Here’s the story of how I had an app idea.

For context, Gu (姑, aunt in Chinese) is my best friend in China and runs an unofficial senior home there. She, being the only girl in a family of all brothers, took care of my grandparents after she retired, and continues to take care of the old men (ages 65+) there.

Before I left China to return to the States, Gu mentioned to me, “It would be so much easier if I could just use an app to hire someone to help me short term, for a few hours whenever I needed it. Like to watch grandpa for 2 hours, or help with some chores, or come over and cut his hair when he needs a haircut…”

My brain lit up Jimmy Neutron style (“think, think, THINK!!!”). I thought she just handed me a revolutionary app idea. Most tech doesn’t cater to the aging population nor consider their ease of use, and I already knew of people that picked up under-the-table gigs caring for senior/disabled clients through word of mouth. There was a market for this!

What if there was an app?

• Providers: Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), state-licensed nurses (RN, LVN)
  • state-issued license already requires a background check and having passed a licensing exam
• Users: person needing service, most likely a senior or their guardian
• UIUX: must be senior friendly and incredibly easy to navigate (think big buttons with voice overs)
• User can choose provider based on their availability, even immediately. No third party in between to facilitate choosing
• Services: monitoring vital signs and health progress, bathing/changing, accompanying to doctors visits, transportation, among others (professional + companion care)
• Optional Pay-It-Forward aspect: providers can choose to receive credits for their service for future use, instead of payments.

If the app expanded more, miscellaneous services could be included such as hair cutting, socializing, different tabs for events, Medicare notices, etc. One-size-fits-all, this could be the go-to app for seniors to find services for themselves and socialize so they can age in place more independently.

Boomers (born 1946-1964) hold the most wealth. Gen X (born 1965-1980) are next in line.

Below are the issues that investors (Crossbeam, Redesign Health, AgeTech Capital, Generator Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz) are concerned with. It’s clear that within the next ten years, Boomers and GenX will be the aging clients that need catering to.

• Increase in home labor care costs
• Increase in age-in-place care, increase in family caregiving (which is not great for the mental health of caregivers), and a need for more trustworthy caregivers
• Misaligned incentives and lack of transparency in United States Health Care

Population health needs to incorporate items that were considered non-healthcare previously, such as transportation, housing, dependent care (babysitting, elder care), availability of exercise, etc.

Scott Breidbart MD, Physician Executive (Redesign Health)

Redesign Health actually has great research about the needs of “middlers” (age 65-75) here.

What other on-demand service apps are there for seniors?

Honor: Focuses on professional in-home caregiving, offering a wide range of services from daily activities to specialized care for conditions like dementia.

Papa: Primarily provides companionship and non-medical support through “Papa Pals,” who can help with tasks like grocery shopping, transportation, and social activities.

CareLinx: Connects families with a wide network of professional caregivers, allowing for both non-medical and some clinical care options.

Both Papa and Carelinx have relatively comprehensive insurance coverage options. However, the app I imagined was more like if Papa and Carelinx had a super efficient baby (covering both immediate professional and companion care, in an easy-to-use app), that could be a hub for senior resources (like how WeChat is a nationally used app that contains mini-apps).

Can nonprofits benefit from an app like this?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: there are a ton of non-profits geared towards seniors in the Bay Area, offering them FREE services, that people don’t really know about. I wondered if nonprofits could connect their senior communities to an app like this, then realized that not only is the service demographic different (helping low-income families instead of the wealthier boomers and gen-x’s), they actually already provide professional and companion care services for FREE (in the Bay Area)!!

New problem: how can we raise awareness so more people can know about these nonprofits, and maybe they can receive more funding? Can I bridge this gap, can the Papa+Carelinx app baby that I’m envisioning have a section that shares free resources for seniors too? I want everything to be on the same app. So the service demographic is completely different, I’m spreading myself a little too thin with this research, and Now I Know I Was Just A Naive Girl With A Not-So-New-Idea.

But look at Institute on Aging! Our Bay Area Seniors have access to:

• Home Care Services: Personal care, housekeeping, companionship, and respite care.
• Social Services: Care coordination, information and referral.
• Mental Health Services: Counseling, therapy, support groups.
• Senior Health Programs: Wellness clinics, fitness classes.
• Transportation Services: Rides to appointments, senior shuttle.
• Community Engagement: Educational workshops, volunteer opportunities.
• Advocacy and Outreach: Policy advocacy, community outreach.

Look at OnLok! They developed PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly), which provides provides primary care, specialist care, and hospital services as needed, focus on aging-in-place COVERED BY MEDI-CAL.

And these are only 2 of the many many organizations that can be found through the California Department of Aging’s directory (not the easiest to navigate IMO but at least it’s there).

The Papa+Carelinx app baby needed to pivot. I failed to account for the diversity of the senior population and their needs, even after reading the “Healthcare Solutions for Older Adults Shouldn’t Be One Size Fits All” article by Redesign Health.

Initially, my vision for this app was like WeChat in China: China’s app for literally everything. WeChat even has mini apps within the app so everyone can use the same taxi app, same food reviewing/ordering app, and same social media app. As a traveler, this made my life eons easier upon visiting the country, but I was simply under-thinking the implications of an all-in-one app (think centralized control and surveillance).

Thus the pivot for this idea should be to target an elderly population that isn’t being well-represented in tech, or to scrap it and just work for Papa. Or, provide an easier to access directory for seniors/caregivers to use.

I’ve been writing this post for nearly 2 months now, because I failed to land on a solid conclusion. But now I think it’s okay to end on a