A Homegrown Platform Goes Big
Welbi has spent nearly a decade building software that helps retirement and long term care homes plan recreation programs and track how engaged residents really are. Launched in 2016, the company now works with roughly 1,000 care facilities across Canada and the United States, and it has doubled its customer base over the past year alone.
That kind of momentum caught the attention of Charleston, South Carolina based Further, a company that builds AI tools to help senior living and behavioural health operators connect with new residents. Further announced this week that it has acquired Welbi, and the two companies are now joining forces under one roof.
Double the Team, Same Ottawa Roots
For local job seekers, this is the part worth paying attention to. Founder and CEO Elizabeth Audette-Bourdeau says Welbi expects to have about two dozen employees by the end of the year, roughly double its current headcount, and hiring will continue across Canada.
Audette-Bourdeau will stay on to lead Welbi’s operations, keeping the company’s Ottawa identity intact even as it expands its reach south of the border.
Why the Partnership Just Makes Sense
Welbi and Further may have started as separate platforms, but their missions turned out to overlap in a useful way. Further focuses on sales and marketing for senior living communities, while Welbi has built its reputation on social and recreation programming once residents move in.
Audette-Bourdeau says clients had been drawing comparisons between the two companies for a while, eventually pushing for a closer relationship. Care facilities had already started using Welbi’s platform to help marketing teams tailor visits for prospective residents based on their interests, a sign the two systems were built to work together.
Room to Keep Growing
Together, Welbi and Further now reach about 8,000 senior living communities, a solid footprint but still just a slice of the more than 60,000 senior and long term care homes across North America. That leaves plenty of runway for Ottawa’s hometown success story to keep climbing.
For a company that started small and grew through word of mouth among care facilities, this acquisition marks a new chapter rather than an ending. With fresh resources, a bigger team, and a partner that fills in the gaps, Welbi looks ready to bring its Ottawa made approach to senior care technology to even more communities across the continent.
