Saskatoon home care startup invited to SXSW

A Saskatoon startup in the health-tech sector was recently invited to Texas to attend the SXSW conference.

The event brings together a variety of companies, musicians, comedians and more for a networking opportunity that was amazing, according to Alto’s Hadi Taherian.

“We just met with different investors, different partners, we actually met with some of our competitors, to be honest, which was amazing,” he told CTV News.

He said it gave the team an opportunity to learn and network.

“It was basically seven days of meeting with some individuals that I probably wouldn't be able to if it was on my own. So it was amazing.”

The Alto platform helps connect care providers and those in need, Taherian said.

“We actually make finding home care services for people with disability and seniors easy, fast, and much cheaper than any other option out there.”

A HomeEquity Bank / Ipsos poll found that 92 per cent of Canadians over 45 years want to age in place.

One in five polled said they either have a personal support worker or know someone who does, which is what Taherian and the team at Alto are banking on.

He said the focus of the company was to make it easier for people to age at home.

“Part of the reason we started the company was we had some family members that actually were looking for home care. We found that really hard to navigate through this system and find appropriate care for our loved ones to stay home.”

Alto launched in Saskatchewan, which has one of the highest populations of older Canadians, according to Statistics Canada.

Over the next 25 years the number of Canadians aged 85 and older could triple to 2.5 million, Statistics Canada says. Just over a quarter of them live in care homes or 28 per cent, meaning over 70 per cent of older Canadians still live on their own.

It’s where Alto sees an opportunity, Taherian said.

“You literally can hire someone within your neighbourhood to provide care for you. These are without going through the vetting process, without going through trying to post the job without going through making a schedule or tracking who came in and who came out, who left and what happened. Everything is automated through our system.”

Taherian said the company has expanded to Calgary and has its sights on Edmonton next.

“We're looking forward to becoming the company in Canada to lead that movement right now to provide actually affordable home care to everyone.”