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Name: Renee and Julie Fry
Business: Making Care Easier, a multi-platform tool to aide in coordinating care for the elderly
Location: Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S.
Reason for starting: At 37 Renee was a happy successful career woman (Harvard MBA, Governor Romney’s cabinet, etc.) but she suddenly experienced a seizure and soon had to have surgery to remove a brain tumor (non-cancerous) the size of a racquetball.
Our mother was Renee’s main caregiver during her recovery, and while there were apps out there to give Renee’s friends updates on Renee’s status, there were none to get the help my mom needed on an everyday basis. With over fifteen years of experience in the eldercare industry, we knew what could be done, but didn’t have the tools to do so. From making meals to taking Renee to physical therapy, we knew there was much to do, but our mom never knew how or who to ask. Given that we were all hundreds of miles away, we often worried about both Renee and our mom.
After endless phone calls, family negotiations, planned and emergency trips back to visit and lots of stress, we knew there had to be a better way for families caring for the elderly and sick. We used all the technologies that were available, but we knew that there had to be a better solution – and Making Care Easier was born. Making Care Easier is not just about coordinating care, it is about helping caregivers take action. It is about knowing what needs to be done, who is doing what, how the person being cared for is doing and the caregiver too, and making sure all important information is together in one place. It’s free, easy to use and really helps changes caregivers’ lives.
Related: Read about another female entrepreneur making strides in the High Tech Medical field here.
How do you define success? To us, success is making an impact. We’re out to forever improve the ways that families come together to care. From making caregiving easier for all members of the family to helping families provide the best care possible, we want to create the go-to resource for families caring for their loved ones.
Biggest Success: Our biggest success has been building our team that launched our company. Renee has over 15 years of business and government experience, including serving as a senior staff member for Governor Mitt Romney, where she oversaw his cabinet. She received her MBA from the Harvard Business School where she was recently named one of its Rock Center Top 100 Entrepreneurs.
Julie has more than a decade of experience in eldercare. As the director of marketing for the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, she helped fight for the rights of the elderly to age in peace.
Related: Connecting Women with Money
What is your top challenge and how have you addressed it? Our biggest challenge is raising money. We’re hoping to raise an initial investment round and are working to grow users. We have successfully gotten a number of press opportunities and each time we do, we gain hundreds of customers. Our next steps are to take our application to the investment community.
Who is your most important role model? Bob Pozen, Bob grew up without a father and put himself through college and graduate schools. He went on to build and lead multiple billion dollar companies, volunteered in government, and now helps many of today’s leaders with the complex issues facing the world.
[box_light]Website www.MakingCareEasier.com
Twitter @Makingcareeasie
Facebook www.facebook.com/MakingCareEasier[/box_light]
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Edited by The Story Exchange