Revolutionizing Care: How Givers Helps Caregivers Get Paid | The AgeTech Podcast S4 E2

Keren Etkin: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the AgeTech podcast. My guest today is Max Mayblum, the founder and CEO of Givers, which is a startup that helps caregivers get paid.

Max, welcome to the show.

Max Mayblum: Thanks for having me.

Keren Etkin: So one of the things that I love doing whenever I meet founders for the first time is hear about the startup’s origin story and what got you started So could you tell us that?

Max Mayblum: Yeah, I had been in digital health for most of my career. I moved in with my own family during COVID like so many others did. And beginning of COVID, unfortunately, my aunt was diagnosed with terminal cancer. so I saw my parents put their entire lives on hold to care for her. They made taking care of her in her final years, their number one priority. And I was sitting at home in Florida and my parents were driving up to take care of her in Georgia. And I was wondering what I could do to help them. And I was searching online for different resources for cancer support, cancer treatment, also any benefits or programs that might help them and help my parents as they’re caring for them. So I got a front row seat to what it looks like to care for a caregiver, and I saw just how intense the situation was for my own family. And at the same time became acutely aware of how big this problem was across the US and the entire globe. And so I became really passionate about helping caregivers.

I saw such a big juxtaposition between what I was doing during the day building a telehealth company at that time. And then at night working on, finding support for my parents, there was broken websites, 404 pages, clunky insurance portals, and I thought there had to be a better solution for such an important and growing population.

So that’s what got me started.

Keren Etkin: Amazing. And it’s always so inspiring to hear founders starting a startups in this space from a personal reason, because I believe that this is like the number one motivation that people have to really do what it takes because it is so hard to start a company. So what did you learn during this research that you did?

What is available in the United States? What is available globally? And is there a difference between different states in terms of what caregivers are eligible for?

Max Mayblum: The short answer is yes. And so there’s a saying that in, especially in Medicaid, if one state, one state. So everything varies state by state. But basically what I found was. As I was learning about caregiving and what caregivers are going through, I recognized very quickly that financial strain was the biggest burden that caregivers face. Many caregivers spend over 7, 000 out of pocket each year to take care of their loved one. They’re giving up work opportunities, they’re sacrificing personal time, and they’re doing it because they love the person they’re caring for, and they want to show up for them the same way they would if the roles were reversed. And What I found as I started doing more research into what support is available is that there are government programs and different benefits available for caregivers, but they’re often too hard to reach or too hard to find. And many people don’t know about them. In 1 case, back in 2021, when I was getting started, I had read an article about.

A program in Arizona that set aside a million dollars to reimburse caregivers who were retrofitting their homes for people who needed ramps or grab bars or anything of the like, and they were unable to disperse those funds because no one signed up for the program. And basically there was an awareness issue. To me, an alarm went off in my head that. Hey, there’s dollars here that are set aside to help caregivers, but they’re way too hard to access. People don’t know that they exist. And I think there’s really an information gap here that’s creating this problem rather than a lack of support available. So very early on, what we did at givers is we mapped the entire landscape of the U.S. For caregiver support programs. And we built a database with every single program that can help a caregiver get paid for the work that they’re doing. And now today on our website. You can go on and answer a few quick questions completely for free, like a TurboTax type of solution, and we’ll learn about your situation and make a very personalized recommendation to programs that are available to you that you might be eligible for.

So I found a really sort of disparate system, of support that wanted to help caregivers, but big gaps in accessing and reaching those programs.

Keren Etkin: Wow. I feel like this problem that you have stumbled upon. Is similar to so many other aspects of the ecosystem because there are so many programs to help older adults in every country, but so many people are just not aware of them because the government can be, sometimes can be great at allocating funds, but they’re definitely not great at marketing.

So anyone basically can go on your website, fill out a simple questionnaire and get, educated about what is available to them. From your experience, what percentage of caregivers can actually find something that they’re eligible for in the state that they live in?

Max Mayblum: So very high percentage. So I’ll start from the bottom up. So many of these programs are running run through Medicaid and Medicaid for people who don’t know is a federally funded health insurance program. That supports low income Americans and Medicaid’s operated on a state by state level.

In different states, you’ll find different programs being offered by the state Medicaid organizations. All of the states have some version of caregiver payment or support being offered through Medicaid. And then, beyond that of course, the Medicaid population is eligible for those programs.

In many cases, there are around 90 million Americans who are on Medicaid. And then On top of that, every single state has regionally dispersed area agencies on aging, and those area agencies on aging are funded by the federal government. And part of the federal government’s rules with these area agencies on aging is that they must offer caregiver support to the entire population. So any caregiver anywhere of any income level of any demographic of any situation can go to their local Area Agency on Aging And look to them for caregiver support. In some cases, that may mean respite care and someone to come into the home. In other cases, it may mean counseling and training. In others, it may mean meals delivered and sometimes it can mean financial support.

