How Clara is Transforming the Home Care Industry

Clara is an innovative start-up that was founded in 2024 with a mission to transform the in-home care industry. By creating a seamless marketplace, Clara connects families with local home care aides, addressing critical gaps in the current market. The platform provides solutions for employment and care management issues that have long plagued the industry. Clara stands out by complying with government regulations, ensuring that home care aides are classified as W-2 employees, and offering a comprehensive platform for payroll, taxes, and insurance. This simplifies the process for families, making it as easy as working with an agency.

Who Founded Clara and What Inspired Them?

Clara was brought to life by Ian Gillis and Jon Levinson, two former colleagues from Uber. Their journey into the home care industry was driven by personal experiences and professional expertise. Both founders have faced the challenges of managing care for loved ones, which inspired them to use their tech backgrounds to address issues in the over $120 billion in-home care industry. Ian Gillis, serving as the CTO, brings a deep understanding of technological innovation, while Jon Levinson, a former product leader at Uber, applies his product management skills to reimagine how Americans find and manage in-home senior care. Their combined experiences and insights drive Clara's mission to deliver better health outcomes for seniors and peace of mind for their families through cutting-edge technology.

How Does Clara’s Marketplace Work?

Clara’s marketplace is designed to make finding and hiring in-home caregivers as easy and stress-free as possible. The process begins with families providing details about their care needs, budget, and location. This information is then used by Clara’s care experts to match families with the perfect caregiver from a pool of highly-vetted, experienced, and certified local caregivers. The process is simple:

1. Describe Your Care Needs: Families fill out a questionnaire detailing their care requirements, budget, and location.
2. Receive Matches: Clara's care experts use this information to match families with the most suitable caregiver.
3. Interview and Hire: Families have the opportunity to interview caregivers to ensure a good fit before making a hiring decision.
4. Manage Payroll and Compliance: Clara’s platform automates the process of employer registration, payroll, taxes, and insurance, ensuring that families are compliant with legal requirements and protected from liability.

What are Clara’s AI-Enabled Care Management Tools?

In an era where many family members no longer live near their aging relatives, managing care can be a daunting task. To address this challenge, Clara has developed a suite of AI-enabled care management tools. These tools integrate data from internet-connected in-home devices with on-the-ground input from caregivers. The result is a system that provides intelligent insights and updates, ensuring that families and healthcare providers are always informed about the quality of care being provided. These tools help maintain high standards of care and offer peace of mind to families who want to stay involved in their loved ones' care, even from a distance.

What Makes Clara’s Payroll and Compliance Platform Unique?

Government regulations require home care aides to be classified as W-2 employees, which can be a complex and time-consuming process for families. Clara’s payroll and compliance platform is designed to simplify this process, making it as easy as working with an agency. The platform automates employer registration, payroll, taxes, and insurance, ensuring that families are compliant with all legal requirements. This not only protects families from liability but also ensures that caregivers are properly compensated and receive the benefits they are entitled to. By taking care of these administrative tasks, Clara allows families to focus on what really matters – providing quality care for their loved ones.

How Does Clara Ensure High-Quality Care?

Clara’s commitment to quality is evident in its rigorous vetting process for caregivers and its ongoing care management. Every caregiver in Clara’s network undergoes thorough background checks and certification verification to ensure they meet the highest standards. Clara also provides ongoing training and support to caregivers to help them deliver the best possible care. Additionally, Clara’s care management team is available seven days a week to address any concerns and ensure that care remains reliable and effective. Families can trust that they will be matched with caregivers who are not only qualified but also dedicated to providing compassionate and high-quality care.

What are the Cost Benefits of Using Clara?

One of the significant advantages of using Clara is the cost savings compared to traditional care agencies. Clara charges only a 15% fee each time payroll is run, which can result in savings of up to 40% compared to agency fees. For many families, this can amount to around $35,000 per year. By reducing costs without compromising on quality, Clara makes high-quality in-home care accessible to more families. This cost-effective model ensures that families can find, hire, and manage caregivers without the financial burden typically associated with care agencies.

How Does Clara Simplify the Hiring Process?

Clara has streamlined the hiring process to make it as simple and hassle-free as possible. The process starts with a quick questionnaire where families provide details about their care needs. This information is then used by Clara’s proprietary matching algorithm and care advisors to find the best caregiver match. Here’s a step-by-step look at how the hiring process works:

1. Questionnaire: Families complete a five-minute questionnaire about their care needs.
2. Care Advisor Consultation: A dedicated care advisor helps understand the specific nuances of each situation.
3. Matching Algorithm: Clara’s proprietary algorithm, combined with the care advisor’s input, matches families with the optimal caregiver.
4. Interview: The care advisor facilitates interviews to ensure a good match. If the family is not 100% comfortable, Clara will find a better fit.
5. Hiring and Management: Clara’s platform handles all logistics, making hiring and managing caregivers straightforward and compliant.

What is Clara’s Mission and Vision?

Clara draws inspiration from its namesake, Clara Barton, who dedicated her life to improving health outcomes through systemic change. Clara's mission is to empower seniors and their families by providing them with the tools and support they need to take control of their care. The company believes that by leveraging technology, they can reduce costs, eliminate waste, and improve the lives of millions of aging Americans and care professionals alike. Clara is committed to reimagining home care from the ground up, delivering better health outcomes and peace of mind to families nationwide.

How is Clara Funded and Where is it Available?

Clara is a pre-seed stage company backed by Virtue, a leading early-stage health venture capital firm. The company’s marketplace is currently live in the San Francisco Bay Area, while their consumer-facing senior-care payroll and tax management solution is available nationwide. With strong financial backing and a clear vision, Clara is poised for growth and plans to expand its reach, continuing to innovate and improve the home care industry.

Why Choose Clara for In-Home Care?

Clara offers a comprehensive, tech-enabled solution for families seeking in-home care. By simplifying the process of finding, hiring, and managing caregivers, Clara provides high-quality care without the headaches associated with traditional methods. Families benefit from significant cost savings, legal compliance, and a commitment to quality. Clara’s dedicated care management team ensures that caregivers meet the highest standards, and their AI-enabled tools provide families with intelligent insights and updates on care quality. For families across the United States, Clara represents a new standard in home care, delivering better health outcomes for seniors and peace of mind for their loved ones.