Walk through Brentwood Village and it’s almost certain someone will stop Claudia Kahn to say hello. “It really does feel like a small town, and I feel so lucky to be part of it,” she says. As the founder of The Help Company, Kahn has been the one families call when they need the best—nannies, chefs, assistants, estate managers, gardeners or simply an extra set of hands. And in the process, Kahn herself has become a true Brentwood institution.
Her journey here wasn’t straightforward. “I grew up in Ohio, went to college in Arizona and followed my roommate west to LA,” Kahn says. “I never went back.” After stints in fashion, real estate and food, her life changed when she married and had her son, Andrew. Like so many mothers, Kahn needed childcare she could trust but quickly realized there was no easy way to find the kind of caregiver she envisioned—someone who would read with her child, nurture him and become part of the family.
“I wanted someone like me, and they just weren’t out there,” she recalls. “So I started looking on my own.” In 1983, Kahn placed an ad in The Lady, a London newspaper known for its traditional governess listings. “I had a hundred responses,” she says. After finding the ideal candidate for her own son, Kahn decided it was time to help others. She borrowed $3,000 from her parents and started placing caregivers for other families. “I had no idea what I was doing, but it just took off,” Kahn says. “The phone never stopped ringing.” The Wall Street Journal soon profiled her fledgling company, at the time called Baby Buddies, which would later become The Help Company.
Today, Kahn’s business has become LA’s foremost private staffing agency, with headquarters in Brentwood Village and satellite offices in San Francisco and New York. However, its heart remains the same. “We are not transactional,” Kahn insists. “It’s matchmaking. I want to know how people really live, so I can place someone who is the right fit. It has to come from the heart.” That approach has earned her the trust of celebrities, CEOs and multi-generational families alike. “I listen. I care. And I think people feel that,” she says.
The scope of The Help Company’s offerings is expansive. What started with childcare has grown to include estate managers, private chefs, baby nurses, executive assistants, housekeepers, gardeners, handymen—“really anyone who helps a household run,” Kahn explains. The office is overseen by Kahn’s small but fiercely loyal team of women, many of whom have been with her for more than 15 years. “We’re like a family,” she says. On any given day, résumés are stacked on desks, phones ring constantly and interviews are conducted with everyone from first-time nannies to seasoned professionals. “We probably interview 50 or 60 people a week, and maybe one or two are the right fit,” she says. “That’s why people trust us.”
Kahn’s influence has quietly shaped some of Los Angeles’ most dynamic careers. Years ago, a young chef named Travis Lett came to her at just 25, with dreams of opening a restaurant. “I placed him in a home where he could make some money and build his craft,” she recalls. “Five years later, he opened Gjelina.” Another chef, Natasha Price, just opened her first restaurant, Wilde’s, in Los Feliz. And a nanny Kahn placed with a well-known celebrity returned years later and told her she wanted to switch paths and do something that would make a difference in the world. Under Kahn’s encouragement, she got into Harvard, earned a degree in Urban Planning and founded the Kounkuey Design Initiative (KDI), a nonprofit that builds equitable public spaces in underserved communities around the world. “I’ve been on the board since they started and helped fund her first trip to Africa,” Kahn says. “Now she’s teaching at Harvard, UCLA and USC.”
Kahn’s own life in Brentwood has always been part of the story. After getting divorced when her son was very young, Kahn moved to Brentwood and met her now husband of more than 30 years, London-born Anthony Foux, on the tennis court at Riviera. The two live in a storybook country estate in Mandeville Canyon. “My husband built the house,” she says. “It’s where we love to entertain. I have a big table out back and nothing makes me happier than filling it with friends.” Kahn herself is a talented cook, golfer and potter (she installed a kiln and studio in the backyard). Foux, a former investment banker, still plays tennis and golf and acts in local plays. Kahn’s son Andrew, who attended Crossroads School, is grown now, but the school community was formative. “When your kid is young, that becomes your whole village,” she says.
Kahn’s day-to-day is rooted in the neighborhood. “I walk to the Country Mart and love Vicente Foods more than anything in the world,” she says. “I know everyone at the market, including all of the housekeepers.” That community connection is also what drives her philanthropy. A longtime supporter of Human Rights Watch, she has been a vocal advocate for domestic workers’ rights. After the Palisades Fire, when many locals lost their homes and their staff lost jobs, she quickly set up a Go Fund Me to support workers. “We just wanted to help families and the people who work for them,” she says.
The holidays are one of the busiest times at The Help Company. “People call for everything—temp nannies, housekeepers, private chefs for parties,” Kahn says. “Sometimes it’s the whole Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas Eve celebration. Sometimes it’s just a little extra help because the grandkids are visiting.”
At 42 years strong, The Help Company is more than just a business—it’s a legacy. This December, as families prepare for gatherings, Kahn is doing what she has always done: connecting people with kindness and advocating for those who care for our homes.
The Help Company, 115 Barrington Walk; 310-828-4111; thehelpcompany.com
“I wanted someone like me, and they just weren’t out there. So I started looking on my own.”
“It’s matchmaking. I want to know how people really live, so I can place someone who is the right fit. It has to come from the heart.”