You don’t always need to reinvent the wheel.
Locally based estate management startup Wayforth is continuing its growth spurt with yet another acquisition, scooping up 15-year-old Richmond firm Door to Door Solutions.
The move comes as Wayforth, formerly called Legacy Navigator, leans in to their fast-growing senior relocation business and gobbles up East Coast competitors. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 2016, Wayforth provides home-transition solutions for seniors and their caretakers, which it estimates to be a $30 billion market. It helps families navigate major life transitions like estate management, including estate liquidations, cleanouts, senior move management and bridge financing.
By late 2017, the startup was extending its business beyond estate management to people who were downsizing or moving into senior living communities, and by the beginning of this year, 65 percent of its clients used those services. To mark that shift last year, it acquired senior-focused moving companies Moving Solutions (Haverton, Pa.) and Chaos to Calm (Charlotte).
Door to Door services include in-home consultations, floor planning, sorting and decluttering, packing, moving, unpacking and cleanouts. As one of the largest senior relocation and moving services in Central Virginia, it has managed over 13,000 relocations into smaller homes and retirement communities since its founding in 2004.
Wayforth was co-founded by Craig Shealy and Matt Paxton, who previously founded Clutter Cleaner and hosted A&E TV series “Hoarders.” Shealy said the string of acquisitions is a kind of recruiting strategy.
“Companies like Door to Door have been recommended by senior communities for 15 years, so for us to build those relationships from scratch, that’s tough and takes a long time,” he said. “We found that it makes a lot more sense to add value as a platform to support these businesses in other ways, and integrate our additional services like financing.”
All 29 of Door to Door’s employees are coming over in the deal, Shealy said, bringing the combined company to 140, including part-time staff. Not including Door to Door’s additions, Wayforth has about 40 employees in its Richmond office.
“We are thrilled to now become part of the Wayforth family to further showcase and expand our specialized services in the senior services industry,” Door to Door founders Katie Hamann and Donnie Harper said in a joint statement. “Their dedication and resources, combined with our passion and 15-year history of excellence and experience in senior relocation services, will ensure we continue to meet and exceed the growing needs of our clients both in Richmond and beyond.”
Shealy said Wayforth has taken on funding from private individuals and family offices exclusively in Central Virginia to fuel its acquisition spree, which isn’t over.
“We’ve been very happy with first couple of acquisitions, it’s been a great experience. We think that it’s going to make sense recruiting or acquiring teams that have proven successful in local markets, and we’ll continue to do more of those things.”
