The new funding follows an initial $4 million raised in 2016 by the Brisbane-based peer-to-peer home support and care operator startup. Over 80% of first-round investors are re-investing plus new funding from Singapore and Hong Kong.
Five Good Friends was founded by ex-RetireAustralia CEO and current director at Aura Holdings Tim Russell, and his friends Simon Lockyer and Nathan Betteridge who started charity fundraising startup Everyday Hero and launched in November 2016 with Ita Buttrose as its ambassador.
Currently, the platform has around 300 helpers and over 350 members across seven locations.
The $5 million will go towards marketing efforts as well as technology and the platform.
The startup also has two-and-a-half years’ worth of data from reviews and helper notes that it plans to use to better tailor its care plans.
“We’re moving from the idea of home care to caring homes,” co-founder and CEO Simon Lockyer told Smart Company.
While they are focused on the Australian market, Mr Lockyer adds there is potential to move overseas.
“We’re on the verge of having a truly internationalised offer that we will be able to replicate into markets,” he said.
