Startup Exit Awards: Winner - Top Equity Funding Transaction
Senior caregiving startup Tcare secured $17 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round led by New York-based American Family Ventures. The financing included several new investors in Tcare, including Ziegler Link-age Funds, Unum Ventures, Inception Health, Sompo Holdings and Plug & Play Ventures.
Tcare, which was spun out of research from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, provides an evidence-based analytics program that allows social workers, care managers and care coordinators to help family members and caregivers responsible for seniors. It works with managed care organizations and government agencies as well as health, life and long-term care insurance carriers. The company’s platform is designed to reduce long-term caregiver burnout and limit the need to turn to alternative care options such as nursing homes and hospital stays. Tcare, initially based in Wisconsin, relocated to St. Louis in 2019 after winning funding from local nonprofit startup funder Arch Grants. In January, it announced plans to move to a new headquarters locally at 1252 S. Vandeventer Ave. in the Botanical Heights neighborhood. CEO Ali Ahmadi answered questions about the company.
What made last year the right time for Tcare to raise its Series A financing? In early 2022, Tcare reached an inflection point of growth fueled by the awareness of family caregiver support that the pandemic raised. The pandemic created a market condition for serving families that was best suited for Tcare's proven solution in the market. This generated a massive opportunity for growth in the caregiver support arena, and Tcare wanted to ensure that it maintained its market growth pace in the industry.
What makes the investors in the Series A financing the right investors for Tcare? Due to the amount of interest in the round, Tcare was deliberate with the selection of investors to ensure all could provide strategic value. Tcare did not take any funds for the sole purpose of extending the runway or providing extra capital; instead, the investors in the Series A round have all contributed to commercial partnerships that have already started to bear fruit in the company’s current operations.
How has the company used its Series A financing? Tcare has primarily used the capital to scale hiring in order to keep pace with its partnership growth. Specifically, Tcare has expanded its team of social workers to support caregivers in 10 languages and hired industry leaders across managed care organizations, long-term care insurance entities, employer groups, and most recently, paid caregiving agencies. As a data-driven technology platform at its core, Tcare has also used the capital to revamp its product engineering team and expand its data science capabilities.
Tcare has announced plans for a new headquarters in St. Louis. How is that project coming along? The project, which is being built next to Rockwell Beer Co. in the Grove area, is progressing exactly as expected. The Tcare team is engaging in weekly progress meetings, and the new location is expected to be in operation by the end of this year. TCARE will also be joined in the new building by MTM, the nation’s largest non-emergency medical transportation broker, as Tcare and MTM continue to expand their partnership.
How is being headquartered in St. Louis a competitive advantage for Tcare? St. Louis has provided Tcare with a competitive advantage in several ways. For starters, Tcare is located in between a handful of nationally recognized universities that have built a pipeline of talented students to intern with the company, eventually resulting in several full-time positions being filled by local graduates. Additionally, the startup incubator ecosystem in the area, specifically Arch Grants, has served as a catalyst to attract talent and new companies to St. Louis. Operationally, St. Louis provides Tcare the advantage of being in the center of the country, allowing the company to provide better support for its growing national customer base.
Is Tcare currently hiring? If so, for what roles? Tcare is currently hiring across a number of different roles, including social workers, software engineers, and industry leaders with experience in Tcare’s current enterprise verticals.
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