It started with my grandmother.
She needed help at home every day, and at typical rates that adds up fast. So we hired an independent caregiver on our own.
A week in the ICU
One day, that caregiver gave her someone else's medication. She was allergic to it. She spent a week in intensive care.
The caregiver was affordable. But no one was checking the work.
So we did it ourselves
After that, I didn't want anyone else caring for her, so we took over her care ourselves. In 2025 that became Here Home Care in Iowa City. Her care came first. The company came after.
Running a care company showed us the other half of the problem. Families are stuck choosing between care they can't afford and care no one is watching.
Where the other half goes
A typical hour of home care costs $35. About half reaches the caregiver. The rest pays for a back office, and families pay for it in the hourly price.
There's no reason care should cost twice what the caregiver earns.
So we replaced the office with AI
Built our entire platform this fall: a caregiver app with an AI teammate on every visit, a family app that shows every visit live, and AI for scheduling and intake.
Evaluates the AI behind Microsoft Copilot. When AI is looking after someone's mom, it has to be right, so he leads how we test it before it reaches families.
Why now: the expert in the room
Home care is short on credentials. There aren't enough nurses for an aging country, and there won't be. But the person who sees Mom most is already there every week: a caregiver earning $17 to $20 an hour.
AI can now give that caregiver expert know-how. What to watch for, what's worth raising with the family, and what to write down. Steady is built around that person. The AI doesn't replace their judgment. It backs it up.
Why Steady
Steady puts everything we built in the hands of families and caregivers. Vetted caregivers you choose. A care team that covers for each other. An AI teammate that tells caregivers when to speak up. A live view of every visit.
Families pay less. Caregivers earn more.
Jocelyn, cofounder of Steady
Be first when Steady opens near you
Launching in Iowa City in early 2027, then Seattle.