When Aidaly founder Margaret Norris was in her early twenties, both her father and stepfather were diagnosed with cancer. Norris took time off of school and delayed her career in order to help take care of them. Both had died by the time she turned 27 years old. “It was really difficult,” she told Fortune. “But I wouldn’t trade a minute of my time with them for the world.”
As a caregiver, Norris discovered just how frustrating it was to navigate the health care system to make sure that each parent got what they needed. “As rewarding as it is, caregiving is really hard work,” Norris says.
Her experience is indicative of a larger trend. In 2021, nearly 53 million Americans provided unpaid care for an aging family member. A separate study found that nearly eight in 10 caregivers reported routine out-of-pocket expenses averaging $7,242 annually.
“A common scenario was that one person in the family left the workforce or went part-time to provide care. At the same time, their loved one’s insurance — predominantly Medicaid — would pay strangers to come into the home and do tasks like meal prep, rides, or help with bathing,” says Norris.
When COVID hit, Norris realized that the emotional and financial burden on caretakers was only getting worse. Caregivers — many of whom are women — tend to downshift their careers or leave the workforce entirely to take care of loved ones.
In response, she founded Aidaly, a software-enabled service that partners with leading Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans to train and pay family caregivers for in-home care services.
“We ask women to bear an impossible duty to family at the cost to their mental and physical health, financial security, and career ambitions,” Norris says. “This is why I started Aidaly, because I’ve been there and I get it.”
The Fortune Founders Forum is a community of entrepreneurs chosen by Fortune’s editorial team to participate at the annual Brainstorm Tech conference, which took place in Deer Valley, Utah, in July. Our inaugural cohort was selected based on a variety of factors, including the potential impact of their companies, and reflected a diversity of geographies, sectors, and demographics.