That’s to say every American has access to some sort of support as a caregiver and then specific Americans mainly on Medicaid will have access to programs that pay them.

Keren Etkin: So we mentioned earlier that on average, caregivers in America spend $7, 000 out of pocket to care for a loved one. Do these programs that do offer payment, they compensate in thousands of dollars every year?

Max Mayblum: So it depends. So at the federal level and at some state levels, there are tax credits for those types of expenses. The, the direct answer is no, there’s not a program that reimburses the total amount of pocket spend. But there are tax credits that can help remediate those costs.

And then also any programs that allow people to get compensated for those, their time allows them to actually. Continue to spend on the care that their loved one needs. So generally speaking, it’s about finding the programs that you’re eligible for and then figuring out how you can make it work.

Whether it’s leaving your job full time and doing that math. So if you can get paid as a caregiver, it allows you to be home with your loved one. Or if it means taking on a few hours of being paid, but also keeping your full time job to allow you to make these things work. Unfortunately, this is just the infrastructure that we’re dealing with in America, where people have to ask themselves the questions of how am I going to care for the person that I love?

Keren Etkin: Unfortunately this is a global issue and so many caregivers actually have to reduce the number of hours that they work to fulfill their role as a caregiver. And not in every country or not in every state can people actually get paid for it. And so this is fantastic that some states do have these programs.

So let’s talk about givers. You started givers in 2021. How has givers been received by investors, by the caregivers that you provide a service for, how do you actually reach those caregivers in a time where they are.

stressed out and they have so much to deal with. So they don’t necessarily know even to look for a startup such as yourselves.

Max Mayblum: Yeah, let me address the business market first for this, which is, I think. If there were any benefits to come out of COVID, one of the benefits was that care became something that people talked about, whether you were working from home and your kids were running around in the background on zoom, or people knew you had to step out to go take care of mom because she had moved in from the assisted living facility care became part of the conversation. And so investors, as much as anyone else, became aware that this is a problem that everyone is facing in their own homes. And it was before that kind of done in the shadows. And so at the time in 2021, 2022, when we went out to fundraise we were fortunate that the problem was already stated for us.

We didn’t need to do too much describing of the problem, but really talking about the solution to it to the problem that we see and how we can continue to evolve the market. So that was the investor standpoint. From a consumer perspective, I would say the same and also different. So similarly. There used to be this hypothesis that family caregivers don’t identify themselves as caregivers. And I think that conversation has definitely changed. More and more people are thinking of themselves and the work that they’re doing for their loved one. As what it is, which is caregiving and taking care of a loved one. And so being able to figure out how to speak the language of the caregiver is really important. And as you mentioned, time and attention is at a high premium for a caregiver. So being able to meet them where they are is really important. And so we’ve invested significantly in educational resources and content that’s quick and easy to get the answers you’re looking for. And that’s resulted in millions of people per year coming through our resources and being able to get support. Because the demand is there, it’s really about finding finding solutions to the problems that people are facing.

Keren Etkin: Amazing. So what is the business model for a startup like Givers?

Max Mayblum: What we do is in some states we actually enroll, support and pay family caregivers. So across the entire U.S. we’ll help people find programs that they’re eligible for. And then in some states we actually have licensure that we can be the provider of choice for those caregivers and their families. So over time, once they’ve gotten enrolled into a program that we’ve helped them find will actually be their agency of record.

We provide them with ongoing support via coaching, training and anything else that they’ll need to provide them the confidence and competence to be a great caregiver. And then we also reimburse them through Medicaid to get paid. And that’s how our business model works.

Keren Etkin: And does that require you to become a licensed home care agency in each and every one of those states?

Max Mayblum: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. The requirements are quite high and I think it’s important that it is because integrity has to be at the center of all of this because we are taking care of Some of the most vulnerable people in the country. There’s really high levels of requirements to get these licenses and to be able to serve this population.

And I think it’s a good thing. We don’t want people to be flying by the seat of their pants in this type of industry. It’s one where service and integrity really matters.

Keren Etkin: Absolutely. And it’s also a, sounds like a good moat for a startup because not everyone will want to go through this process of establishing an agency every state and going through all of the licensing and regulation that you have to go through.

Max Mayblum: It’s one of many moats. I think there’s a lot of challenges to this business, but for us at the end of the day, we’re obsessed with the problem. Everyone on our team has been a personal through a personal experience with caregiving. And so we’re really obsessed with trying to solve this problem. And challenges are expected in any sort of startup.

So it’s about just picking the challenges that you want to tackle. And we’re always really excited every day to, to tackle these challenges.

Keren Etkin: Speaking of challenges what would you say has been the number one challenge for you since you got started?

