From Challenges to Growth: How Agewhale Scaled Its Impact | Co'asis Case Study

image

Founded by Grace Cheng, Agewhale is a social enterprise startup dedicated to enhancing eldercare through innovative tech solutions. Its all-in-one app helps caregivers manage the complexities of eldercare by providing personalized care planning, consultation support, and access to caregiving resources.

As the sole founder, Grace oversees all strategic and operational aspects—a challenging task of running a startup single-handedly. From securing funding to navigating market expansion, Grace encountered several challenges and was looking for professional assistance to enhance Agewhale's operational capabilities.

Recognizing the complexities she faced, Grace turned to Co'asis—Time Auction's program co-developed with the D.H. Chen Foundation that offers tailored support to match resources and talents with small to medium-sized organizations while fostering peer learning and collaboration among social impact organizations.

The Challenge

Although Agewhale secured initial funding for app prototype development, the transition from concept to market required additional capital. The startup needed to create a B2B service model to help sustain its B2C service for underprivileged caregivers. Expanding into the B2B market required deep understanding of market needs to develop effective corporate service packages.

The startup also faced challenges developing its pricing strategy and lacked the financial expertise to set optimal price points. Additionally, it needed hands-on digital marketing support for outreach and lead generation.

Our Solution

With Co'asis’ personalized support, Agewhale engaged with 4 professional volunteers who were pivotal in developing a the B2B service plan. These experts collaborated to craft a financial forecast, refine business strategies, and explore effective pricing models.

Furthermore, Co'asis connected Grace with volunteer consultants from NGO and corporate backgrounds through Calls with Experts. These consultations provided valuable insights into corporate engagement strategies and HR practices, helping Grace to better understand her target market and develop relevant services.

To bolster its funding avenues, Agewhale also benefited from insights into grant-making, enhancing its applications and understanding of impact measurement. This comprehensive support was complemented by 33 skilled volunteers who supported Agewhale’s digital marketing efforts— from social media content creator, blog copywriter, to SEO experts and translators.

In just eight months, Agewhale not only secured pivotal funding from the HKEX Foundation for its Caregiver Workforce Reintegration and Working Caregiver Support program, but also laid a solid foundation for its service expansion. The support from Co'asis and skilled volunteers translated into tangible outcomes: better market positioning, enhanced operational capabilities, and a boost in digital engagement.

Agewhale's story is more than just a case study of a nonprofit startup's growth—it's a narrative about the power of community and accessing the right support at each stage of development. As Agewhale continues to expand its impact, the Co'asis community journeys alongside, fostering co-learning, co-development, and collaboration for growth.

Want to grow your nonprofit and be part of a vibrant community of impact makers? Join Co’asis to connect, learn, and collaborate!

Updated on 8 January, 2025
Share on

Volunteer Your Skills for Worthy Causes

Ever thought you could volunteer with your skills?

