Online disability platform Hireup gets NAB, Myers backing

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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/online-disability-platform-hireup-gets-nab-myers-backing/news-story/3cea24a6f100f0380b686846ac30d856 (ขนาดไฟล์: 1301)

Quentin Miller of Impact Generation Partners with HireUp team Laura and Jordan O'Reilly.

The Myer family, National Australia Bank and a host of wealthy individuals and family offices are backing a new disruptive technology that allows Australians living with a disability to choose their own support workers and manage their care online.

The online start-up HireUp is the brainchild of brother-and-sister team Jordan and Laura O’Reilly who looked on helplessly for many years as the system failed their younger brother Shane, who passed away in 2011 at the age of 21 due to complications with cerebral palsy.

Years earlier, their own father tragically passed away when they were teenagers. “As a family we lived the frustrations of the system every day — that is what has motivated us to start this company. We feel like we are doing it in Shane’s memory and his honour and it is a real celebration of his life,” said Jordan O’Reilly, who also saw the system up close as a home-care support worker.

His sister puts it another way.

“For me it was a powerful experience in watching Shane’s life — just the impact that a good carer, who was a good match for him, could make. It had such an impact on his life when it was right.

“It is not just about aligning a person’s disability with a support worker but the best support worker for them and seeing the power that can give in an individual’s life.”

HireUp brings online technology and social networking to the disability sector by creating a platform allowing people with disabilities to connect with support workers online.

It also claims to lower the overheads required to cover the cost of administrative necessities like managing payrolls, invoicing, tax, superannuation, insurance and training.

Ms O’Reilly said HireUp users were saving between $5 and $25 per hour when compared with traditional agency fees.

“We found the current system was so expensive. The care provided to Shane was very precious because it didn’t go very far as the hourly rate was so high. That was a real issue,” she said.

“The market needs to change, we do need to do things differently and technology needs to be much more widely used.”

HireUp is another example of the emerging phenomenon of impact investing, where an investment in a company provides investors with a financial return as well as providing social returns.

The space is attracting the attention of some of the nation’s biggest superannuation funds, most notably HESTA, which last year made the largest single commitment to the local impact investing market by pledging $30 million to the Social Impact Investment Trust managed by Social Ventures Aus¬tralia.

Impact investment is also firmly on the national political agenda, with the Fin-ancial System Inquiry recommending a discussion paper on the topic with NSW, South Australia and Queensland at various stages of introducing social impact bond programs.

The growth of the sector has spawned a new advisory firm, the Melbourne-based Impact Generation Partners, which helped HireUp to get “investor ready” and then raised capital on its behalf. IGP was founded last year by former Myer Family Company executive Amanda Miller and Quentin Miller, formerly a managing director at global investment bank UBS.

HireUp and IGP went out in the second half of 2015 to raise $2m from investors. The offering was heavily oversubscribed and after scale-backs they ended up raising $2.5m from 17 investors.

They included Australia’s leading philanthropic foundations including The Myer Foundation, the William Buckland Foundation and Melbourne’s Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, as well as a number of wealthy individuals.

“We have been with HireUp from its inception. It represents for us our first impact investment — we put in $500,000 as part of capital raising,” said Leonard Vary, chief executive of The Myer Foundation.

“Their (the O’Reillys) lived experience was something that motivated us. They understood the issues, they lived with them and imagined a disruptive process that could change this industry.”

HireUp also received a grant as part of NAB’s $1m Impact Investment Readiness Fund, which provides grants to help prepare social enterprises to become investor-ready.

Corrine Proske, NAB’s head of Community Finance and Development, said HireUp was one of six businesses supported by the fund with a grant of $70,000. “There are some great entrepreneurs and some great people who want to invest in this space, but to link them and build sustainable businesses, there is a real gap,” she said.

NAB and the investors in the capital raising were particularly attracted to HireUp because of its compelling and highly scalable business model in the context of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

HireUp says its base rate also comes in $6.18 cheaper than the NDIS efficiency pricing model, meaning users save this amount every hour they use a service through HireUp which can be used for more care, for other items in their care package or simply be retained as a cost saving by government.

“Overall what we are seeing is the NDIS is providing some clear revenue streams for enterprises and forcing some traditional not-for-profits to rethink their business models,” Ms Proske said. But she rejected any suggestion that HiredUp was seeking to exploit disabled people by “milking” the NDIS funding, noting it was actually charging less than the NDIS allowed.

“We had a clear look at this business and met with Jordan and Laura and they have come from a space where it was their younger brother using these services,” she said. “They are not here to make a quid out of it — they are here to support those who use the service. It is as much the intent as it is the impact itself — the intent here was key.”

Mr Vary said impact investing specifically contemplated the coexistence of a commercial solution with social benefits. He said there was nothing wrong with making a profit from the practice. “Just because something has the capacity to be commercial and efficient doesn’t take away from its importance in terms of improving the lives of Australians,” he said.

Jordan O’Reilly said the $2.5m funding round would give HireUp “18 months to two years of runway”. “Our plan says break-even in the not too distant future and we are working really hard towards that,” he said. “Looking forward there are other markets such as aged care that can use technology like this. But the focus for now will be the disability space.”

