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Momcierge to the rescue for harried NYers

By Farnoosh Torabi | Special to amNewYork

November 6, 2006

When Monica Halpert was desperate for help planning a dinner party last month, she didn't call caterers or event planners. She didn't flip through Rachael Ray cookbooks or Real Simple magazine.

Instead, she went to Momcierge.com, a new service powered by "two savvy moms with access to everything."

In five weeks the business has signed on 75 full-time members, including Halpert, as well as several ad hoc clients who may need a fast-hand arranging everything from the extravagant to the mundane.

From sending someone's parents a bouquet of flowers on a cruise ship to helping a Wall Street executive find a pair of corduroys, Momcierge co-founders Hilary Valentine and Alyssa Sadoff, both 42-year-old Manhattan moms, have been there and done that. And if they haven't, they know someone who can help.

"We primarily focus on family issues, but we could be helpful to anyone," Valentine said.

For Halpert's get-together, Momcierge organized an Indian-themed evening equip-ped with a chef, a tarot-card reader and a henna artist.

"It was all quality-controlled. [Momcierge] really understood what kind of vibe I wanted," said Halpert, herself a full-time mom and creative director at Blue Fly, a fashion retailer.

She admitted she enjoys drafting long to-do lists but generally fails to cross items off. Instead, she divides her time between work and running after her 7-year-old son. "I'd been looking for a resource like this without even knowing it," she said.

Indeed, Momcierge is unlike your typical concierge service.

"We talked about doing party planning but it seemed so restrictive and so many people were doing it," said Sadoff, who first met Valentine five years ago at a fundraiser at Washington Market School, where their children were enrolled. The idea for the business started in 2005, after years of firsthand challenges of running errands in New York.

"We were trying to find a way to channel the energy into an opportunity that would fit in with our lifestyle," Sadoff said. The two also bring years of life and professional expertise to the business. Combined, Valentine and Sadoff have culinary school, world travel, consulting and book publishing on their resume.

Based out of their Tribeca apartments, the two women started the business with little overhead, using existing cell phones and computers.

Word of Valentine and Sadoff's small business has spread beyond the city.

"We're working with quite a few out-of-town people who are coming to New York to plan itineraries," Valentine said.

"One of the things we pride ourselves on is being able to work with each client," Sadoff said.

Momcierge recently helped a young exchange student from Tokyo who was in desperate need of a business suit for a job interview. After all, said Valentine, "when you're in New York everyone needs a mom."

Now if they could just help get Junior into a private kindergarten.

"That is something we won't even touch," she laughed.

Farnoosh Torabi is a video correspondent for thestreet.com. E-mail her at amSmallBusiness[at]gmail.com.