Discover volunteer projects where you can use your skills to support causes – all while building your resume, gaining references and making a difference!
Discover Projects
【2025義工活動】點樣加入義工行列?5大義工服務種類推介
你對「做義工」嘅認識有幾多?好多人都未必熟悉除咗賣旗籌款同探訪老人院之外,仲有咩其他類型嘅義工服務。究竟坊間有邊啲做義工嘅途徑,可以搵到適合自己嘅義工機會呢? 其實香港大大小小嘅慈善團體或非牟利機構  (NGO) 都會招募義工,而非牟利機構嘅義工服務範疇亦非常多元化,包括技能義工 (Skilled-volunteers),善用義工嘅個人技能同專長服務社會。你可以根據唔同嘅服務種類,或者按自己嘅喜好、關心嘅社會議題選擇義工機會。以下係5種常見嘅義工服務範疇同機構簡介畀你參考: 目錄 (一):動物福利 (二):長者服務 (三):青年發展 (四):環境保護 (五):社區服務 技能義工配對平台推介 常見嘅義工服務範疇(一):動物福利 如果你係狗奴、貓奴,或者鍾意動物,不妨考慮做動物義工!除咗有機會親身接觸毛孩之外,仲可以利用自己嘅一技之長,支援NGO嘅日常運作。雖然根據政府公佈的數據,動物棄養嘅數量有持續下降趨勢,但因近年的移民潮影響,保護動物慈善協會表示棄養寵物個案兩年升近三倍。因此,很多關注動物福利的團體都十分需要義工加入服務行列。 義工服務性質:清潔籠舍、照顧動物、活動推廣等 香港動物基金 Hong Kong Paws Foundation 香港動物基金係一間完全依靠慈善捐款同義工支持嘅動物福祉組織,希望拯救被虐待、遺棄同走失嘅動物。 香港愛護動物協會 SPCA (HK) 香港愛護動物協會係本港首間兼顧動物福利各方面嘅慈善團體,提倡善待動物,同時打擊同防止虐待動物。 Bring Me Home (Suppaw) Bring Me Home (Suppaw) 係一個寵物社交網站,亦係香港首個無償動物領養平台。 嘉道理農場暨植物園 Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden 嘉道理農場暨植物園為需要支持的農民提供農業援助,幫助他們過上獨立嘅生活; 並為公眾提供休閒同教育體驗。  Team for Animals in Lantau South (TAILS) 南大嶼山動物保護隊為有需要的貓狗提供救援、醫療、絕育、養育、庇護、寄養同領養服務,包括那些 流浪、被遺棄、受傷、虐待同忽視既貓狗,大力提倡動物福利,相信教育可以創造有利於香港動物嘅變革。 立即發掘更多! 常見嘅義工服務範疇(二):長者服務 隨著香港長者人口上升,越來越多關注老人家嘅機構都招募緊義工,希望為老友記送上更多關懷。 義工服務性質:家居維修、網頁設計、文字翻譯等 […]
How CantoGather Built Capacity Across Various Departments | Skilled Volunteering Case Study
The Challenge Being a small-scale NGO, CantoGather’s core team mainly focuses on operations, strategic planning and educational program development. They identified various skill gaps across the organisation and are in need of manpower and resources to sustain and grow. Our Solution CantoGather recruited 19 volunteers who strongly supported their team from marketing, finance and website […]
Fave announces one-year Sponsorship for Time Auction Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta
Fave is excited to announce a one-year sponsorship with Time Auction, a charity that connects young adults to inspiring mentors while encouraging volunteerism. By volunteering 10 hours to any charity, one can join a meal and learn from guests including Founder of AirAsia, 9GAG, Canva, Casetify and many more. Time Auction is already present in […]
Time Auction Star Volunteers — Wei Song Lim & David Wong (HKUST) at Dinner with Anson Chan, Former Chief Secretary of Hong Kong
Wei Song Lim and David Wong are as busy as a typical Hong Kong university student — juggling studies, sports, and student societies. But even with all that on their plates, the two of them have managed to donate countless hours to organisations like 30 Hour Famine, Habit for Humanity, Food Share, We Care, and […]
How Bryony from YMCA of Hong Kong Matched with the Perfect Volunteers | Time Auction Impact Highlights
Meet Bryony from YMCA of Hong Kong! Bryony is the Communications Manager at YMCA of Hong Kong, an NGO that strives to provide holistic services for those in need in order to help them actualize their dreams! Since YMCA of HK already has a well-established volunteer movement of its own, why did they still reach […]
Connecting the Dots: Investment Banking to FinTech — Dinner with Sam Ng, Co-Founder of Fundnel
Sometimes the most meaningful and inspiring conversations happen over casual meals. The rel="noopener nofollow">Time Auction where you can meet Hong Kong’s most astonishing people by volunteering 10 hours to charity. What did the volunteers think? Stephanie: Interesting meeting with Sam and I learned a lot from his mistakes. Things that seem to be common sense […]
How ReSource the Counselling Centre Launched a New Initiative | Skilled Volunteering Case Study
The Challenge Identifying the need for counselling services within the medical and education industry, especially under the strain of COVID-19, ReSource the Counselling Centre hopes to gain insights and reach out to their beneficiaries in an effective, timely manner but are lacking the expertise, resources and manpower with just a team of 3. Our Solution […]
Top