The Doodle Bugs! Story

When Anthony, Anna and Clarine Insinna founded what would become Doodle Bugs! Children’s Learning Academy back in 1992, they never expected the organization to grow into a leading childcare provider in three states. Entrepreneurship and education just happened to run in the family.

“My whole family, we're all kind of entrepreneurially minded,” said Anthony. “My father had a barbershop in Depew for nearly 50 years. My mother was a Buffalo school teacher and taught Italian language classes in the evenings and summer. Together they owned a few rental properties.”

Anthony caught the entrepreneurship bug early. At the age of 10 he was delivering newspapers and by 12 he started mowing lawns in his neighborhood. As he added customers, his mother would drive him around until he enlisted the help of his cousins who could drive. Together they created a small landscaping company that eventually employed 10+ people. In high school he went on his own and after entering college he partnered with his childhood friend and next door neighbor. Together they created one of the largest landscape companies in the Buffalo area before Anthony would sell off his shares in 1994.

Anna and Clarine, meanwhile, followed in their mother’s footsteps to become teachers.

“My mom was a teacher and her love for it brushed off on me,” said Anna. “I always thought I would do this.”

“When you have a parent as a teacher it just seems to come natural,” agreed Clarine.

After high school, both sisters entered college to study education.

“We made this place look great,” said Anthony. “And then we opened the doors and nobody came.”

Anna admits the first few months were a bit "depressing," but the siblings didn't give up.

Every morning, Anna and Clarine arrived early just to turn the lights on. People stopped for information, but it took three months before Building Blocks enrolled their first child.

“Joey,” Anthony remembers with a smile. “He was the sweetest kid ever.”

Joey’s mother had heard about the sisters' backgrounds in education. She valued their qualifications, and not just because she wanted Joey to have a head start in school. Joey had special needs. In the early 1990s, very few daycare providers had ample training to accommodate him.

Joey enrolled at Building Blocks, receiving the epitome of individualized education: two teachers all to himself. It wasn't long before he gained some classmates. Within six months, Building Blocks hit capacity.

It was time to expand.

“I think we’re all in the mindset of doing what’s right,” said Anthony. “That’s the way we’ve operated our business since day one. Even if we take losses, we’ve always been dedicated to doing the right thing.”

In 1999, most child care facilities in the area were located in converted buildings or people’s houses. In Anthony’s words, “nothing was designed for the job” of child care. It didn't seem right to the Insinnas.

“So we decided to do a ground-up facility built exactly the way we wanted,” said Anthony.

The siblings studied leading centers across the country, identifying trends that would come to define modern child care providers. They combined these trends with their own educational philosophy, designing a center like nothing else in Western New York.

“Between starting our research and opening, it was an over 2-year process," said Anthony. "But it was an instant success.”

The center opened in East Amherst, NY in 2001. With an indoor playroom, computer lab and extracurricular offerings like Spanish, dance and tae kwon do, it dramatically raised the standards for child care providers in Western New York.

That spirit of innovation has made Doodle Bugs! an industry leader in everything from curriculum to accreditation to center security.

Since designing their first center and expanding their curriculum, Doodle Bugs! has seen plenty of firsts. In 2007, Doodle Bugs! expanded into the Rochester, NY area; in 2013, they made the move into Pennsylvania; and in 2014, Doodle Bugs! opened their first Florida center in Palm Beach County.

Growth has led to recognition and reward. Doodle Bugs! currently enrolls over 3,600 children and has been chosen as the official childcare provider of the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Steelers.

In 2016, Doodle Bugs! refreshed their brand to match their growth, creating a new logo, website and, of course, a new Doodle Bug (along with his friends, the Doodle Buds).

The Insinnas are as excited about Doodle Bugs! now as they were when it first started.

“We still light up as if it were 1992,” said Clarine. She credits the staff and teachers for Doodle Bugs’ longevity.

“If it weren’t for the faces of Doodle Bugs!, we wouldn’t be celebrating 25 years.”