Max Mayblum: I would sayy the number one challenge that we faced is focusing on how we’re going to grow and reach our population. So it’s all about educating the caregiver. And as I mentioned earlier, time and attention is at a premium. So what we’ve done is instead of thinking about how we can sell something to a caregiver, we’re thinking about how we can help a caregiver and how we can provide them with resources they’re looking for. And if any, in any case, they’re able to work with us in the long run. That’s great. But it’s also part of the thesis behind us offering our tool for free across the entire country is we want to be there to support people from an infrastructure perspective and provide them the education that they need.

Because we know if we can lower the barriers for people finding this support, Then we also support our business in the long term.

Keren Etkin: I love that. And I, that’s something that really stood out to me when I first stumbled across your website is that There is such a wealth of information that you offer people for free. And I think it goes a long way, not just towards attracting potential caregivers that could use the service, but also building the trust because you are providing something to them, giving value without asking for anything.

In return

Max Mayblum: if there’s a caregiver who wants to enroll in a program themselves, they can go on our website, they can read our information, they can go and do it themselves. It’s we’re completely happy with people finding this, the education that they need to then go and serve themselves. If we can help them beyond that, we’re happy to do so also. But yeah, at the end of the day, it goes back to what I talked about happened in 2021, which is me realizing that there’s a broken system and not enough information getting to people. And so if we can solve that underlying issue, I think that’s already a success to our mission. And then if we can go beyond that and support people through our business, of course, that’s our goal.

Keren Etkin: Wonderful. So what is your vision for Givers? Where would you like to see the company five or 10 years from now?

Max Mayblum: So I, number one is I want Givers to be scaled nationally, and I want these programs to be scaled nationally where any caregiver who is caring for a loved one full time and meet some eligibility requirements is able to get some support that they need to continue to show up every day and really bring their energy and full attention to caring for their loved one, rather than how am I going to make my next bill or what am I going to do about my job? And if we can scale this program, and I think generally the mission nationally, that’s a huge success for us to be advocates on the national stage. for family caregivers who for far too long have been in the shadows and an underrepresented voice. That would be a big success for us. And then the other thing I would say is thinking about beyond just the framework that we work in today, how can we expand our model outside of Medicaid to work with payers, to work with private institutions, others who are interested in and benefit from the support of family caregivers, again, goes to broadening our mission over the next five to 10 years.

That’s the goal.

Keren Etkin: Any plans to expand globally, maybe in the next 15 to 20 years.

Max Mayblum: I wouldn’t rule it out.

Keren Etkin: I assume you meet many other founders who are just starting out in conferences or meetups. Is there any particular advice that you find yourself providing to these startups over and over again?

Max Mayblum: Do it. I would just say do it every time. Usually when I’m talking to a founder, it’s a hypothesis. Uh, or it’s an idea. And my advice to any founder is to just do it. Give something a shot, do an experiment, build a website, go and talk to customers. The only way that you’re going to make progress is to learn.

And the only way to learn is to get out into the market. For me, I don’t like to exercise too much in, in whiteboarding and conceptualizing. I like to just try things, and that’s generally the advice I like to give to founders.

Keren Etkin: I love that. I love that advice. And is there any particular ask that you want to ask people who might be watching or listening to this podcast?

Max Mayblum: If you know a family caregiver. That’s in need. I would, of course, ask you to send them to our website. If you yourself are a caregiver, know that you’re not alone. I think too many people don’t talk about the care that they’re providing to their loved ones, so open up the conversation with your neighbors, your friends, your coworkers, because it’s an important topic.

And the more people are aware of it, the more that they can be supported and feel like they’re not alone. So my ask would be, if you’re a caregiver, Look for the support that you deserve and also help other people find the support that they deserve.

Keren Etkin: I love that. And one of the things that I always say whenever I get to give a keynote or a teacher course is I say, if you have older loved ones and you are not a family caregiver yet, assume that you will become a family caregiver at some point in the future. So I love that. We definitely need to have more of these conversations so that people won’t feel so overwhelmed if something happens and they become a caregiver overnight.

Max Mayblum: Completely agree. Yeah, it’s a very intense situation. I saw it with my own family. Sometimes it happens without you thinking that it might happen. It’s always important to have a conversation with your siblings. Who’s going to take care of mom? Where does she live? How are we going to make this work?

And the earlier you can do it, the better.

Keren Etkin: Absolutely. So is there anything that we didn’t talk about that you would like to add before we wrap up?

Max Mayblum: No, I’ve had a great conversation and there’s nothing else I would want to discuss.

I do want to mention actually, I did read the Age Tech Revolution in 2021 when I was thinking about starting givers and I was looking for a landscape and I thought the book was fantastic and I appreciate all that you’re doing to bring a voice to this community and I think it’s a rapidly growing market and community because there’s so much need here and I think voices like yours to consolidate some of this information is, are super important.

So I also just want to say thank you for the work that you’re doing.

Keren Etkin: thank you so much, Max. It means a lot. So Max, thank you so much for joining the podcast. It was an absolute pleasure to learn a little bit about Givers and to get to know you.

Max Mayblum: Thank you. Thanks for having me.