LA-based HELLOTECH.com, which specializes in home-tech support and device sales, announced the launch of BUYYOURPARENTS.com, which enables adult children to easily purchase a variety of home technology services and products for their parents.
Makes sense, right? How many times do your parents want to keep up with the newest technologies, but have no idea where to start? BuyYourParents.com will help seniors and their loved ones easily get information, training and support for new technology products.
Says HelloTech CEO and co-founder Richard Wolpert, “My cofounders and I started this business because we often have to help our own parents find and decipher technology solutions. With today’s extensive array of new technology options for the home, we found that people really need in-home services that can get them educated and operational without having to rely on their loved ones for assistance.”
And BuyYourParents.com came as a result of a question that came up with almost every single conversation Wolpert had with friends and potential investors: “Can I buy this for my parents?” given that nearly every adult has had to be the de facto tech support for their own parents’ technological needs, especially during holidays and visits.
BuyYourParents.com visitors can purchase everything from iOS and Android training, support hours, and new technology products, including the product, delivery, installation, and training.
HelloTech was built to fill the gap in the home electronics services business — at #1 you have Best Buy’s Geek Squad, with 15% of a $20 billion annual service business, and in all honesty have not adjusted their service model in over a decade (the typical Yelp review comes in around 2.5). And then you have everyone else, a national mishmash of thousands of small shops.
Match these numbers with the size of the Baby Boomer population and the growth in connected, smart devices for the home (think Nest, Sonos, video door locks and video surveillance systems, or even just a wi-fi range extender), and you have one helluva market opportunity.
HelloTech employs vetted and trained college students as their technicians. Since today’s college students are digital natives, they’re already pre-trained through their own experience having grown up with technology. The techs are hand-selected, background-checked and complete a comprehensive training program.
HelloTech clients can fill out a request online, which reaches HelloTech technicians via their mobile device; technicians set their own hours, and pick up gigs based on their availability and proximity to the client.
For $79 an hour, a HelloTech technician will assist with a variety of tech needs at your home, such as speeding up your PC, fixing your wireless network, or setting up a Sonos system. Requests are fulfilled within 24 hours or same day, and are handled at a specified time, not some open-ended window like many home maintenance services.
In addition to offering in-home support, HelloTech is growing its its abilities to offer an array of products for sale directly to consumers via reseller agreements with Sonos, Nest, Belkin, Linksys, Arlo, Lifelock, iDrive, iMemories and others. HelloTech will also be expanding into consumer training and education in the coming months.
HelloTech was formed by Richard Wolpert, a former Apple and Disney executive, in November 2014 and has raised a total of $4.5 million from top venture funds, including Upfront Ventures, Accel Partners, CrossCut Ventures, and others.
HelloTech went live in Los Angeles in late May and currently services more than 100 zip codes in core Los Angeles, and will be rolling out to other markets in the coming months, starting with Orange County and Santa Barbara.
Even at this early stage, Wolpert tells us that HelloTech is already seeing 20% of their week-over-week business are repeat customers, a healthy sign of demand for the young company.
