Health tech startups are getting more visibility nowadays—including StoriiCare. The company based in Glasgow, Scotland has been called the “Facebook for care”. It originally started as a life story app for reminiscences but later evolved into an app for care staff, communications between family and seniors, and a safety device for emergencies.
As a social network for healthcare home workers, StoriiCare allows the recording of staff activities and helps families stay informed through updates about their loved ones. The evolution came about when the developers heard the feedback and revision requests from their early clients. The additional functionalities made it possible to improve the level of quality care provided.
Some Details on StoriiCare
Founded in 2014, StoriiCare has been attempting to raise funding of up to £5 million by 2018 to support product development and for marketing and sales campaigns. The first step was when they recently started a crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs. Led by StoriiCare CEO Cameron Graham, the company has also been trying to make a beachhead of California.
Graham recently met with Sir Michael Moritz, the chairman of Sequoia Capital, which in 2013 took a stake in Edinburgh-based Skyscanner with a valuation of $800 million. Sir Michael Moritz joined the board of Skyscanner after the initial Sequoia funding. (In addition, Calum Peterson is also on the board, as the Scottish Equity Partners was an early investor of the company.)
StoriiCare Positions Itself for the U.S.
It’s true that StoriiCare is not yet in the same league as Skyscanner. However, it is actually still in the early stages of funding. It launched a crowdfunding campaign in Seedrs last July, with a £300,000 target. This action might not seem much though, considering that the company is taking aim at both the U.K. and U.S. markets. The reality is that these are lofty goals. And the initial funding target is a bit of a stretch.
StoriiCare nevertheless has already started marketing in the U.S. and has signed its first contacts. At the same time, it was also able to obtain investments from Robert Kilgour. (Kilgour is the founder of Four Seasons Health Care, the U.K.’s largest care provider chain. After selling Four Seasons Health Care, he founded Renaissance Care which is based in Musselburgh. It has 12 care homes in Scotland, with a 560-bed capacity and around 800 staff.)
Now, StoriiCare is opening an office in Silicon Valley in preparation for entering the U.S. market. The U.K. has more than 20,000 care homes, while the U.S. has around 60,000 with an estimated market of around $1 billion. This case is a step up, as the home healthcare industry itself has been slow in embracing technology. Most homes still rely on paper-based systems. And it was only recently that some have installed Wi-Fi in their facilities.
What Care Providers Are Looking For
Markedly, care providers are looking at new technologies and startups that show some proof of concept or innovation specific for the care industry.
StoriiCare started out as a social network for recorded memories but has evolved to allow care providers the tools to keep records of the care home residents. Without this functionality, care personnel would have to spend extra administrative time in writing the reports every day. Instead, the record-keeping can be done in real-time, electronically. This case means the care providers can have their records kept as audio —and these pieces of information can be shared with doctors.
For doctors, these records are invaluable in providing much-needed information about the care home residents. In addition, the records can create a bold impact on the industry. Information may be shared with the residents’ families, as well as shared with specialists for consultation. Indeed, this bold innovation can save a lot of time and effort for parties concerned!
