29-Year-Old Entrepreneur Turns Down Harvard to Start In-Home Senior Care Company

Most people would take advantage of an offer to attend Harvard Business School in a heartbeat, but budding entrepreneur Josh Bruno blew off the Ivy League school to focus on revolutionizing the in-home senior care industry.

According to Fortune, the 29-year-old was inspired to make positive changes to the U.S. in-home senior care system after his family struggled to find quality care for his 93-year-old grandfather.

“It was a revolving door of caregivers who didn’t really have any context of what was going on,” Bruno said. “Something was clearly wrong in the way the whole system worked.”

As he began a lucrative career in venture capitalism, Bruno decided to start volunteering at elder care agencies to get a feel for the industry. For six months, the young mogul volunteered at 40 different agencies while also working full-time as an investor.

After he got some experience in senior care, Bruno declined to attend Harvard Business School in favor of starting his own in-home senior care company called Hometeam.

Bruno rejects the independent contractor model that is commonly used for in-home elderly care. Instead, he uses full-time employees who can build a relationship with clients to better serve them.

One of the most important aspects of quality in-home care is developing a bond with seniors, and it all starts with ownership taking care of its employees. Industry experts maintain that this is the best way to enhance the lives of clients.

Caregivers at Hometeam are paid about 30% to 50% more than the hourly industry standard. Additionally, Bruno’s employees receive healthcare benefits, 401K plans, and future opportunities for growth in their career.

There are more seniors in need of long-term care in 2016 than ever before, so Bruno’s efforts to change the in-home senior care model comes at the perfect time. According to Caregiver.org, approximately 12 million Americans required long-term care this past year, representing about 4% of the population.

By implementing a rigorous vetting process for employees and expanding on the technology his company uses, Bruno hopes to disrupt the $84 billion in-home care provider market.

Now, some of his old partners in venture capitalism have noticed his success and are trying to acquire Hometeam from him. While flattered, Bruno said that he refuses to budge until he fixes the system that failed his grandfather.

“That’s not what drives me,” Bruno said about selling the company. “We’re not done yet. We’re not even close to changing this industry.”