The Guest – Kevin Roche, Co-Founder & CTO at Wellthy
Kevin Roche is the Co-Founder & CTO at Wellthy, a care technology company that provides personalised caregiving support alongside an innovative platform to help families manage their care needs from birth through bereavement—tackling healthcare logistics, care coordination, childcare and eldercare, and administrative tasks for loved ones.
Kevin joins us to talk about leading a mission-driven company, a shift in founders management styles, and AI in care technology.
Leading with Purpose: Balancing Impact, Innovation, and Mission
In today’s competitive landscape, building a mission-driven company requires more than just a vision—it demands steadfast commitment to the impact you want to create. Kevin shares insights into navigating this journey, from early startup challenges to becoming a thriving enterprise. His perspective highlights the delicate balance between financial sustainability and staying true to a mission, especially when serving families in deeply personal and critical moments of caregiving.
Kevin emphasises that technology, including AI, should enhance rather than replace human connections in caregiving. At Wellthy, the focus remains on empowering care teams to foster meaningful, empathetic relationships with families, while AI handles administrative burdens. This approach ensures that the company remains anchored to its leading purpose: supporting caregivers and their loved ones during life’s most challenging moments.
Some highlights in this episode include:
- Transition from startup to an established company
- Leading a mission-driven business vs. profitability
- Advice for entrepreneurs starting mission-driven companies
- Vision for AI in the future of care.
Q: Where do you see AI having the biggest impact in the future? Is there anything on the horizon where you think AI will have a massive impact?
“Within the context of what Wellthy does, I think we’ll continue to see significant gains in efficiency, particularly in getting to the right answers quickly and helping people find what they need. But more importantly, we’ll ensure that we maintain the right level of connection with our families.
I don’t foresee a future where humans are completely removed from our solution. I believe that’s one of Wellthy’s key differentiators. While many solutions are emerging that aim to be AI-only, I feel strongly that caregiving is one of the most profoundly human activities we do. Supporting another person, especially during end-of-life care, is something AI may never fully grasp in terms of emotional understanding and providing the right support.
Our goal is to ensure that our care team is 100% focused on fostering meaningful, high-quality connections with families navigating challenging situations. At the same time, we aim to offload as much of the administrative and behind-the-scenes work as possible onto AI. This allows our team to dedicate their time to the human aspects of care, while AI handles the more repetitive, logistical tasks. In the future, I see AI continuing to expand its role in these support functions, enabling our care team to do what they do best: connect, empathize, and support.”
Listen to the Story of Software on:
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Deezer, & any other podcast platform of your choice. The Story of Software Podcast is produced by Zartis, a software services company. We hope you enjoy listening to this tech podcast and feel free to share any feedback with us: podcast@zartis.com
