Care Is Not Just a Business: Lessons from FirstLight Sunnyvale’s First Year with David Kim

A Conversation with David Kim, Owner of FirstLight Sunnyvale

In this interview, we talk with David Kim about the realities of starting and running a home care agency. We chat about his journey to buying a franchise, the decision-making process behind a franchise versus independent agency, surprises, magical moments and what he's learned in a year of home care operations. David's FirstLight agency is an exclusive early user of Sage.

Q: Thanks so much for making the time to chat with me this morning, David. Just to start out, can you tell me why you got into home care?

A: I don’t think that I got into home care. I think home care got into me. I wasn’t seeking it out – it fell into my lap during a career transition. I had worked in medical device my entire career and loved helping people, but I wanted a change. 

I took time off, thinking I’d return to what I knew. Then opportunities to open a business came up, which I’d never considered. As I explored it, I realized if I were going to start a business, I wanted it to meaningfully impact people. Home care came across our path, and we immediately fell in love with it.

Q: So when you first started, what did you think running a home care agency would be like – and how accurate has that been?

A: I never really saw myself as a business owner. My parents ran businesses growing up, but they weren’t successful, so I assumed I didn’t have the entrepreneurial gene. I’d always been an employee and felt comfortable with that. 

Opening a business felt foreign – I didn’t know bookkeeping or accounting. It was a challenge to learn things I’d never done. I didn’t have many expectations beyond “I hope I don’t fail.” What kept me going was the intention: build something that helps people. Every step – forming the corporation, opening bank accounts, finding an office, setting leases – was a stepping stone toward being ready to help people. That gave meaning and perspective to everything.

Q: Remind me, your one year anniversary for your agency is January, correct?

A: Yes. January was when we started and signed our franchise documents. Our agency is part of a franchise – we’re not independent. We chose that because we were new and felt a franchise’s support and expertise would help. We have absolutely no regrets and we’re coming up on a year since signing.

Q: I’d like to dig in a little more on that question of franchisee versus independent agency. What led you to that decision? 

A: I spoke with a lot of business owners. People tend to be in two camps: never join a franchise because of fees, or franchising is great because you have a support network. 

For us, it was a no-brainer. Neither my wife nor I had run a business, and independent would have been more challenging and slower. The franchise route felt right – it was just about finding the right one. We were lucky to find FirstLight – our values mesh. Now I have dozens, hundreds of partners nationwide I can call for support when I hit unfamiliar situations.

Q: Zooming in on your first year, what have been the biggest surprises?

A: The parallels between working at a company and running a business. I thought they were distinct, but I’ve lived in the Bay Area for 25+ years and worked at small startup medical device companies. Startup is startup – your own business or a startup company – it’s similar. 

Those experiences starting from the ground up were formative, and they helped me do the same for myself. The transition from everyone wearing many hats to an operational mode with established processes is familiar. I’ve navigated that as an employee; now I’m learning to navigate it as an owner.

Q: What advice would you give to a new agency owner?

A: Be prepared for not being in control. In startup mode, despite planning, surprises come out of the woodwork. 

As an employee, there’s predictability – you do your work, get a paycheck automatically. As a business owner, I realized I don’t control much. I can put our agency out there, but I’m at the whim of clients choosing to work with us. It’s humbling and uncomfortable after a patterned environment. 

I also can’t do this alone. It’s not “I’m the owner; I make all the calls.” My success depends on employees, clients, partners – everyone. I didn’t anticipate how dependent I’d be on others, and I’m humbled by how much people have helped us.

Q: Tell me a little bit more about what that means for your caregivers.

A: If you boil it down, our product is our caregivers. We provide support and care in people’s homes – not with AI or technology – but with humans. FirstLight’s first core value is “focus on relationships first.” I love that because our work creates relationships – between caregivers and clients. 

Caregivers are our foundation. We must take care of them so they can take care of clients. We start with the relationship between our agency and caregivers. Some people think agencies are just matchmakers, but we’re more than that. Clients hire an agency that cares for them, oversees their care, and supports caregivers. It’s a partnership – agency, caregiver, client – working together to make care the best it can be.

Q: One major challenge for new agencies is client acquisition. Where did your first clients come from and how did you find them?

