Tech company pivots its household help network to deliver groceries - Crain's New York Business

Six months after Umbrella raised $5 million from investors for its AAA-like membership service to help senior citizens with household tasks, Covid-19 disrupted its business model.

Sending gig workers to help its paying members, all of whom are 60 or older, was no longer feasible under social-distancing policies. Even if it were possible, "changing a light bulb or fixing a leaky faucet wasn't as important as keeping people safe," said Lindsay Ullman, chief executive and co-founder.

Instead, Umbrella heard that one thing was particularly vital to the people it serves: finding groceries. "We had thousands of phone calls with members by the end of February, asking them what they need," Ullman said. "We kept hearing, 'If I can't go outside my house, how can I get the things I need?'"

The Brooklyn-based company has suspended its annual $199 membership fee and has spent the past two months building up an army of volunteer grocery shoppers.

Instacart and FreshDirect have been jammed up since the start of the pandemic. Securing a delivery time takes digital know-how rare among Umbrella's customers. The services are impossible for those who don't use the internet at all.

Umbrella has opened its contactless delivery platform up to anyone who calls or fills out a request form online. Customers are responsible for paying for their groceries, but delivery is free. The company suggests a $10 contribution to cover its costs.

More than 3,000 people have volunteered to deliver groceries in the metropolitan area, Umbrella said.

Among them are firefighters, military veterans and police officers, Ullman said, as well as people who live away from their family and are looking for others to help. They are unpaid but for the occasional home-baked cookies, handwritten poems or fresh-cut flowers left on the doorstep as a thank you.

"We hear these stories, and it shows that there's a connection, even from a distance, that is amazingly powerful," Ullman said. Umbrella has expanded its delivery system to Cleveland, Detroit and Birmingham, Ala., through a partnership with Venture for America, the nonprofit tech-focused fellowship program founded by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang.

All 20 of Umbrella's employees have stayed on the payroll, with Umbrella drawing on the venture investment to pay its bills. Ullman said investors, including Alphabet's Sidewalk Labs and David Tisch's Box Group, support the company's decision to hold off on collecting fees. There is "no playbook" for how long Umbrella will be able to—or need to—keep its grocery service running.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said last week that the city and its suburbs will be the last parts of the state to be removed from social-distancing guidelines. For as long as the pandemic is a threat, the vulnerable population Umbrella serves will be asked to limit their exposure to the public. Although the company will have no revenue for as long as that lasts, Umbrella is betting that the goodwill it is building now will help grow its membership when the time is right.

"This is a defining moment for companies and brands," Ullman said. "People will look back and ask what you did and what you stood for."

Do you know of other businesses that have pivoted during the coronavirus pandemic to keep their employees working? We'd like to hear about them. Email Crain's New York Business Editor Robert Hordt at [email protected]