David González Prieto

My grandfather, my hero and one of my greatest references in my life, was an entrepreneur in another era, before the word "entrepreneur" became fashionable. I was born in Salamanca and grew up in Madrid and perhaps out of admiration for my grandfather, or because of genetics, I also ended up being an entrepreneur. After years dedicated to private banking, first and later to strategic consulting in companies like Deloitte and Bain & Company, in 2017 I took a leave of absence to design Depencare. I founded Depencare with the aim of helping elderly and dependent people to live a fuller life in their own home. Depencare offers full-service in-home care. The personal part of this story is that the first people we cared for at Depencare were my own grandparents. Today Depencare has a network of more than 3,500 caregivers throughout Spain, we are generating more than 450 direct and indirect jobs and we are making a great social impact, helping people who need home care or who live alone.

How did IE help you get to where you are today?

After spending a few years in the banking industry, in 2010 I decided to join IE Business School to do their IMBA full time. This really changed my professional and personal life, after completing the IMBA within the group selected by Beta Gamma Sigma, I was able to start my new career in strategy consulting at Bain & Company and Deloitte, an opportunity that would never have arisen without this step through IE Business School. Thanks to my work experience in strategic consulting, I acquired the knowledge and skills to design and launch Depencare.

How did you come up with the idea for your company?

In my last job before launching Depencare, I worked closely with insurance companies and was involved in Silver Economy projects. At that time, my grandfather was 96 years old and my grandmother was 85, and although they had always been very self-sufficient, they began to have some issues such as falls at home and health problems. They lived alone. And finally when we launched Depencare, my grandparents became the first people to be cared for by Depencare. My grandparents were our early adopters and we started our journey of entrepreneurship and social impact with them.

What is the key to the success of your company?

At Depencare, we have created a unique model of home care for the elderly, called “the nursing home at home”. It is an end-to-end solution that allows to have all the services of a nursing home, but in the comfort of your own home. The timing for Depencare has been key, since according to current data more than 95% of the elderly and dependent people want to stay at home. All this, together with a model that prioritises excellence in customer experience and with a committed and experienced team, has allowed us to create a scalable model and a brand that is well known in the market.