-- From One Hire to 85: How a Goals-Driven Team Built a $1M+ South Texas Home-Care Company From Zero
When Eduardo Peñalosa opened Right at Home San Antonio in late 2024, the company had no clients, no caregivers and no local track record. What it had was a plan, a set of numbers to hit, and one employee.
From left to right: James Tyler, Eduardo Penalosa and Daniela Gomez, Right at Home leadership
Fifteen months later, the locally owned operation had surpassed $1 million in cumulative revenue, grown to approximately 80 active caregivers delivering around 1,300 hours of in-home care each week, and begun expanding into Corpus Christi and the Coastal Bend.
Peñalosa, who came to the United States from Mexico as an E-2 treaty investor after more than 15 years in marketing and growth leadership, is direct about how it happened.
“A business like this is built by a small group of people who agree on what winning looks like and then hold each other to it every single week.
Hire No. 1
The company’s first employee was James Tyler, now Senior Director of Care.
Tyler joined when Right at Home San Antonio was about to launch — no client roster, no caregiver bench, no referral relationships. Together, he and Peñalosa built the care operation from the first intake call forward: recruiting and onboarding the earliest caregivers, standing up scheduling and quality processes, and personally handling the first families who trusted the new agency with a parent or spouse.
“When I started, it was the two of us and a whiteboard. We followed corporate’s playbook and improved as we went, and we kept score. Every client we added, every caregiver we hired, every hour of care we delivered was something that is something I’ll carry for the rest of my career,” said James Tyler, Senior Director of Care at Right at Home San Antonio and Corpus Christi
Peñalosa says the first hire sets the standard for every hire after it.
“James was employee number one, and he took ownership from day one. That is the bar. Everyone who has joined since has been measured against that level of accountability.”
A Team That Runs on Goals, Not Guesswork
Peñalosa brought a corporate growth discipline into a small business. Before becoming an entrepreneur, he held marketing and growth roles with global organizations including AB InBev, Walmart, Bayer and Sanofi, and holds a master’s degree in Digital Marketing along with industry recognition from organizations including Google, IAB, Effie and Waze.
That background shaped how the South Texas team operates. Each function owns a defined scorecard with weekly targets — care hours delivered, caregiver recruiting and retention, client satisfaction, referral-source activity and revenue — reviewed by the leadership team on a fixed cadence rather than by instinct or by crisis.
“A small company cannot afford ambiguity. Everyone on our leadership team knows their number, knows the week they are in, and knows whether we are ahead or behind. That clarity is what let a handful of people build something that normally takes a much larger organization.”
The Team Behind the Numbers
The leadership group driving Right at Home’s South Texas growth includes:
James Tyler, Senior Director of Care — the company’s first hire, responsible for care delivery, quality and the operational engine behind the organization’s growth
Daniela Gomez, Human Resources Manager — leads the workforce strategy behind a caregiver team that has grown to approximately 80 active caregivers, from recruiting and compliance through retention. She is the magician when call outs happen, and the one in charge of hiring only the very best. With Daniela we were able to start focusing on our own missions, from her very early days she showed ownership and a high sense of urgency and structure, very needed for her role. She won our "Extreme Ownership" award, inspired by the book.
Beverly, Human Resources Specialist — manages caregiver onboarding, scheduling, orientation, credentialing and payroll support, keeping the staffing pipeline ready to meet client demand week over week. Beverly really cares about people and that is her special ingredient.
Nancy Guerrero, Director of Community Growth — newest member of the team, leads market development and referral partnerships, and is building the company’s presence in Corpus Christi and the Coastal Bend.
The structure is deliberately flat and deliberately accountable. Care, human resources and community growth each own their outcomes, and each is expected to bring problems and proposals to the table early.
“My biggest motivation is seeing the people around me win. My vision has always been to surround myself with people who become far better experts than I could ever be in their individual areas. Watching someone grow into a leader, take ownership and help build the organization with you is incredibly inspiring.”
From E-2 Investor to South Texas Employer
Peñalosa entered the United States through the E-2 treaty investor program, which allows nationals of treaty countries to invest in and actively direct a U.S. enterprise. Rather than acquiring an existing local operation, he invested in building one from the ground up in San Antonio and then in Corpus Christi
The measurable result of that investment is now a local employer: approximately 80 active caregivers, around 1,300 hours of in-home care delivered each week, more than $1 million in cumulative revenue in the first 15 months, and a leadership bench of local professionals with defined career paths.
“An investor visa is often discussed in terms of capital. What it really produced here is jobs, careers and care for families in South Texas. That is the return I care about reporting.”
Taking the Model to Corpus Christi
The same team-first approach is now being applied to the company’s expansion into Corpus Christi and the Coastal Bend, chosen for its proximity to San Antonio, its significant senior and veteran populations, and its established healthcare infrastructure.
Under Nancy Guerrero, the company is building a local Corpus Christi team while developing relationships with healthcare providers, senior communities, case managers, veterans’ organizations and other organizations serving older adults.
“We aren’t interested in opening a location simply to put another dot on a map. Our goal is to build an exceptional local team that understands this community and earns its trust — the same way we did in San Antonio.”
Right at Home provides non-medical in-home care to older adults and adults with disabilities, including personal care, companionship, transportation, meal preparation, mobility assistance, respite care, dementia and Alzheimer’s support, and assistance during transitions home from hospitals and rehabilitation facilities. The company also serves veterans and families navigating the increasingly common challenge of helping aging parents remain safely and independently at home.
Right at Home is an international home-care organization with more than 700 locations worldwide and more than three decades of experience helping seniors and adults maintain their independence.
To learn more about available care services or discuss your specific needs, visit the official website and Facebook @rightathomesouthtexas or contact the team directly at (210) 688-8551 in San Antonio or (361) 288-1690 or email [email protected].
Contact Info:
Name: Corpus Christi
Email: Send Email
Organization: Right at Home San Antonio & Corpus Christi
Website: https://careinsa.com/
Release ID: 89201583
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