Booming Baby Boomers

How technology can improve the lives of older adults, and create the next generation of valuable and value-driven startups.

9 min readApr 1, 2019

Introduction

If baby boomers are responsible for half of consumer spending, why are most start-ups obsessed with millennials? There are almost 1 billion people in the world over the age of 55. This number is set to double by 2050, driven by higher standards of living and longer life expectancy.¹ These baby boomers are the beneficiaries of one of the world’s most sustained bull markets in financial assets. Perhaps it is of little surprise then, that in both the US and UK, baby boomers account for approximately 50% of all consumer spending.² Given these demographic and spending trends, there is a considerable opportunity for innovative startups to build thoughtful and tailored products and services that cater to this large and wealthy demographic, a group that I refer to as ‘Baby Boomers Plus’ (BB+, people born pre 1964).

Audibles

Hearing loss is widespread, and creative solutions to address the problem are gathering momentum. In the US, approximately 50 million people suffer from some form of hearing loss, with 1 in 3 over the age of 65 and 1 in 2 over the age of 75 affected.³ However, historically, many people with hearing impairments have shunned the use of hearing aids, given their clunky appearance and size. We may be on the cusp of a new age of audible technology, where the traditional hearing device merges with the latest headphones being developed at technology giants like Apple. Form and function in hearing aids are now evolving rapidly, while advancements in IoT technology is causing us to rethink traditional hardware. What makes this audible wave somewhat unique is the fact that many of the innovations could potentially be driven by BB+ rather than tech savvy teens or millennials.

Eargo is an innovative startup that is re-imagining the hearing aid business model. The company sells three different devices direct-to-consumer and have shipped over 20,000 pairs to date. The latest Neo model ($2,750) is setting new design standards for the industry, given it is almost completely invisible when inserted into the ear. The product also ships with a slick portable charging case, and the company’s founders have invested heavily to ensure customer service is provided to an exceptional standard. Eargo’s innovation, design, and service have won it many admirers, including several venture capital investors who participated in their $52 million fundraising in February this year.⁴

Starkey is another manufacturer that claims to have made “the first-ever hearing aid to feature embedded sensors and artificial intelligence”. Their Livio AI-enabled hearing aids are packed with functions including language translation, voice-activated assistance, and a rather impressive fall detection sensor that sends a message to a wearer’s family in the event of a tumble. This feature has the potential to identify falls significantly faster than traditional sensors or pendants ensuring assistance is delivered quickly and that an incapacitated person avoids the feared “long lie” alone.

The ear offers an excellent route for biosensors to track health information such as heart rate, respiration and temperature. One of the earliest innovators in this space was Valencell, an American company building a suite of heart rate sensors that are embedded in some of the world’s biggest technology brands including Bose and Sony wearables. The team has already been granted over 70 patents and claim to have “the most accurate heart rate sensor for wearable devices available today”.⁵ These precision sensors should be particularly useful for the BB+ generation, who are the highest risk category for cardiac related illnesses. An embedded sensor in a hearing aid could connect to a smartphone health app, gather live data and allow any abnormalities to be quickly identified. If urgent care is required, a physician or ambulance could be notified automatically of the users location and condition. This innovation could save money and more importantly — lives!

Rethinking Retirement

Retirement is ripe for innovation, especially as many countries rely on outdated policies and demographic data. In 1909 the state pension was introduced to the UK and paid to 500,000 people who had reached 70 years of age, a milestone achieved by only 1 in 4 at the time.⁶ Today, there are over 12 million people of pension age, and given improvements in medicine and lifestyle, they enjoy an average life expectancy of 81 years.⁷ An increasing number of these people are returning to work shortly after their official retirement or simply deferring it altogether. For the more fortunate, this is driven by boredom, while for others, it is because they need to work to maintain their current lifestyle. The number of these part-time retirees continues to swell not only in the UK, but across the western world. However, the resources and support systems needed to enable them to re-engage with employment are often vastly inadequate.

Umbrella is a US-based startup that has taken the marketplace model developed by Taskrabbit and specialised it to cater for the BB+ generation. Their customer base is aged between 65–98 and they pay a yearly subscription fee in addition to an hourly rate to have tasks completed. The platform is designed to enable older adults to maintain their independence by having local helpers complete tasks they would otherwise struggle to do alone. Over 50% of their helpers are retired themselves, and engage with the platform to keep busy and earn a little extra money. The founders have built a BB+ centric business that fosters a strong sense of community which very often culminates in a helper staying on in their own time after completing a task for a coffee and a chat. In spite of the early success, the Umbrella footprint is still relatively small and remains US-centric. I have no doubt that many other aging cities would greatly benefit from the same model.

