So many Americans act as caregivers for a loved one. 44 million people spend a substantial amount of their time assisting a chronically ill, disabled, or aging person.  Nearly all caregivers are inexperienced family members who lack formal training and aren’t being paid for their help.  These family situations aren’t merely a statistic… they’re deeply personal, and can often be challenging.

Carewell makes this caregiving role just a little bit easier.  More than an e-commerce storefront offering trusted home health products, the foundation of their service relies on a group of personal “caring experts.”  Trained & experienced guides act as concierges to answer questions and advise customers towards the right product choices on everything from meal replacements, to incontinence necessities, to medical supplies.  Caregivers receive product guidance, curation, and content – as well as human support & empathy – that other ecommerce experiences don’t provide.  Because the needs are personal, Carewell’s offering is personal.

This personal touch stems from the company’s values rooted in family, service, dependability, and trust.  In fact, the Founders, Bianca Padilla and Jonathan Magolnick, met on their own personal journeys to find a way to provide better care for their loved ones.  Soon the Carewell family was born with the first version of the site entirely coded with Bianca’s self-taught front-end programming skills.  Fast-forward to today, and the company is serving the needs of tens of thousands of caregivers each month.

Shifting demographics is leading to an increasing number of us becoming caregivers.  With an aging population, a growing desire to age in place, and the inaccessibility (due to cost) of professional caregivers/homes, more Americans are relying on family members for care.  With $88B spent out-of-pocket annually on home medical products alone, this market represents a massive opportunity.  And while commerce continues to move from physical retail to online, a traditional ecommerce experience (navigating a sea of disparate product listings at multiple retailers) just doesn’t address the individualized needs and desire for a one-stop shop that people caring for their loved ones seek.  Moreover, in a post-Covid environment, shopping for health products for older individuals from the safety and comfort of home becomes even more important.

Carewell’s unique shopping approach to guiding & truly helping creates a family-like bond with customers who then become long-term buyers.  The motto “Family is at the heart of everything we do” is prominently displayed on their website, for good reason.  When I visited the company’s office for the first time (before the height of the current health crises), the enduring impression made upon me was that I was indeed visiting a family, not just a team of coworkers.

Which makes NextView Ventures’s investment into the company announced today (along with co-investors e.ventures and Primetime Partners) so special.  NextView’s thematic investment approach focuses on startups employing technology to profoundly change people’s everyday lives, which particularly resonates here.  Our investment certainly wasn’t merely a financial transaction, or even a close partnership; but rather, with it our firm joined the Carewell Family.  We view that role as a privilege, and one that comes with responsibilities… to the Founders, the team, and every single one of the customers.