ที่มา: url] วันที่โพสต์: 8/01/2559 เวลา 13:22:27 ดูภาพสไลด์โชว์ Online disability platform Hireup gets NAB, Myers backing

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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/online-disability-platform-hireup-gets-nab-myers-backing/news-story/3cea24a6f100f0380b686846ac30d856 Quentin Miller of Impact Generation Partners with HireUp team Laura and Jordan O'Reilly. The Myer family, National Australia Bank and a host of wealthy individuals and family offices are backing a new disruptive technology that allows Australians living with a disability to choose their own support workers and manage their care online. The online start-up HireUp is the brainchild of brother-and-sister team Jordan and Laura O’Reilly who looked on helplessly for many years as the system failed their younger brother Shane, who passed away in 2011 at the age of 21 due to complications with cerebral palsy. Years earlier, their own father tragically passed away when they were teenagers. “As a family we lived the frustrations of the system every day — that is what has motivated us to start this company. We feel like we are doing it in Shane’s memory and his honour and it is a real celebration of his life,” said Jordan O’Reilly, who also saw the system up close as a home-care support worker. His sister puts it another way. “For me it was a powerful experience in watching Shane’s life — just the impact that a good carer, who was a good match for him, could make. It had such an impact on his life when it was right. “It is not just about aligning a person’s disability with a support worker but the best support worker for them and seeing the power that can give in an individual’s life.” HireUp brings online technology and social networking to the disability sector by creating a platform allowing people with disabilities to connect with support workers online. It also claims to lower the overheads required to cover the cost of administrative necessities like managing payrolls, invoicing, tax, superannuation, insurance and training. Ms O’Reilly said HireUp users were saving between $5 and $25 per hour when compared with traditional agency fees. “We found the current system was so expensive. The care provided to Shane was very precious because it didn’t go very far as the hourly rate was so high. That was a real issue,” she said. “The market needs to change, we do need to do things differently and technology needs to be much more widely used.” HireUp is another example of the emerging phenomenon of impact investing, where an investment in a company provides investors with a financial return as well as providing social returns. The space is attracting the attention of some of the nation’s biggest superannuation funds, most notably HESTA, which last year made the largest single commitment to the local impact investing market by pledging $30 million to the Social Impact Investment Trust managed by Social Ventures Aus¬tralia. Impact investment is also firmly on the national political agenda, with the Fin-ancial System Inquiry recommending a discussion paper on the topic with NSW, South Australia and Queensland at various stages of introducing social impact bond programs. The growth of the sector has spawned a new advisory firm, the Melbourne-based Impact Generation Partners, which helped HireUp to get “investor ready” and then raised capital on its behalf. IGP was founded last year by former Myer Family Company executive Amanda Miller and Quentin Miller, formerly a managing director at global investment bank UBS. HireUp and IGP went out in the second half of 2015 to raise $2m from investors. The offering was heavily oversubscribed and after scale-backs they ended up raising $2.5m from 17 investors. They included Australia’s leading philanthropic foundations including The Myer Foundation, the William Buckland Foundation and Melbourne’s Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation, as well as a number of wealthy individuals. “We have been with HireUp from its inception. It represents for us our first impact investment — we put in $500,000 as part of capital raising,” said Leonard Vary, chief executive of The Myer Foundation. “Their (the O’Reillys) lived experience was something that motivated us. They understood the issues, they lived with them and imagined a disruptive process that could change this industry.” HireUp also received a grant as part of NAB’s $1m Impact Investment Readiness Fund, which provides grants to help prepare social enterprises to become investor-ready. Corrine Proske, NAB’s head of Community Finance and Development, said HireUp was one of six businesses supported by the fund with a grant of $70,000. “There are some great entrepreneurs and some great people who want to invest in this space, but to link them and build sustainable businesses, there is a real gap,” she said. NAB and the investors in the capital raising were particularly attracted to HireUp because of its compelling and highly scalable business model in the context of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. HireUp says its base rate also comes in $6.18 cheaper than the NDIS efficiency pricing model, meaning users save this amount every hour they use a service through HireUp which can be used for more care, for other items in their care package or simply be retained as a cost saving by government. “Overall what we are seeing is the NDIS is providing some clear revenue streams for enterprises and forcing some traditional not-for-profits to rethink their business models,” Ms Proske said. But she rejected any suggestion that HiredUp was seeking to exploit disabled people by “milking” the NDIS funding, noting it was actually charging less than the NDIS allowed. “We had a clear look at this business and met with Jordan and Laura and they have come from a space where it was their younger brother using these services,” she said. “They are not here to make a quid out of it — they are here to support those who use the service. It is as much the intent as it is the impact itself — the intent here was key.” Mr Vary said impact investing specifically contemplated the coexistence of a commercial solution with social benefits. He said there was nothing wrong with making a profit from the practice. “Just because something has the capacity to be commercial and efficient doesn’t take away from its importance in terms of improving the lives of Australians,” he said. Jordan O’Reilly said the $2.5m funding round would give HireUp “18 months to two years of runway”. “Our plan says break-even in the not too distant future and we are working really hard towards that,” he said. “Looking forward there are other markets such as aged care that can use technology like this. But the focus for now will be the disability space.”

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