so expensive and hard to find, regular families are forced to pick up the slack.

According to a 2026 report by the AARP, there are roughly 59 million family caregivers in the United States. These are regular people taking care of their aging parents or spouses for free, providing nearly $967 billion worth of unpaid labor every single year.

Many of these families are burning out from the stress and desperately need affordable, trustworthy help. This is where Rent A Grandma truly shines. It is not just a clever business; it is a vital community service.

By connecting stressed families with healthy, active older adults who want to work, the platform solves two problems at once.

It helps families get the care they desperately need, and it prevents seniors from suffering from loneliness and isolation by keeping them active and valued in their communities.

Women using the platform often report that the jobs give them a strong sense of purpose during their retirement years.

The Las Vegas Franchise Expansion

While the main national website operates as an online directory, the Rent A Grandma brand is still expanding into physical, local communities.

In 2025, an experienced caregiver named Dianne Mayor launched Rent A Grandma Las Vegas. Dianne was already highly experienced in childcare, having been the very first certified postpartum doula in Las Vegas back in 2009.

After becoming a grandmother herself, she saw the huge need for trusted caregivers in a busy, constantly changing city like Vegas.

She partnered with Todd Colby Pliss to bring the brand directly to Nevada. The Las Vegas branch operates with a deep focus on community.

Because so many people move to Las Vegas without their extended families, Rent A Grandma Las Vegas provides a crucial support system. They offer nannies, eldercare companions, and pet sitters, bringing a sense of traditional family warmth to the desert city.

In the Las Vegas market, the local franchise advertises average rates starting around $20 per hour, making it an affordable and highly trusted option for local families who need immediate help.

The Rent A Grandma TV Show Pitch

Todd Colby Pliss has never stopped thinking big. In 2026, he is blending his business success with his long history in Hollywood.

Pliss has written and officially registered a pilot script for a television series titled “Renting Grandma.” He describes the proposed show as a workplace comedy that meets right in the middle of The Golden Girls and The Office.

The TV show script follows four senior women who decide to change their boring lives by starting an employment agency. The main characters include:

• Ida: A strict, raspy-voiced server at a country club who constantly lectures people about their health.
• Nana Pearl: A 76-year-old active woman who loves skateboarding at Venice Beach.
• Mildred: A devoted wife known for baking incredible brownies.
• Edith: A “crazy cat lady” who works at an animal rescue.

In the script, these four women face hilarious challenges as they try to get their business off the ground, dealing with wacky clients and modern technology.

The script is a direct reflection of Pliss’s real-life experiences running the company. It highlights the main message of the business in a very funny way: celebrating the wisdom, humor, and toughness of older adults.

Rent A Grandpa: Fact or Fiction?

Over the years, rumors have floated around the internet that the company launched a formal, corporate “Rent A Grandpa” division. Is it true?

The answer is a little bit of both. If you go to the main Rent A Grandma website in 2026, you will not find a specific “Rent A Grandpa” button or category to click on. The corporate branding is still entirely focused on grandmas.

However, men are absolutely allowed to use the platform. The site features active resumes from older men offering services as personal assistants, tutors, and companions.

Additionally, local physical branches like the Las Vegas franchise openly state that they employ both “grandmas and grandpas” to help families with household chores and caregiving. So, while it may not be a massive corporate division, grandpas are certainly part of the team and ready to help!

Is Rent A Grandma Still in Business?

Yes, Rent A Grandma is absolutely still in business in 2026.

The official website is fully active, and new caregivers are joining the platform every single week.

A quick look at the website’s resume section in April 2026 shows brand new profiles from women in New York, Texas, Massachusetts, Indiana, and Florida offering childcare, cooking, and companion services.

The brand has successfully found a permanent and important niche in the gig economy. They are providing jobs for older women who might have otherwise been forced out of the workforce, while giving stressed-out parents a caregiving option they can actually trust.

Net Worth and Future Outlook

Determining the exact net worth of a private company that operates as a decentralized directory is very difficult.

When Todd Colby Pliss originally pitched the business on Shark Tank, he valued the company at $750,000. Because the company eventually transitioned to a low-overhead model where caregivers only pay a small $25 fee to list their resumes, Rent A Grandma does not generate the massive millions in corporate revenue that a traditional agency taking a 15% cut would make.

However, this low-cost model is exactly what saved the business and allowed it to survive all the way into 2026. The true value of Rent A Grandma is in its strong brand recognition and the immense social good it provides to the world.

With new physical franchises opening, international profiles being created every day, and a potential television series in the works, Todd Colby Pliss proved that you do not always need a billionaire Shark to build a lasting, impactful business. Sometimes, all you need is a good idea, hard work, and the wisdom of a grandma.