Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Smart Home
  3. Products

Get your grandparents the best care possible with HomeHero

By

homehero best care for your grandparents screen shot 2015 12 at 1 45 21 pm
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Tech offices across the country may be filled with 20-somethings, but to assume that technology only benefits millennials would just be silly. While geriatrics may not be a particularly hot space within technology, it’s an important one, and filling that need quite elegantly is HomeHero. Rather than trying to develop the 58th wearable that will monitor the health of young, healthy athletes or deliver your Seamless order by drone, HomeHero is instead focused on solving problems for seniors, a demographic that will comprise 20 percent of the American population by 2030.

Co-founder Kyle Hill started HomeHero after realizing firsthand how difficult finding trustworthy caregivers for his grandmother in Seattle really was. Along with Mike Townsend, the entrepreneur decided to address the problem himself, and looked for ways to leverage tech in order to help families find, hire, and manage in-home caregivers for seniors by way of an online marketplace. Today, HomeHero maintains a database of hundreds of caregivers across California. By giving users the opportunity to view high-definition video interviews of potential applicants, HomeHero takes some of the guess work out of finding trustworthy guardians, even if you can’t be there to conduct an interview in person. And because HomeHero allows users and caregivers to send and receive payments online, as well as stay connected with daily text updates, out of sight doesn’t have to mean out of mind.

Recommended Videos

The online platform offers nonmedical services only, but covers a wide range of tasks including shopping, meal preparation, exercise, light housekeeping, companionship, and personal care. Since its founding in 2014, HomeHero has now grown to a team of 18 and recently secured $23 million in a Series A round of capital. 

Related

The secret behind HomeHero’s success, founders believe, lies in its proprietary algorithm, which can “crunch millions of data points in seconds and deliver customized caregiver matches within only 10 minutes, compared to hours or even days for traditional home care agencies.” Using k-means clustering, a type of machine learning particularly useful in examining large data sets to determine similarity based on probability, HomeHero is able to parse through the information of 1,500 certified caregivers across Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Giving a specific example as to the algorithm’s application, HomeHero told me that a recent client “had very specific care needs and needed a caregiver with a wheelchair-accessible car who lived near him. Within minutes, the algorithm was able to find someone who has 15 years of experience with those exact skills and lives right down the street from the client.” And if you’re interested, here’s the formula applied by the algorithm: 

[ (distance * .27) + (punctuality * .16) + (rating * .13) + (skills * .10) + (certifications * .07) + (language * .05) + (acceptance * .05) + (experience + .04) + (response * .04) + (availability * .03) + (earnings *.02) + (newness * .02) + (references * .02) ] * (gender) * (live-in)

So if you’re looking for a way to take care of loved ones from across the world, HomeHero may be able to help. Because not all tech is about smart jewelry.  

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Lulu Chang
Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Best air fryer deals: As cheap as $25
The Costway 16-in-1 15-quart air fryer oven on a table with plates of food spread out around it.

Air fryers are probably some of the best smart kitchen appliances because they not only make frying a lot easier but can also keep you much healthier in the long run compared to a deep fryer. Some of the best air fryers on the market have a ton of great features, giving you the variety of doing things like rotisserie or even having dual baskets to fry two things at a time. So, if you're looking to grab yourself an air fryer, you may want to check out these air fryer deals; they're some of our favorites that we've collected from around the internet.
Bella Pro Series 4-quart digital air fryer — $40, was $70

The Bella Pro Series 4-quart digital air fryer is equipped with a 1,500-watt heating system with an adjustable cooking temperature of up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, which you can adjust through its digital touchscreen that also offers several preset cook modes. The air fryer offers enough capacity to cook meals for about four to six people, so it’s perfect for small families and intimate gatherings. The Bella Pro Series 4-quart digital air fryer also features a 60-minute automatic shut-off timer and a dishwasher-safe basket.

Read more
Best Instant Pot deals: Pressure cookers, air fryers and grills on sale
A stew cooks in the Instant Pot Precision electric Dutch Oven.

Instant Pot is such a widespread brand that if you've ever owned an air fryer, pressure cooker, or toaster oven, you've probably had an Instant Pot at some point. Given that it's a brand that's known for making some of the best air fryers and the best pressure cookers, it makes sense to stick to the brand when looking to buy new small kitchen appliances. That's why we've gone out to find our favorite Instant Pot appliances, whether it's a pressure cooker or a Dutch oven, and collected them all below to help save you some extra legwork.
Instant Pot RIO 7-in-1 Electric Multi-Cooker -- $88, was $100

Not all Instant Pot devices need to cost a lot of money, and this budget-friendly Instant Pot Rio will give you a lot of functionality for less than $100. While it primarily functions as a pressure cooker, you can also use it for cooking rice, making yogurt, warming food, and even sauté. The controls are also pretty simple, so you don't have to worry about pressing through complex menus, and the fact that the lid and internal pan are dishwasher safe means it's really easy to wash as well, which is a huge plus.

Read more
Best elliptical machine deals: From $100 to $1,100
A man working out with the ProForm Carbon EL elliptical machine in a nice apartment.

Going on a fitness journey can be quite difficult sometimes, especially if you're the sort of person who doesn't want to go to a public gym. Luckily, there are a lot of great devices that can offer good cardio, such as elliptical machines. While they can get quite expensive, we're happy to see that even some of the bbest smart ellipticals have solid deals on them, and if you'd rather go for something more budget-friendly, there are options for that, too. To that end, we've gone out and collected some of our favorite elliptical machine deals for you, although you could always check out these excellent treadmill deals if you want a different type of cardio machine.
Sunny SF-E902 Air Walk elliptical machine — $78, was $130

Workout warriors on a budget or with little space to spare should consider the SF-E902 Air Walk. It’s an incredibly simple elliptical machine, yet it still has plenty to offer. It folds up easily to a size half its length, which makes it great for apartment dwellers. It offers a total body workout and the non-slip pedals help simulate a slow walk or a full run. It even has an LCD monitor that displays time, count, calories, and scan.

Read more