Care advice at hand
THE team behind a review website for aged-care facilities has found success with a telephone-based helpline, which has become, by far, the biggest part of its business.
Gold Coast entrepreneurs Ken Ray and Andrew Henderson launched Aged Care Reviews – agedcarereviews.com.au – in 2014.
They saw a gap in the market for a database of customer reviews for retirement villages that people could easily draw on when going through the decision-making process of selecting a home for themselves or a loved one.
The website, which makes money through advertising from aged-care providers, has collected almost 8000 reviews so far.
Last year they launched Care Decisions, a helpline designed to assist families through the often complex task of trying to select a provider.
Mr Ray said they had flagged a $1.2 million capital raising to help support the growth of the business.
However, the success of Care Decisions had surprised them and they readjusted their plans.
“Given the growth that has happened we did not need as much capital as we thought,” Mr Ray said.
“The business was past break even at the end of last year. Care Decisions is now far and away the largest part of what we do.
“We have moved offices from Sanctuary Cove to Paradise Point and have taken a greater space, predominantly because of that business.”
They ended up raising $400,000 from a Gold Coast investor in April and have used the funds to expand their team, increase marketing, and move to larger offices at Grice Ave, Paradise Point.
Mr Henderson said Care Decisions differs from other services out there through one important aspect.
“It is free, that is the most important part. Helping families through the placement process for aged care is not new,” Mr Henderson said.
“However, it has always cost families $2000 to $4000.
“It is a lot of money at a highly stressful time.”
The business makes money not by charging families, but rather through charging an aged-care provider a flat fee of $1500 when an elderly person is placed with that facility.
Mr Henderson said they have 1000 facilities registered with the business, on the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
Mr Ray said the business has engaged with 5000 families since the start of the year.
He said a lot of their customers come to them at a highly stressful time, when a loved one is in hospital and they have just a week to find a home.