Grandparents Day 2015 Gets a Boost from Entrepreneurs
Sep 10, 2015 • Entrepreneurship • Desdemona Bandini
Young entrepreneurs are modernizing senior care for the better and creating more reliable ways to support the aging generation. With Grandparents Day approaching on September 13th, we wanted to share a quick roundup of a few ways to improve the lives of our aging loved ones.
Whether it be the issue of finding a trustworthy caregiver to take care of your grandparents or making it easier for seniors to live chat via webcam, we’re hoping the following services can inspire a story on the types of senior tech services available (and inspired by entrepreneur’s grandparents).
- Find a trusted caregiver for the grandparents – HomeHero: After experiencing the devastating process of finding trustworthy caregivers for Kyle’s grandmother in Seattle, Co-Founders Kyle Hill and Mike Townsend started HomeHero to help families find, hire and manage in-home care for seniors through an online marketplace of hundreds of experienced caregivers in California. Users can browse the site for high-def video interviews of each potential caregiver, send and receive payments online and receive daily updates via text message on their aging loved ones.
- Custom Tableware to improve the lives of cognitive impairments – Eatwell: After her grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, Founder Sha Yao set out to design a better way for patients with Alzheimers to feed themselves to make eating a less labor-intensive exercise. Eatwell, a complete tableware set created specifically for patients suffering from cognitive impairments have angled bowls that allow food to be scooped at ease, spoons contoured to align with bowl edges, and cups and mugs that prevent tipping.
- Easily video-chat with the grandparents – Bloom: Founder Keith Kocho recognized the need for easy-to-use tools for families to communicate across generations when he saw the pains of his own children trying to connect with his father through Skype and other social media channels. With a special tablet, a wearable location-marking band for the senior and a standalone smartphone app, Bloom connects families via video chat that is easier and less complicated for older relatives to use.
Everyone has a beloved grandparents. This is a potentially lucrative under-tapped market. Hopefully more entrepreneurs will enter this space in the near future and create even more helpful services for the elderly and senior citizen communities.
