Andrew Parker is the founder and CEO of Papa, the companion care platform pairing older adults with vetted "pals" who help with rides, tech, paperwork, and the thing nobody puts on a care plan: loneliness.

In this episode, Andrew tells Rob about the moment that changed everything. He almost deleted the YC interview email at 5am, fished it out of his trash, and walked into a room where he was convinced everyone was smarter than him. Papa went on to become one of the hottest companies in its YC batch.

We get into the bet that built the company (cutting bathing and toileting to scale companion care nationally), getting Medicare to cover a service that didn't exist five years ago, and why Andrew thinks you have to be a little irrational to build anything real.

What we cover:

The deleted YC email and the drive home convinced he'd lost

Why he leaned into the two things he's great at and ignored the other 98%

Building the "Uber of caregiving" by rethinking the rules

Getting Medicare Advantage to cover companion care

Being comfortable in the abyss and "absorbing" when things go against you

Very First Win is hosted by Rob Hilmer, founder of Goanna Capital, and explores the early, defining moments behind the people building the future.

Listen everywhere:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0cTzEJW3juIZEBnyswNl9c

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/very-first-win/id1896315027

YouTube: @GoannaCapital

Rob Hilmer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roberthilmer/

Andrew Parker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-parker-30904417/