Seth Sternberg didn’t co-found Honor, a home care service for aging adults, because it was easy. He did it because it was hard.
A Silicon Valley veteran, Sternberg founded his first company, Meebo, in March 2005. An early instant messaging and social networking provider, it was acquired by Google in 2012 – and Sternberg with it. Two years later, a health incident with his mom led him to start Honor with Sandy Jen, who also co-founded Meebo, to improve home health care for seniors.
It’s a familiar Silicon Valley story: shifting from software to health tech, despite its inherent challenges, to make a direct, face-to-face impact on the world after working behind the scenes. With the number of people 65 and over exploding worldwide, the considerable complexity of home health care, and uncertainty about his mother’s five-year plan, Sternberg decided to take the plunge.
More than 10 years later, Honor is thriving. In 2021, it purchased Home Instead, a senior care company, after a $140 million Series D raise in 2020. Sternberg had always had his eyes on the company but thought he’d be rebuffed when he reached out; months later, the deal was done, greatly expanding Honor’s reach and marrying its tech platform with Home Instead’s on-the-ground presence. The reaction was positive and swift; two months later, Honor raised $370 million in Series E funding.
The company’s expansion hasn’t just been physical. Artificial Intelligence and machine learning are helping Honor to better serve its clientele by eschewing a one-size-fits-all approach in order to best meet the individual needs and preferences of seniors. Sternberg has noted that healthcare is often one of the slower sectors to adopt technological advancements, and wants Honor to help those who want to be early adopters to install new technologies, well, earlier.
It’s not easy: The margins are slimmer in healthcare, and the logistical problems are real. For Sternberg, that’s what makes it worthwhile.
