As the U.S. prepares to grapple with the “silver tsunami,” a term used to describe the wave of baby boomers in or entering retirement, one Richmond startup is looking close to home to meet this group’s emerging needs.
Online caregiving platform Naborforce, the brainchild of former finance executive Paige Wilson, lets seniors connect with community members for rides, errands, light help around the house, or just a few hours of sipping coffee and chatting.
“It’s like having a son or daughter on demand,” said Wilson, who envisioned the platform as a way to provide seniors with assistance they need to age in place, and also the compassion and companionship that bring joy to the process of aging.
The Naborforce model, Wilson said, is “driven differently” than a traditional caregiving model. “Nabors” are intended to be more of a peer than a typical service provider and can be booked for as little as an hour, as opposed to the typical 4- to 8-hour minimum generally instituted by care agencies. Costs run $25 to $30 per hour depending on the time of day.
While the arrangements may feel more informal, Wilson said a key function of Naborforce is to relieve seniors and their families of the onerous legwork of finding reliable care providers. The startup conducts in-depth interviews with all of its Nabors and runs 50-state background checks, pulls driving records and reviews references. An agreement with Scott Insurance further makes sure that all parties are protected.
Seniors are only half of the two-sided market that Naborforce aims to serve. The other half, the Nabors, are also intended to respond to what Wilson called humankind’s “desire to connect again.
“The gig economy has opened up this whole new world” of untapped resources, she said, pointing to the number of recent retirees or empty nesters who are no longer primarily driven by financial need but instead turn to volunteering or Uber driving to fill hours and give back to their community.
The Naborforce platform, Wilson wrote in an email, allows Nabors the flexibility “to work on-demand – much like Uber, naming their own hours, working only when they want to.”
In addition to developing the technology needed to make the Naborforce platform easy to navigate, the startup, which held its soft launch Aug. 16, has already begun gathering data from users to guide its growth.
So far, companionship and transportation have been the two top drivers of the platform's use. One client, Wilson said as an example, booked a Nabor for a Sunday drive, during which the pair cruised through all of her old neighborhoods.
Since its launch, Naborforce has taken on about eight clients and 16 Nabors as part of what Wilson called a “very deliberate” rollout in the Richmond area. A member of Startup Virginia, the company has been bootstrapped so far.
“The longer I can keep other people’s money out of there, the better,” Wilson said.
She sees Naborforce as a “blue ocean” company – one that identifies a need that no one else is involved in remedying – and is eager to move full steam ahead before competition enters the marketplace. As it refines its model and platform, the startup is working to develop the capability for Nabors to route their fees to particular beneficiaries if they so choose.
Still, Wilson said, while the technology is what facilitates the interactions that lie at the heart of Naborforce, “The Nabors are what drive it. We’re only as good as our neighbors.”
