Case Study: Careseekers Capital Raise
Careseekers is an online platform developed by two sisters, Marissa and Lauren, to provide families a more affordable and flexible way of connecting with care support workers. Careseekers is different to agencies as it allows individuals and families to receive care on their own terms.
Care support services have traditionally been inflexible, with little choice and control over who delivers care and when care is received. Careseekers gives families the choice over which support worker they would like to use, through profile matching. Families decide on the types of skills, qualities and support they would like to receive; they post a job online; and, are then matched with a short-list of potential candidates. Carers have detailed profiles outlining their experience, skills and hourly rates, as well as ratings from others individuals who have worked with them. The network of disability support workers and aged care workers on the platform provide a wide variety of tasks, including: personal care, meal preparation, cooking, shopping, cleaning, social companionship, transport and support for daily living skills.
Once individuals and families are connected, they work together to determine a schedule that works for them. They can move times around and add or remove tasks as needs change. Careseekers do not employ support workers. Care and support workers are independent and are engaged by families directly. Care support workers set their own rates, which are often half the price of an agency. This makes in-home care more affordable to access.
Support workers can deliver care in any setting, including, a home, community, aged care facility or group home.
Marissa and Lauren also recognised the potential for technology to facilitate access to support workers in regional and remote areas where services can be more difficult to access.
The Business Challenge
Marissa and Lauren found themselves at a critical juncture in their business life cycle. Over the last few years, Careseekers had demonstrated an existing and growing market need for increased flexibility and affordability of in-home care. However, in order to scale it’s offering Australia-wide and achieve long-term sustainability, additional resources would need to be deployed within their organisation. New business development and customer support staff, as well as technology development would be required.
The Social Impact Hub was instrumental in assisting Careseekers to raise the capital to support this process.
Careseekers, under the advice and mentorship of the Social Impact Hub, secured an Impact Investment Ready Growth Grant, which is a grant offered to Social Impact businesses to help build capacity to secure impact investment. This grant was used to support the development of a strategic plan, financial growth forecast, cash flow analysis, and go-to-market strategy for Careseekers, which would enhance the value propositions underpinning their investment pitch. With a well-defined business strategy and process through which they could achieve scale, Careseekers was successful in building a pipeline of investors, and ultimately were successful in securing investment from a world leading healthcare group in the US.
The Impact Investing Journey
Marissa and Lauren note the journey to securing investment is certainly not for the faint-hearted. However, both knew, no matter the outcome; “.. we believed in Careseekers, and we were still going to run the business.”
Securing an Impact Investment Ready Growth Grant was the first step towards Marissa and Lauren realising their goals.
Securing the advice of industry experts at the Social Impact Hub during the submission process ensured both a successful grant application, and following this, valuable insights into how to craft a business model and social impact measurement framework that would instil investor confidence.
Fifteen to twenty pitches later, and months of negotiation lead to a strategic investment outcome. Careseekers secured financial capital as well as industry expertise and technology capability and support.
Marissa and Lauren added, the questioning they experienced during the pitch process on their vision and business model did feel daunting at times, “..it stops being shiny, turns into a lot of hard work”. This said, both advise future social entrepreneurs to never waiver from the belief in your enterprise – give “..your heart and soul every time..”. Marissa and Lauren, believe the journey brought them to where they are today.
When asked what advice Careseekers could give to other social enterprises seeking to raise impact investment, they both answered, “..surround yourself with the right people and really believe in what you’re trying to build. If you don't, no one else will.”