The Goldilocks Effect

A New Dimension — Age

In a world with increasing personalization and customization, there’s one dimension that has largely been ignored — age. And more specifically, old age.

Older adults often have two choices when buying a product or using a service: 1) something meant for the average adult or 2) something meant specifically for the elderly. And more often than not, the second choice doesn’t exist, or is sub-optimal relative to the first choice. As a result, older adults aren’t able to use certain products and services or are stuck with something that doesn’t quite fit. A classic problem we all know well — the Goldilocks problem … too big, too small … too hot, too cold.

As the Baby Boomer generation ages, adding over 75M to the ranks of seniors, I believe we will see a proliferation of age-related customizations in both product features and delivery modalities. Businesses that enable multi-modal functionality will be able to capture greater share of wallet and serve seniors through the remainder of their lifespan.

A Custom Experience

There are several different ways companies could customize and personalize their offering to better serve older adults. Here are a few ways that I see this happening…

On product features and offerings:

• Multi-user access and permissions for seniors, caregivers, and adult children — e.g., feature to enable a caregiver to call an Uber remotely
• Age-based product line extensions — e.g., varying formulations of skincare to suit progressive age-related skin conditions
• Accessible features — e.g., tools easily zoom-in or zoom-out; voice-to-text

On service delivery:

• Screening and matching criteria for service providers — e.g., match senior to Uber driver who knows how to fold walker and safely get senior into car
• Time-windows for delivery — e.g., only deliver product when caregiver is home with senior

The Root of Innovation

Existing companies (e.g., Uber, Lyft, Thumbtack) have already built the infrastructure and have sufficient supply to extend their offering to seniors. However, these companies are also burdened by this infrastructure — they know one way of doing things and they do it really well. Adding the complexity of a new dial-in service or creating an entirely new product line for seniors may distract from the core business.

It’s my hypothesis that entirely new companies will be created for seniors to fill the gaps that these bigger companies have left behind. I believe that these new companies can be successful for a few reasons:

1. They understand the customer better than anyone else — they have deep customer empathy and understand the importance of safety, companionship, and communication
2. They have the ability to handle multi-modal means of delivery — because they’re building from scratch, they can create systems that seamlessly handle multiple channels (e.g., dial-in and digital requests)
3. They can build a product or service that sits on-top of existing solutions — because existing solutions generally work well, it’s likely that new companies will partner with existing companies to leverage certain infrastructure that has already been built (e.g., Postmates API for delivery)

There are a few startups that have already ventured into this space. One such company is GoGoGrandparent. GoGo enables seniors to call a Lyft or Uber through the telephone (vs. in-app). Current features include advance scheduling and voice commands.

Umbrella is another startup that is working to build a custom service for seniors. Similar to Thumbtack or TaskRabbit, Umbrella matches seniors with “neighbors” (i.e., local helpers often recently retired themselves) to assist with daily tasks ranging from window washing to computer help. Seniors subscribe to Umbrella’s membership plan, which includes dedicated phone, text, and email support.

Carewell provides a way for seniors and their caregivers to more easily access home health products. Easy access to Carewell’s phone support provides seniors with an easy and familiar way to get the support they need when shopping online.

Final Thoughts

The needs and behaviors of someone in their 60s differ greatly from someone in their 90s. Startups have an opportunity to create custom product and service offerings to meet the needs of older consumers. Age-based customization requires flexibility, agility, and continuous learning — especially as more tech-literate seniors begin to age. The most innovative companies will be those that stay close to the evolving needs of the customer.