- Name: Jordan Caspersz
- Business: Sensora Health
- Location: United Kingdom
- Website: SensoraHealth.com
In this week's "Entrepreneur of the Week" feature, we have the privilege of introducing Jordan Caspersz, the visionary founder of Sensora Health. Jordan's entrepreneurial journey is not just a tale of business acumen but also a story deeply rooted in personal experiences and a profound sense of social responsibility. The inception of Sensora Health can be traced back to a challenging period during the pandemic, a time that not only tested but also inspired Jordan and his co-founder to venture into the realm of elderly care.
As we navigate through this comprehensive interview, Jordan takes us through the poignant moment that sparked the creation of Sensora Health. The passing of his grandfather and the subsequent concerns for his grandmother living alone became the catalyst for a groundbreaking venture. Sensora Health emerged from this personal concern, aiming to provide peace of mind for families and ensure immediate assistance for the elderly when needed. Today, Sensora stands as a testament to the power of technology in transforming care, offering an ambient remote monitoring system for caregivers across elderly care facilities.
Delving deeper, Jordan sheds light on the critical market need that Sensora Health addresses. The aging global population, coupled with the exodus of staff in elderly care facilities, presents a daunting challenge. With eye-opening statistics like a 68% turnover rate in UK care homes and a looming shortage of long-term care properties, Sensora Health's role becomes ever more crucial. Jordan’s insights into these challenges reveal a clear understanding of the market dynamics and the urgent need for innovative solutions in elderly care.
The journey of building a company like Sensora Health was not without its obstacles. Jordan recounts the formidable challenges faced during the early stages, particularly the struggle to build a hardware company amidst a global supply shortage. His narrative takes us through the difficult decisions, the relentless pursuit of solutions, and the eventual triumph in forming strategic partnerships that allowed Sensora to scale effectively without over-leveraging capital.
Central to the success of Sensora Health is its team, and Jordan emphasizes the importance of purpose in assembling his founding team. He advocates for a team that not only understands the problem at hand but has personally felt it. This emotional connection, Jordan believes, is what drives perseverance and innovation, especially when faced with inevitable setbacks.
Looking ahead, Jordan shares Sensora Health's ambitious vision to be the linchpin in caregiving and care receiving. The company aims to empower caregivers with the right tools and technology to manage the aging population more effectively, enhancing the quality of care while meeting the increasing demand.
As our conversation shifts to personal insights, Jordan reflects on the essential qualities of an entrepreneur, highlighting resilience as key. His motivation, deeply influenced by his grandmother, resonates through his advice to aspiring entrepreneurs: to tackle problems that truly matter and to surround oneself with a team that brings diverse strengths and perspectives.
Jordan's journey with Sensora Health has not only been a professional endeavor but a personal transformation. He shares the profound impact entrepreneurship has had on his life, describing the fulfillment that comes from making a significant societal impact.
In closing, Jordan extends an invitation to share his story more broadly, a narrative that many entrepreneurs can relate to. His journey encapsulates the struggles and successes of entrepreneurship, underpinned by a strong sense of purpose and a relentless drive to make a difference.
Discover more about Jordan Caspersz and Sensora Health's innovative approach to elderly care at their website, www.sensorahealth.com. Join us in celebrating Jordan's journey as this week's featured entrepreneur, a shining example of how personal experiences can fuel meaningful and impactful business ventures.
Full interview below 👇
What motivated you to start your company and how did you begin your entrepreneurial journey?
During the pandemic, my grandfather suddenly passed away. Due to restrictions, there wasn't a day that went by that my family and I didn't worry about my grandmother, who was now living on he own. My co-founder and I connected over our shared concern for our aging grandmothers, aging at home, and built Sensora as a way to give us peace of mind they are safe and help can be there the second it's needed. Flashforward 2 years, we've made that concept into an ambient remote monitoring system for caregivers across elderly care.
Identifying a market need is crucial for any business. Can you share the story behind discovering the market opportunity that led to your business idea?
As the population continues to age, an exodus of staff within elderly care during the pandemic has intensified pre-existing problems with retaining and growing the care workforce. By 2030, there will be 1.2 billion seniors over the age of 60 worldwide, making this one of the largest challenges facing our care system. Care facilities aren't able to keep up with the aging care demand, turnover rates are over 68% and 96% of UK care-homes face shortages in staff.1,109,000 is the number of min. long-term care properties required to be built in the UK by 2039. The UK's actual build projection is 215,000 short. [Right Size Report, 2018]
Starting a company often involves overcoming obstacles. Could you tell us about a significant challenge you faced during the early stages of your company and how you navigated through it?
Ben Horowitz's coined a term in his book "The Hard Things and the Hard Things" - the struggle. Our struggle was that we decided to build a hardware company during a global supply shortage. In 2022, we came to a point where we didn't have the capital to meet inflated prices for the components we needed to make our sensors. The hardest part, having to say no to a multi-location pilot implementation, because we couldn't get our sensors made fast enough. My co-founder and I spend weeks finding ways to never lose another contract due to parts and shortages. Through hundreds of conversations with other suppliers and organizations, we finally found a partner that shared our vision of helping the aging, and gave an exclusive partnership to ready-made sensors they configured for us, when we needed them. Now we can scale Sensora without having to over-leverage capital on stocking up on inventory.
Building a strong team is essential for success. What qualities were you looking for when assembling your founding team, and what advice do you have for others in this regard?
Purpose. Working on an early-stage company is said to be one of the hardest decisions one can make in their career. Through my experience of growing tech teams, to now running my own start up, I will always prioritize purpose over experience. My founding team has decades of experience in hardware, medicine, and building innovation, but more importantly they all have experienced what it is like to be worried for a loved one living at home. My advice to founders is to make sure your founding team doesn't just understand the problem, make sure they've felt it. Because that exact feeling is the only thing that will keep them coming back when things don't go to plan (and they won't go to plan)
Looking ahead, what's the long-term vision for the company? How do you plan to continue innovating and making an impact in your industry?
Our goal is simple. To be the intersection between care giving and care receiving. Sensora's vision is to empower caregivers to know they can be at the right place, at the right time. To be provided the tools to manage the aging population to increase the quality of care, and not just try and keep up with the demand. Sensora is intended to be the digital layer to 10s of 100s of different innovations trying to help with aging, bridging them into one software so providers can seamlessly use technology to help them do more, without having to feel overwhelmed. Sensora's vision is to allow our elderly to age in their environment of choice, and for families and caregivers to have the peace of mind to allow them to do so.
What is the most important skill for an entrepreneur to have?
Resilience
What motivates you to be an entrepreneur?
My grandmother
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start their own business?
It will be the hardest thing you ever do, make sure the problem you are solving is worth it. Never forget who you are building for, and try and be the dumbest person on your team.
How has entrepreneurship impacted your life?
Winning your first contract, and seeing the lives of the people you've impact is the single best feeling of my life. Entrepreneurship has helped me feel like I've left a mark on society for the better, a feeling only other founders can relate to.
Is there anything else you would like to share with us about entrepreneurship?
Ready to take the spotlight?
Don't miss this opportunity to be featured in our "Founder of the Week" series and inspire others with your entrepreneurial spirit.
Click the button and let's get started!
