Hello
Hello (Telecom, LLC) is a US-based, family-owned live telephone answering service operating since 1923 from Richmond, Virginia, providing 24/7 HIPAA-compliant answering, custom scripting, and secure messaging to healthcare, property management, legal/real estate, and SMB customers nationwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1923
- HeadquartersRichmond, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Hello does
Hello (legally Telecom, LLC) is a US-based, family-owned live telephone answering and messaging service provider headquartered in Richmond, Virginia at 2315 West Broad Street. Founded in 1923 by Margaret Redmond Smith, it is described as America's oldest continuously operating telephone answering bureau and remains privately held with no disclosed external funding rounds. The company employs US-based live operators to deliver 24/7/365 call coverage for healthcare practices, property managers, legal and real estate firms, and general small-to-mid-size businesses (SMBs), with regional service concentrated in Virginia (Richmond, Charlottesville, Virginia Beach, Fredericksburg, Newport News, Williamsburg, Northern Virginia) and Washington D.C., alongside nationwide service delivery enabled by remote operator staffing and technology.
The product portfolio centers on four core telephone answering services — general Telephone Answering, Medical Answering (HIPAA-compliant), Property Management Answering, and Call Center Services — supplemented by two add-on modules: Voicemail Services with voicemail-to-email transcription and Secure Messaging Services. The platform combines custom call scripting, configurable call routing and screening, multi-channel message delivery (secure text, email, voicemail, fax, paging, live-operator callback), and a mobile application for message management. Sensitive communications are handled through miSecureMessages, a HIPAA/HITECH-compliant two-way secure messaging engine with end-to-end encryption, no on-device message storage, remote access disablement, and app-level passcodes. Infrastructure is secured with SSL in transit, Bitlocker/Azure encryption at rest, multifactor authentication, password-protected systems, automatic account locking, and SOC 2-aligned controls. Operational reliability is evidenced by a 24/7 Call Center Site Certification earned in 2004 for maintaining 99.99% annual uptime.
Hello monetizes through a hybrid subscription plus usage pricing structure: a starter plan at $47 per month with overage billing at $1.37 per additional minute, plus flat-fee add-ons for telecom ($0.024 per call), compliance/regulation, technology, and holiday coverage on seven major holidays. Customer acquisition is sales-led via direct sales, inside sales, and personalized consultation, with self-serve entry through a free 7-day trial on helloinc.com and outbound phone-based consultation to design custom answering solutions. Distribution is direct (no third-party resellers or channel partners are indicated), with supplementary marketing channels spanning SEO, paid search, content marketing, Facebook organic social, email/SMS newsletters, and referral arrangements with professional associations. Revenue streams (subscription telephone answering, usage-based overages, telecom and flat-fee add-ons, voicemail and secure messaging bundles) are described across multiple sources but no quantitative revenue, ARR, or growth figures are disclosed.
Hello firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hello
- Legal name
- Telecom, LLC
- Website
- https://helloinc.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1923
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Hello (Telecom, LLC) is a US-based, family-owned live telephone answering service operating since 1923 from Richmond, Virginia, providing 24/7 HIPAA-compliant answering, custom scripting, and secure messaging to healthcare, property management, legal/real estate, and SMB customers nationwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Hello industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Telephone Answering Services
- NAICS
- Telephone Answering Services (561421), Telephone Call Centers (56142)
- SIC
- Services-Health Services (8000), Telephone Communications (No Radiotelephone) (4813)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Omnichannel Patient Communications & Contact Center (Voice/SMS/Email/Chat) (HLACAEAC)
Keywords
Where Hello is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Richmond
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices8 records
Markets served
Hello business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel
Revenue model
- Telephone Answering Services: Monthly subscription plans for 24/7 live telephone answering. Starter plan starts at $47/month with additional per-minute charges. Revenue generated through recurring monthly service fees plus usage overage charges for minutes beyond plan allocation.
- Per-Minute Usage Charges: Overage billing at $1.37 per additional minute beyond plan inclusion. Usage-based charges for additional call minutes incurred during the billing cycle.
- Additional Fees (Telecom, Compliance, Technology, Holiday): Telecom fee at $0.024 per call, compliance/regulation use flat fee, technology flat fee, and holiday flat fee charged on seven major holidays. These fees contribute to recovery of telecommunication, regulatory/compliance, technology development, and holiday labor expenses.
- Voicemail Services: Voicemail services offered as part of subscription plans, including voicemail-to-email transcription, custom greetings, and secure message storage. Revenue bundled within overall service subscription.
- Secure Messaging Services: HIPAA-compliant secure messaging powered by miSecureMessages, offered as part of the integrated service suite. Revenue bundled within subscription.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid | Monthly | Starter Plan at $47/month with $1.37 per additional minute |
| Subscription | Monthly | Custom tailored plans based on business requirements |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Hello product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hello provides 24/7 live telephone answering services delivered by US-based agents for businesses that cannot afford to miss calls. The offering spans general telephone answering, HIPAA-compliant medical answering, property management answering, and inbound call center services, complemented by voicemail with transcription and secure messaging powered by miSecureMessages. Plans start at $47/month with usage-based per-minute charges and custom enterprise solutions.
