Online Care Platform SuperCarers Launches Crowdfunding Campaign to Challenge The UK’s Inefficient & Costly Care System
SuperCarers launches £500,000 crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs
The ‘eHarmony for care’ provides reliable and affordable solution for the four million elderly people in the UK requiring care by 2029
Cutting out the agency middle-man enables carers to earn 70% more per hour
Press Release – London, 31st October 2016: SuperCarers, Europe’s leading online care platform, is on a mission to disrupt the UK’s archaic, expensive and inefficient care system. Technology continues to revolutionise the way Brits eat, travel and shop; now care is providing an ageing population with a safe, reliable and affordable solution. The company has today launched a £500,000 equity crowdfunding round on Seedrs to drive its growth.
Two million elderly people in the UK alone have a care related need and four million will need daily help by 2029 and yet by 2025 there will be a deficit of 600,000 carers in spite of increasing demand.* Local authorities can’t keep up with the increasing costs or scale of care, leaving many without the critical assistance required to live their lives with dignity.
SuperCarers is the brainchild of brothers, Adam and Daniel Pike, who witnessed the inefficiencies of the care system first hand as they were growing up. Reflecting on their Gran’s story in 2014 inspired them to leave their city jobs roles and pursue a viable solution to help other families in the same predicament: affordable, world-class care.
Their story is one that millions across the UK can relate to. The boys’ mother had become the primary carer for their elderly grandma but struggled to balance this responsibility with her other full-time role as mum of two young boys. Grandma Pam was desperate to stay in her own home but because home-care agency support was inadequate and unaffordable she was forced to go into a residential care home, where her health and happiness deteriorated rapidly.
The mission to improve the quality of life for older people, families and carers finally began with the launch of SuperCarers in December 2015. The fledgling business offers a unique solution to the gaping hole in the care market, enabling families to work and manage family life with the assurance that their elderly parents can continue to live in the comfort and security of their own homes.
The company curates a personal matchmaking service where families can find vetted, reliable and compassionate carers for loved ones. SuperCarers matches carers with families based on personality and interest, as well as care need, location and timing.
SuperCarers bypasses the high overhead costs of agency middlemen, without forfeiting quality of care via a user-friendly online platform. The smart technology empowers families to monitor, manage and pay for care independently. This in turn generates a saving that alleviates the financial burdens of traditional care and simultaneously improves the quality and pay of carers.
SuperCarers earn £12.80/hour, versus a typical £7.40, and as a result the platform attracts motivated and compassionate carers.
Smart technology creates a simple and effective platform with transparent payment, care scheduling and communication.
A personalised matching process that tailors care to the requirements of each and every individual.
Says Adam Pike, CEO and Co-Founder of SuperCarers: “The UK’s care system is at breaking point. Carers are trusted to look after the elderly, but they are demotivated, poorly paid and as a consequence have limited incentive to deliver the best possible care. In turn, those requiring care often receive an overpriced, poor quality service that doesn’t suit their needs, and they have little to no control over the process.
“SuperCarers solves both issues. We believe that by empowering and connecting people in the same community, care can become more personal, reliable and consistent. It is our mission to make finding, monitoring and paying for care easier and giving families the tools they need to find the right match for their loved ones. We also want to make care a more rewarding profession, one that is not only personally rewarding, but financially too.”
The brand is currently backed by the founders of Innocent Smoothie via their JamJar Investment Fund (other investments include Deliveroo, Graze and Babylon Health) and Sir Tom Hughes-Hallett, the former CEO of Marie Curie, now the Chairman of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
SuperCarers’s advisory board is made up of experienced leaders in the sector including Alan Rosenbach, who was until recently Director of Strategy of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Paul Burstow, former Minister of State for Community and Social Care, Jan Burns MBE, Chair of the National Dignity Council and Andrea Pope-Smith, Ex-Director of Adult Social Services at two Councils.
Richard Reed, Partner at JamJar Investment comments: “JamJar is delighted to be an investor in SuperCarers. From our experience at Innocent drinks, we understand how important it is to develop a brand that connects with consumers and wins their loyalty. There is a rapidly growing consumer need for care as the numbers of dependent family members increases every year. Although care should be affordable and delivered to the highest standard by someone who is being fairly rewarded all too often this is not the case. The founders Adam and Daniel genuinely understand the sensitivities and complexities necessary to deliver operational excellence and combine a technically slick back end with a great experience for families, older people and carers.”
JamJar Investments is the innocent drinks founders private investments fund. They love, help and invest in high growth consumer brands. Their portfolio includes Graze, Dojo and Deliveroo.
Alan Rosenbach, Director of Strategy of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) says: “I am immensely proud and privileged to chair the SuperCarers Care Advisory Board. We are committed to make sure that our approach to care and support helps older adults to live independently and with dignity. We are also tackling the challenges of social isolation and loneliness. Our platform gives families and individuals total control of their care because they exercise genuine choice about who provides their care and when it is provided. Our SuperCarers are paid handsomely for their work as part of our approach to recognise what a fantastic job they undertake looking after some of our most vulnerable citizens.”
Says Jeff Lynn, CEO and Co-Founder of Seedrs: “We are delighted to welcome SuperCarers onto Seedrs, and we wish Adam and Daniel every success in their crowdfunding campaign. Improving the way care is provided is both a noble and potentially very lucrative ambition, and SuperCarers has a great proposition that is already getting significant traction. Moreover, I have known Adam for many years and have found him to be one of the most impressive and dedicated entrepreneurs I’ve come across. I have very high hopes for this business and its campaign, and I’m thrilled they’ve chosen to work with us.”
*Source: Age UK,, Deloitte: Better Care for frail older people and LaingBuisson: Care for Elderly People UK
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