We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Karan Chawla. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Karan below.
Karan, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I started my career in management consulting where I had the chance to learn about many companies and industries, which was a great way to be exposed to a wide variety of subjects early on in my professional life. I would love to say that I moved into technology because it was a thoughtful, strategic move. The reality is that I was not finding passion in my work and needed a positive change.
When a friend from Uber approached me and asked if I knew anyone who would be interested in joining the fast-growing startup, I jumped at the opportunity. It was the best decision of my life, without a doubt. From there, I realized my passion for building technology products that have a real impact on people’s lives.
While at Uber, our work on the product side had measurable significance in the ways it helped benefit drivers on the platform. It transformed the way everyday people could earn a living in a flexible way. Because of that experience, I learned that problem-solving technology and product-oriented work was my calling.
Since then, I have wanted to do it again at an early-stage company. I knew I wanted to solve a real-world problem, and ideally, one that has impacted me on a personal level.
And that’s where caregiving comes in. I had been taking care of my own father for several years when I met the co-founders of Homethrive. It was clear the company’s mission to support family caregivers was a problem for millions of people. I was one of them. I joined a year ago and it has proved that I should always follow my passion and the reward will be there.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I lead Homethrive’s product and marketing teams, so my role is focused on spreading awareness that millions of caregivers are faced with taking care of someone else while also working their full-time jobs. We are also focused on providing a product that can support these caregivers’ needs via their employers, and at-scale.
There are so many questions that a caregiver can face outside of the clinical needs of the person they are caring for. Building an experience that our members can leverage to reduce stress and save time is challenging, but so rewarding because our solution is all about making people’s lives better. This year alone we have launched a number of features that chip away at the problems people face.
A few examples are:
- Care Guides: We offer custom care guides that answer all the common questions our members typically deal with to offset that stress that coincides with caregiving for a loved one.
- Medication Tracking: This feature makes it easier to store and share medication information that a caregiver needs to keep track of for a loved one. My father takes 13 medications a day, and when he unfortunately had to be hospitalized this year, I needed access to this urgently, so that we knew what he was currently taking.
- Smart Journal: The Smart Journal leverages AI to identify key terms a member has written, and we can instantly provide guidance to them based on what is logged, sourcing from our extensive resources. It helps point them in the right direction to things they may or may not be aware of, by tapping into their ongoing experiences and unique needs.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
These are the things I have found to be the most important:
– Executional Rigor: No matter what it is you are working on, make sure you pay close attention to all the details and ensure on-time delivery. This goes into all aspects of work, from effective communication, going above and beyond on what may be expected, and making sure you become a trusted go-to teammate.
– Learn from Great Leaders: I was fortunate enough to work with a few amazing leaders in my career and there are several things I focused on when I got this opportunity. This starts with being bold and seeking out the chance to support them. Most great leaders will never turn down help if it is offered to them. This gives you the chance to work with them and also learn from them. Observing how a great leader operates only enhances your own growth and building those relationships has immense value over time.
– EQ: Putting yourself in another person’s shoes to understand their perspective is an underrated skill. If you really understand what your teammates’ goals and objectives are, that shows you are paying attention. Then, if you can take that awareness and translate it into meaningful results, it proves your value. This also helps with building professional relationships in all aspects of one’s career.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
At this point in my career, I have much more clarity on where I want to focus and it’s all about contributing to projects that can enact meaningful change with technology.
Right now, I’m looking to work with companies or clients that are interested in making caregiving more visible and solving the problem with meaningful solutions and benefits.
With the aging population in the United States and many other places in the world, caregiving is quickly becoming a universal need, especially when you factor in children with special needs and childcare in general. At Homethrive, we see caregiving as a problem similar to what mental health was 5 to 7 years ago. We are firm believers that caregiving benefits should be universal to all employees and incorporated into modern insurance plans.
This means that any employer can help reduce stress and save time for their employees who are taking on caregiving efforts. To put it into context, approximately 1 in 5 employees are caregivers and it’s become the second reason employees are leaving the workforce, only behind retirement. Navigating caring for a loved one should not be as challenging as it is, and this is exactly why Homethrive was founded. We are here to solve these problems for our community of members.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://homethrive.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/home_thrive/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homethrive
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karanschawla/