Product overview
Hello offers a unified suite of live answering and messaging services built around human-operated call handling. The core offering consists of four specialized Telephone Answering Services: general Telephone Answering Services, Medical Answering Services (HIPAA-compliant), Property Management Answering Services, and Call Center Services. These are complemented by two add-on modules: Voicemail Services (with transcription) and Secure Messaging Services (powered by miSecureMessages). All services feature 24/7 U.S.-based agents, custom scripting, and message delivery options. Plans start at $47/month for the starter plan.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- miSecureMessages: HIPAA-compliant secure messaging platform powering Hello's secure messaging service for healthcare, legal, real estate, and property management industries.
Products and services
- Telephone Answering Services 24/7 live telephone answering service where US-based receptionists answer calls following custom scripts, schedule appointments, screen and transfer calls, and deliver messages via text, email, or secure platforms. Targeted at businesses that cannot afford to miss calls.
- Medical Answering Services 24/7 HIPAA-compliant medical answering service for healthcare practices, handling patient calls, appointment scheduling, emergency dispatch, and routing to on-call physicians with healthcare-specific terminology training.
- Property Management Answering Services
Quantifiable outcome
- 99.99% annual uptime (24/7 Call Center Site Certification in 2004)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Hello
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Hello technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature4 records
Hello partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- miSecureMessagescoreHello's secure messaging service is powered by miSecureMessages, a HIPAA-compliant communication platform. This platform enables fast, reliable two-way communication and replaces outdated pagers and unsecure texting. Features include end-to-end encryption, no message storage on devices, remote access disablement, and app-level passcodes. This integration is central to Hello's secure messaging value proposition for healthcare, legal, real estate, and property management clients.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Hello competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- MAP Communications: One of the largest US live answering and call center service bureaus, offering 24/7 inbound call handling, order entry, and customer service across healthcare, legal, real estate, and SMB verticals — a direct competitor to Hello in the same product category and customer base.
- PATLive: Established US-based live answering service bureau providing 24/7 receptionist and call center solutions to SMBs, with vertical specializations in medical, legal, and property management — directly comparable to Hello in service model, pricing structure, and target verticals.
- Ruby Receptionists: Premium virtual receptionist service with US-based remote receptionists handling live calls, lead capture, and scheduling for SMBs and professional services — directly competes with Hello in the live answering space with a similar customer base and subscription model.
- Answering Service Care: Long-standing US live answering service offering 24/7 call answering, message taking, and appointment scheduling for medical, legal, and small business clients — directly comparable to Hello's core telephone answering service.
- Specialty Answering Service: Niche-focused live answering service emphasizing medical and property management verticals with HIPAA-compliant call handling — directly competes with Hello in the same regulated verticals with a similar service stack.
- Sound Telecom: US-based telephone answering, call center, and dispatch services for medical, property management, and commercial clients — closely comparable to Hello's service portfolio and long-tenured operator model.
- VoiceNation: US-based live answering service providing 24/7 call answering, lead capture, and appointment scheduling for SMBs in healthcare, legal, and real estate — directly comparable to Hello in service scope, vertical focus, and pricing model.
- Davis Communications (MAP Communications): Mid-Atlantic/US call center and live answering provider serving healthcare, property management, and commercial clients — geographically and operationally comparable to Hello with overlapping service portfolio.
Emerging players
- Smith.ai: Tech-enabled virtual receptionist service combining AI automation with live North American agents for SMBs, particularly law firms and agencies — competes head-to-head with Hello in the SMB live answering category while layering AI/software tooling.
Broad incumbents
- RingCentral: Large cloud communications platform offering virtual phone systems, IVR, and contact center capabilities. While not a pure human answering service, its AI receptionist and call-handling features overlap with the entry-level Hello offering and increasingly compete for the same SMB communications budget.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Hello social profiles
Digital presenceHello compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Hello financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hello leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Hello funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hello M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Hello
What does Hello do?
Hello provides 24/7 live telephone answering services delivered by US-based agents for businesses that cannot afford to miss calls. The offering spans general telephone answering, HIPAA-compliant medical answering, property management answering, and inbound call center services, complemented by voicemail with transcription and secure messaging powered by miSecureMessages. Plans start at $47/month with usage-based per-minute charges and custom enterprise solutions.
Is Hello a public or private company?
Hello is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Hello founded?
Hello was founded in 1923. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Hello based?
Hello is headquartered in Richmond, United States, in the North America region.
How does Hello make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Telephone Answering Services are the primary driver. The others are per-Minute Usage Charges, additional Fees (Telecom, Compliance, Technology, Holiday), voicemail Services and secure Messaging Services.
Who are Hello's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are MAP Communications, PATLive, Ruby Receptionists, Answering Service Care, Specialty Answering Service, Sound Telecom, VoiceNation and Davis Communications (MAP Communications). Smith.ai is listed as an emerging player. RingCentral is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Hello have an API?
No public API is recorded for Hello.
What industry is Hello in?
Hello's product category is Telephone Answering Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLACAEAC, Omnichannel Patient Communications & Contact Center (Voice/SMS/Email/Chat). Its NAICS code is 561421 and its SIC code is 8000.