A: Client acquisition is hard. Home care is crowded – search Google and you’ll find dozens or hundreds of providers. The challenge is how people find you. Our first clients were mainly from paid leads – aggregators like A Place for Mom, AgingCare, Care.com. 

People submit their info; those sites sell it to multiple agencies, and prospects get bombarded by contacts, often simultaneously. It’s overwhelming – they go from “I need help” to “too many options.” 

I try to be empathetic. We offer support without pressure. If a client gets the help they need, I’m happy. If it’s with us, even better; if it’s with another agency they feel comfortable with, I’m pleased. There’s so much need that no single agency can serve everyone. I don’t see clients choosing another agency as “competition” – I see it as them finding support. If they’re happy, I’m happy.

Q: What have you learned about the senior care industry since getting started?

A: It’s complex, fragmented, and challenging. I empathize with people in tough situations – navigating multiple providers who aren’t coordinated: home health, hospice, facilities, hospitals, home care. People expect everyone to be aligned; in reality, each provider handles their contracted piece and hopes others do theirs. 

Clients and families end up coordinating everything, which is overwhelming. I’m grateful for partners in home health, hospice, and geriatric care management. No single agency can do it all; it has to be a team approach.

Q: And what does partnering look like at your agency?

A: My goal is providing the support clients need. Some needs are out of bounds for home care – we’re strictly non-medical. When medical needs arise, I don’t just point it out and walk away; I offer vetted options clients can trust. I look for like-minded agencies and people with a service level I feel comfortable referring to – folks I know and work well with. 

There are lots of options; the challenge is choice overload. Helping clients find the right options is part of our support.

Q: How do you vet your partners?

A: The same way I vet caregivers: I want to work with people I want to work with. It’s about their heart. Training skills is the easy part – we can train quickly. You can’t train someone’s heart. 

There’s a disposition that makes a good caregiver; it’s innate. Beyond background checks, drug tests, and skill checks, I add a personal criterion: if I don’t feel comfortable with this person caring for me or my loved ones, I won’t hire them. If they’re not good enough for my family, they’re not good enough for our clients. 

I apply the same standard to partners – competent, dependable, and people others will enjoy working with. Great heart for clients is what distinguishes experience; we want that for our partners too.

Q: Can you share a moment when you really felt the impact of what you do at FirstLight Sunnyvale?

A: I’ll channel my wife, Ruth. Even as owners, we fill in and do shifts. After one shift, her client asked repeatedly, “Could you please be my caregiver?” The son said, “No, Ruth is the agency owner; she’s here as a favor.” The client asked multiple times. Ruth finally said, “Okay, I’ll come back next week.” The client cried  –  she was so thankful. We literally impact people’s days.

For me, a few months ago, we visited a home where a son sought care for his mother. She was isolated and didn’t want to be bothered; she hadn’t eaten in a day or two. We suggested going to the hospital; she refused, saying she didn’t want to get better, she wanted to be done. The son said, “Mom, don’t talk like that. I need you.” 

With the help of one of my lead caregivers, we convinced her: “Let’s try one more time – for your son.” We got her to the hospital; they helped her. The son had tried for weeks and couldn’t make it happen. She didn’t become our client, but intervening to help the family – that’s what this is about: helping people in their time of need.

Q: That’s a beautiful story, thank you so much for sharing. 

Final question: What advice would you give someone thinking about starting a home care agency?

A: If you’re going to do it, do it fully. Put your whole heart into it. Do it excellently – better than everyone else. Don’t be lost in the sea of sameness. If you’re just following the standard playbook, you’ll probably do fine by metrics, but you won’t stand out. 

For me, this isn’t just about making a living; it’s about making an impact on our communities. The need is great – do your market research, but aim higher. If you’re going to spend the blood, sweat, and tears anyway, build something excellent. Don’t just do what everyone else is doing.

About FirstLight Sunnyvale

FirstLight Sunnyvale provides non-medical in-home care services in Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Mountain View and San Jose. If you're looking for care for a loved one, contact David on (650) 336-2273.

About Sage

Sage is a HIPAA-compliant, AI-native client intake communications platform that can save agencies up to 100 minutes of busywork per prospect. Sage automates note-taking during client calls, intelligently suggests follow ups, drafts editable care plans based on call data and syncs information directly back to your agency management system. Interested in learning more? Sign up or book a demo.