21. Hometouch

Founder: Dr. Jamie Wilson
Founded: January 2015
Website: www.myhometouch.com

These days, most of the things we need can be found on the web; jobs, used cars, offices, homes and lovers can all be sought out through specialist online platforms. But what about carers?

Disrupting the “outdated” traditional agency model for finding home care, HomeTouch is an innovative platform that matches elderly or disabled people seeking in-home companionship and personal care with vetted, qualified carers.

A doctor specialising in dementia, founder Jamie Wilson would often meet elderly people who needed extra help but wanted to live in their own homes rather than residential care or hospital beds. He recognised that the care system was inefficient and under strain, with carers earning negligible incomes and believe that technology could well be the key to improving this.

And so in 2015 Wilson launched HomeTouch with twin goals of providing a way to find reliable carers easily and efficiently, and also giving carers greater recognition with salaries – according to the business – 75% higher than the average pay a carer receives.

Two years on and HomeTouch has 1,000 customers using its service and recently acquired the UK’s largest database of live carers, with over 25,000 on the platform.

Investors have also taken a shine to the business and it has raised over £1.7m investment from names such as Bupa, Nominet Trust, Passion Capital and 500 Startups.

Over the next 12 months, HomeTouch plans to roll out a live-in care service across the UK and has projected seven figure revenues for the year.

Eventually, HomeTouch aims to become the “UK’s largest online home care service” and we’ll be watching on as it looks to achieve this goal.