Japan presents an interesting case study for the BB+ generation, given it has the oldest retired population in the world, with 25.9% of all citizens over the age of 65.⁸ Many Japanese workers stay in the workforce well beyond the retirement age. When they eventually retire, they strive not to be a burden on family and remain active and busy as long as physically able. This pattern relates to the Japanese concept of “ikigai” or life purpose. Historically, this might have meant caring for grandchildren or doing some gardening on the side. However, in the last few years a new trend has been emerging - several notable BB+ novelists have published debut, best-selling novels. These include; “Age 90: what’s so great about it?”, “The Finished Person” and “Going To Die Soon”.⁹ Admittedly, these titles don’t convey a bright future in old age, but they shine a light on the many talented and imaginative older people looking for an outlet to share their experiences. Why have we not yet built a TikTok for the BB+ generation, that is tailored to their needs, where they can find a like-minded audience to share stories, perform music and simply express themselves?

Loneliness

More old people are suffering from isolation and depression than ever before.¹⁰ Perhaps it’s to be expected; as we grow older we tend to lose touch with friends for a variety of reasons, including health, mobility, and distance. The close-knit family unit that once lived in the same town is now more likely separated by hundreds of miles. According to The Economist, “In Britain more than half of those over 75 describe themselves as ‘chronically lonely’, and 33% of them feel their loneliness is ‘out of control’ ”.¹¹ Identifying and building solutions that can rekindle a sense of community and help the most vulnerable feel less isolated, will be a tough but rewarding challenge.

Online dating for seniors offers one solution. Lumen is a UK-based dating startup that launched late last year with an impressive founding team and £3.5 million in funding.¹² Their product is tailored specifically to the 50+ population and they guarantee strict on-boarding and vetting of users. It is too early in their journey to assess whether they will succeed but they have received glowing reviews and press so far. Stitch is another dating platform with a mission “to help anyone over 50 find the companionship they need”. They have taken a more community-centric approach, with group meetups and friendship an equally important part of their offering. Perhaps, a more engaging strategy as it reduces the chances of members leaving the platform once they find “love”.

Artificial intelligence and robotics are central to Elon Musk’s vision of Life on Mars, but could they also play a pivotal role in solving BB+ loneliness? Intuition Robotics is an Israeli startup that has taken on this challenge. They have developed a small desktop based assistant, ElliQ, that performs many of the functions of Alexa or Siri. However, it is designed specifically with an older person in mind and instead of responding to prompts, it initiates them. For example, the device will suggest to its owner that it is a nice day for a walk and will dictate messages received by email or phone. The Pixar like appearance and basic movements ensure ElliQ is not lacking in personality either. However, the $1,499 price tag makes this virtual assistant an unlikely companion for the masses.¹³

Several startups have attempted to build communication apps that seek to bridge the gap for the less tech savvy BB+ to communicate more easily with friends and family. The offerings have included basic tablets and paired down applications that facilitate the sharing of messages, photos and videos with family and friends. Mydodl is one such UK startup, established in 2015, with a tablet retailing for £150 and a £5 monthly subscription fee for each user. Unfortunately, it appears that the startup failed to scale past 1,000 users and its app is no longer available in the app store. There are countless others that have found a similar fate in this space.

There is a simpler solution to help tackle the isolation and loneliness endured by many of the BB+ generation. It involves building an app that connects family, friends and potentially carers of a BB+ person living alone. The app would incorporate some elements of whatsapp, words with friends, and even simple calendar reminders to ensure an elderly person remains at the forefront of the minds of their loved ones. Simply by building a collective sense of responsibility and employing basic technology to remind family and friends of their responsibilities, fewer people would grow old feeling isolated and lonely. Any takers?

Conclusion

The essays of Paul Graham are essential reading for most startup founders and one of his pearls of wisdom to budding entrepreneurs is to ensure that they “understand their user”.¹⁴ In effect, there is no-one better placed to build the inventive ideas and products that will be demanded by the BB+ generation than themselves. Is there an opportunity for a brave venture investor to focus on identifying some of the smartest baby boomers, rather than the smartest students on campus and establish an incubator that builds businesses for the BB+ generation by the BB+ generation.

Innovative ideas and technologies have the potential to transform this period of our lives into the most rewarding and enjoyable part. By engaging entrepreneurs across the generational divide we have an opportunity to debunk some of the myths of aging and build valuable enterprises at the same time. This will ensure we all have the chance to grow older healthier, happier and hopefully having found our “ikigai”.