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About 55 million people in the United States are 65 years of age or older, representing about 16% of the population. Between the 2000 and 2010 censuses, the 65 and over age group increased by 15.1%, which is significantly higher than the 9.7% growth rate attributed to the entire population.
As people grow older, vital questions about living conditions inevitably arise: should they settle in a multi-family retirement home or perhaps move in with their families? But a study by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) indicates that 87% of adults aged 65 and over would prefer to "age at home," that is, live at home and in their community, regardless of their age, their income, or abilities.
In this context, Umbrella is committed to helping homeowners later in their dealings with their neighbors through a workforce-based market.
Founded in 2017, the Brooklyn, New York-based company today announced a $ 5 million fundraising drive by Thrive Capital, with the participation of the US-based company. Urban Alphabet Innovation, Sidewalk Labs, Inspired Capital, Capital Refactor, Maveron, Collaborative Fund, Trailmix, Box Group, and a host of individual investors.
Community support
Much like a "TaskRabbit for the Elderly", Umbrella invites members of the local community to sign up and offer their services – from moving boxes to shoveling snow, to changing bulbs, painting, fencing, raking leaves or cleaning houses. These members of the community are what Umbrella calls "neighbors" and do not work for nothing. Jobs are billed at $ 20 per hour, although neighbors give Umbrella a $ 4 cut. Neighbors may also choose to receive less money, the difference being allocated to low-cost work for low-income seniors in the neighborhood.
Members looking for help pay $ 199 a year to access the Umbrella market.
The founding members of Umbrella have both left Sidewalk Labs to launch their new startup. CEO Lindsay Ullman was previously director of Sidewalk Labs and partner of Alphabet's investment arm, GV. President of the company Sam Gerstenzang He was also an investor in the well-known venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and directed the product at Imgur.
"Our members use Umbrella to maintain their independence and stay in touch with their communities – whether it involves help for the home or meetings with other people in the area," said Ullman. "We are the easiest way for seniors to continue to live in the homes they love, rather than the traditional alternative of" seniors. "
The neighbor-centric application allows workers to search for open jobs, track work they have accepted, and change their profile, while the community's "neighborhood ranking" introduces some competition into the mix .
Above: Umbrella: Neighbor app
Membership application allows individuals to book a new job and search for neighbors and professionals by job type.
Above: Umbrella: Member Application
Umbrella interviews and examines "neighbors", including checking their backgrounds and references. For more complex jobs, Umbrella provides access to a group of licensed professionals – from electricians to engineers – who bill what the company calls a "fair price".
There are other platforms designed to help people find help or to make other people work at home. But Umbrella has been specifically set up to promote and nurture a community spirit – having the fence painted by someone who lives nearby or mowing the lawn can potentially create social bonds. According to the company, more than half of Umbrella's neighbors are also recent retirees.
Umbrella sits in the micro-trend of businesses focused on growing and operating the "community," such as the Nextdoor Neighborhood Social Network which raised $ 123 million for a value of 2.1 Billion dollars and Amazon launched last year its Neighbors app to help communities report crimes.
Market adjustment
Although older people represent a potentially huge market, they have been largely ignored by technology investors – but that could change. In the United States, more than 40% of seniors (aged 65 and over) now own a smartphone, compared to only 13% in 2013. In addition, this demographic often has significant resources for Internet services, which could allow to startups like Umbrella viable and – above all – more attractive to investors.
"Umbrella is building the leading consumer brand for the elderly, an audience with the greatest spending power in the country and paradoxically often ignored by companies manufacturing new products," said Jared Weinstein, General Partner of Thrive Capital.
It should be noted that Thrive Capital has already invested in another senior-focused start-up, Honor, which provides on-demand care to seniors at home. Last year, Honor raised an additional $ 50 million, raising total funding to $ 115 million.
Although Google's sister company, Sidewalk Labs, has made headlines for its ambitious plans to turn Toronto's waterfront into a smart mini-city, the Alphabet subsidiary has made several direct investments in startups over the past two decades. last two years. Cityblock Health, a graduate of Sidewalk Labs, aims to help low-income Americans – including the elderly – gain access to health care.
"Umbrella represents the kind of local multi-generational communities we believe in at Sidewalk Labs," Dan Doctoroff, CEO and President of Sidewalk, told VentureBeat. "By creating a new type of community infrastructure that supports aging on the ground, we can create a new standard for living in a targeted way with age. When Lindsay and Sam told me that they were leaving Sidewalk to sue Umbrella, it was obvious that we wanted to be part of it.
Umbrella currently serves New Jersey and Long Island. However, thanks to a new injection of funds, he plans to extend the service to the whole country this year. And while there are no imminent projects for international markets, Umbrella said that this is of interest to Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.
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