Clara

What do they actually do

Clara helps families find in‑home care by matching them with vetted, licensed home care agencies. The current website and FAQs describe Clara as a platform that connects qualified home care agencies to people who need assistance, with Clara operating as a referral agency rather than employing or staffing caregivers itself (homepage and FAQs; site footer) (Clara homepage; How it works; site footer notes "Clara Home Care, Inc. is a referral agency" on articles pages, e.g., article footer).

Earlier YC launch materials positioned Clara as a marketplace to help families find and employ an ideal caregiver directly, including tools for on‑the‑books hiring. However, what’s live today emphasizes referral and matching to licensed agencies, not direct employment or payroll tooling (YC launch; current site: homepage, how it works).

Who are their target customer(s)

• Adult children coordinating care from a distance: They face impersonal agency intake, high costs, and frequent caregiver turnover that forces repeated searches and constant oversight (site language and YC launch themes) (Clara homepage; YC launch).
• Spouses or family members serving as day‑to‑day caregivers: They need reliable backup or respite and dislike the admin burden of switching providers or finding vetted substitutes quickly (How it works).
• Families arranging short‑term, post‑hospital or recovery care: They need placement fast and worry about gaps in coverage due to long waits and opaque intake when timing is critical (homepage; how it works).
• Cost‑sensitive families comparing agency vs. private care: They want lower prices than full‑service agencies but also want to avoid legal/tax risk of paying cash off the books (YC launch and Clara educational content) (YC launch; Clara article hub).
• Busy working adults needing part‑time or flexible in‑home help: They’re frustrated by poor scheduling, unclear communication, and lack of simple tools to coordinate and track care and payments (site tone and YC launch) (homepage; YC launch).

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Personal founder‑led outreach to pilot families via YC/personal networks and local community groups; concierge onboarding where the team handles intake, matching, and early check‑ins. Use warm intros from geriatric care managers and hospital discharge planners to place urgent post‑hospital cases (how it works; homepage).
• First 50: Formalize a few local referral partnerships (hospitals/rehab, geriatric care managers) and run tightly targeted Google/Facebook ads in pilot ZIP codes. Add simple referral rewards for families/caregivers and operationalize fast substitute coverage so partners have a low‑friction reason to send clients (how it works).
• First 100: Scale repeatable channels (paid search/SEO for high‑intent queries, local PR, community posts) and launch a formal referral program plus employer/benefits pilots for working adults. Use performance data to optimize landing pages and partner contracts, while streamlining onboarding flows to reduce friction (homepage; YC launch).

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

The US Home Care Providers industry (which includes medical and non‑medical home care) is estimated at roughly $156B in 2025, indicating a very large, growing market for in‑home services (IBISWorld market size). National median in‑home care rates reached ~$34/hour for home health aides in 2024, reflecting steady price growth (CareScout/Genworth 2024 Cost of Care).

Bottom-up calculation:

A conservative private‑pay, non‑medical TAM proxy: ~600,000 older adults pay out‑of‑pocket for home care annually in the US (HRS analysis), and if they purchase an average of 15 hours/week at ~$34/hour year‑round, that implies ~$15.9B in annual out‑of‑pocket spend (600k × 15 × $34 × 52) (PMC/HRS analysis; CareScout/Genworth 2024 rate).

Assumptions:

• Focuses on private‑pay home care users (excludes Medicaid consumer‑directed programs and Medicare home health).
• Average utilization of 15 hours/week over a full year; actual usage varies widely by need and budget.
• Uses national median $34/hour for home health aide as a proxy for non‑medical personal care rates in 2024.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Care.com (incl. HomePay): Large consumer marketplace to find and directly hire caregivers across categories; offers a payroll/tax service (HomePay) for on‑the‑books household employment, appealing to families avoiding agency margins.
• Honor: Tech‑enabled home‑care provider working with partner agencies to deliver managed, agency‑style in‑home care, including rapid placement and scheduling (HHCN coverage of on‑demand model).
• CareLinx: Online marketplace focused on elder care, connecting families with caregivers and providing a platform for scheduling, communication, and care visibility.
• Home Instead: Large national franchise of local home‑care agencies providing full‑service, non‑medical in‑home senior care through local offices.
• Papa: Companion‑care platform (Papa Pals) delivered mainly via health plans/employers; focuses on companionship, errands, and rides—not hands‑on personal care (service scope PDF).