Onward Raises $1.5M in Seed Funding to Offer Specialized Transportation for Seniors and Mobility-Impaired Individuals

On July 23, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned that Onward secured $1.5 million in angel-round funding, with investments from Royal Street Ventures, Matchstick Ventures, and JPK Capital.

In an increasingly saturated transportation market, Onward’s business model starts where industry giants have overlooked. The models of Uber and Lyft fail to accommodate individuals with mobility impairments, leaving them unable to travel from home to doctors’ waiting rooms. Even though Uber has launched Uber Health to help patients reach their scheduled appointments, drivers do not truly address patients’ specific needs. Hence, Onward emerged.

A few months ago, Onward launched in the San Francisco area to help seniors travel safely from point A to point B. In an interview, Onward co-founder Mike Lewis stated that, unlike Uber and Lyft, Onward provides services such as intra-city round trips and neighborhood visits, aiming to empower potentially lonely older adults with greater mobility and freedom.

The inspiration for Onward stemmed from Mike Lewis’s mother-in-law, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. This led Mike Lewis and his co-founder Nader Akhnoukh to reflect on the challenges of aging, particularly the profound loneliness experienced by older adults who can no longer engage in activities they once enjoyed in their youth, such as driving.

“When you feel that you can no longer do these things, it is profoundly sad and terrifying,” said Mike Lewi.

Onward serves three types of customers: elderly individuals who are unable to drive, patients who cannot drive due to medical conditions (such as surgery or ophthalmic diseases), and caregivers who are unable to provide transportation for their loved ones.

Onward’s pricing model is similar to that of Uber and Lyft, but the key difference lies in its hourly payment structure (with a minimum rate of $20 per hour). Currently, Onward has 1,099 drivers, among whom more than 25 have received training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and dementia care, and have passed both background checks and vehicle safety inspections.

Onward also ensures that its drivers know how to fold wheelchairs; however, currently, only a limited number of drivers are capable of transporting these powered wheelchairs. Mike Lewis stated that as the company expands, the fleet of vehicles equipped to transport passengers in powered wheelchairs will grow. By this time next year, Onward expects to have hundreds of drivers authorized to transport powered wheelchairs.

Drivers are compensated at a rate of $35 per hour, with a minimum charge per order often equivalent to one hour. This arrangement is particularly well-suited for drivers who are willing to endure longer wait times, as passengers may need to remain at the hospital while awaiting medical consultations. After the first hour, Onward charges by the minute, and driver compensation increases accordingly.

In March this year, Onward began its market expansion in the San Francisco Bay Area. In the second half of this year, Onward plans to focus on San Francisco and one additional market. To date, Onward has completed over 500 ride orders.

Royal Street Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2016 and headquartered in Utah, United States. Its investment footprint spans from the U.S. Midwest to the Pacific region.

Matchstick Ventures, established in 2013, is a Minnesota-based venture capital firm with a focus on early-stage companies. The firm invests in companies with innovative ideas and large market potential, and it favors entrepreneurs with tenacious perseverance.

JPK Capital is a private equity and consulting firm specializing in debt, equity advisory, venture capital, and asset management. Since its establishment in 2006, JPK Capital has invested approximately $1 billion.

(Compiled by: Fan Xin)