Hayylo wins pitch event

The team behind an aged care experience platform has picked up first prize at an industry event this week for the proposed redevelopment of its business model to expand services and value to the sector.

Hayylo, which operates a subscription-based platform of the same name for aged, disability and home health care customers, was named winner of the Bentleys CareFactor pitch day in Brisbane on Wednesday.

CareFactor is a program for accelerated growth and learning that provides innovative teams from across Australia with access to skills, resources and support to amplify their products and solutions.

The prize includes a short-term residency at Austrade’s Singapore Landing Pad with the opportunity to expose their solution to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations market and build international market connections.

Hayylo’s pitch involved expanding its business to add new services, revenue streams and value for providers, said Simon Heaysman, co-founder of hayylo.

“One of the benefits we gained from [the program] was opening two business models that look at professional services and helping organisations conduct digital transformation projects,” Mr Heaysman told Australian Ageing Agenda.

Mr Heaysman said hayylo’s solution also looked at the opening of a new line of business called hayylo services.

Hayylo services will allow providers to offer their community additional products and services that complement the things they are already giving them, Mr Heaysman said.

More details will be released in 2020, he said.

Throughout the CareFactor process, Hayylo was mainly focused on business modelling, value propositions and mapping, he said.

“It was a process of scientific investigation around what models could fit into our current product and how we can expand on those and turn them into new business opportunities for growth,” he said.

“The insight that we took away [from the program] is there is such an appetite for collaborations to solve the problems across the sector.”

One of the biggest challenges was “trying to forget the things you think you know about the sector and what you know about your business and look at it with fresh eyes so you can start to uncover some of these new opportunities,” Mr Heaysman said.

CareFactor uses scientific methods

The 12-week program, which involved 10 teams, commenced in September with three days of intensive masterclasses.

Bentleys partner Heath Shonhan said the teams workshopped with business mentors and aged care provider and other industry representatives to grow their business and customer acquisition skills.

“We pushed them to think about tools and evidence and scientific method on the basis that any business is a bundle of hypothesis and guesses,” Mr Shonhan told AAA.

“The last eight weeks have been a process of getting in front of customers, having it validated and pitching to them, getting pilots and trials and incubating the idea for the pitch day,” said Mr Shonhan, an architect of CareFactor.

CareFactor aims to provide a platform for innovators to develop unique solutions to aged care sector challenges, he said.

“We’re providing that entrepreneurial playground for aged care providers and academia to improve outcomes for care recipients using scientific methods and evidence-based methodologies,” Mr Shonhan said.

The 10 teams pitched their ideas to two judges and 150 others including aged care representatives, buyers and private investors, Mr Shonhan said.

Other solutions pitched at the event included an evidence-based physical health program and a massage therapy program, he said.

Bentleys is planning to host CareFactor again next year.

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