From Personal Crisis to Corporate Solution: The Story Behind Caregiving Support Innovation

Feb 10, 2026

Dave Jacobs, co-founder and co-CEO of HomeThrive, built scalable caregiving support after his own family crisis. He describes HomeThrive’s coaching, navigation, and concierge services. Conversations cover digital scaling of social-work expertise, making the business case to leaders, multi-generational care needs, ROI and utilization, and integrating caregiving into broader health benefits.

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ANECDOTE

Founder Origin From A Family Crisis

Dave Jacobs left a senior healthcare executive role after his father's rapid cancer decline to solve caregiver support at scale.
He and a friend quit corporate jobs seven and a half years ago to build HomeThrive from that personal crisis.

INSIGHT

Caregiving Is A Lifelong Continuum

Caregiving spans the lifespan: "high chair to the rocking chair and beyond," including neurodiversity and end-of-life tasks.
Employers must address wide, shifting caregiving needs across life stages to truly support employees.

ADVICE

Start With Digital, Escalate To Humans

Use digital-first tools to increase utilization and reach caregivers earlier and more often.
Combine digital guidance with targeted human support for complex cases to lower cost and raise impact.

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From Personal Crisis to Corporate Solution: The Story Behind Caregiving Support Innovation

Hosts: Steve Boese and Trish Steed

Guest: Dave Jacobs, Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Homethrive

Summary

In this episode of the At Work in America show, Steve Boese and Trish Steed welcome Dave Jacobs, co-founder and co-CEO of Homethrive to explore the critical issue of employee caregiving support and how organizations can make a meaningful impact. Dave shares his inspiring journey from personal experience to building scalable solutions that aid caregivers at every stage. They also discuss strategies for HR and organizational leaders to advocate for caregiving benefits as well as how normalization of caregiving support helps broaden health and well-being initiatives.

Chapters

01:00 Introduction to Caregiving in the Workforce

05:45 Overview of Homethrive's Services and Digital Tools

09:10 The Scale of Unpaid Family Caregiving in the US

14:00 How Caregiving Affects Employee Productivity and Mental Health

16:20 Strategies to get Executive Buy-in for Caregiving Programs

19:00 Supporting Multi-generational Families and Family-centered Care

23:45 Future Trends: Integrating Caregiving into Broader Health Initiatives

28:30 Connecting Caregiving Support with Mental Health and Chronic Disease Management

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