A Note from Our Founder

My name is Austin Thomas LaChance, and I created Aelari because I want to help people reach their dreams—and feel less alone along the way.

I grew up in Georgia. My father went to prison when I was six. Later, my mother left my siblings and me in our aunt’s care, and my grandparents eventually took custody of us. Much of my childhood was shaped by other people’s decisions, before I was old enough to understand them.

My grandparents became an important part of my life. My grandfather passed away in 2012, and my grandmother passed away in February 2025.

Losing my grandmother left me with a lesson I still carry. I wanted to reach a point where I could fix everything for the people I loved. I wanted to help her get a home and make her life easier. Sometimes, because I couldn’t do those things yet, I pulled away. I thought I needed to come back with something to show for myself.

Looking back, I wish I had understood sooner that I didn’t have to solve everything to be present. A phone call, a visit, or time together mattered too. The people we love are living their lives while we’re busy trying to build ours.

I serve in the United States Marine Corps as an air traffic controller. My service has taken me far from where I grew up and introduced me to people with different lives, struggles, and dreams. Those experiences have given me more reasons to care about what happens beyond my own life.

There have also been times when I felt deeply alone and struggled to see a way forward. I know what it means to wish someone would notice, check in, and stay. That feeling helped shape the person I want to become: someone who shows up for others.

That is where Aelari began.

I want to build something that helps people turn their ideas and abilities into opportunities. Someone might be trying to grow a family business, share their art, find meaningful work, or simply take their first step toward a better life. I want Aelari to help others see that person, understand their dream, and find a way to support them.

I’m still building it. I don’t have every answer, and there is a lot I still need to learn. My faith helps me keep going, and I want the work itself to show what I believe.

If there is one lesson I hope you take from my story, it is this: don’t wait until you can fix everything to care for someone. Be there while you can. Listen. Make the call. Help with the step that is within your reach.

My story is here for anyone who wants to understand why I started. The people we support deserve room for their own stories to be heard.

I hope Aelari becomes a place where those stories lead to real opportunities—and where someone who once felt overlooked finds people willing to believe in them.

Always Watching. Never Alone.

— Austin Thomas LaChance
Founder, Aelari