STOP, LOOK, LISTEN before your senior-focused prototype drawing dries

Laurie,
I keep returning to your blog to find useful insights and valuable information. As someone who's spent the last 18 months developing a new distribution channel into this market I find what you say in this article to be very accurate. In this short time I've seen promising products and companies vanish. The demographics and costs of care suggest that we can use many of these technologies. The opinion leaders working with seniors recognize this need, yet are still reluctant to actively refer. This is and always will be a market that requires close human interaction and high touch, elder care is very intimate. When applied practically to meet people's needs technology can be great for the seniors, their families and care providers. Reaching them is one of the big challenges we've experienced.

Dear Developer: Now that you have Laurie's sound advice, will you be 1) ruthless about asking yourself and your team each and every one of these questions--at every stage of development? 2) will you demand answers--and honestly work through how you will respond--instead of denying their validity and 3) will you ACT upon what you find? Not following this advice will more than likely lead to bad consequences, fiscally and emotionally. It is hard--no, heartbreaking--when you live through this. And I thought the Four Big Questions* were demanding--but at the core they are simple questions about the business model that shockingly, many developers and inventors never answer. *Who will pay, how much, who looks at the data generated, who takes action on the data? Donna Cusano Editor, North America--Telecare Aware

Despite the notion that these technologies are having a tough time of it, for every company waving their arms and jumping up and down about the funding they have raised, there are an equal number of companies slowly and quietly making progress. Market traction points are identified, partnerships are solidified and long-term pilot programs move in the direction of positive outcomes. Big money provides Big market presence and therefore a high cost of customer acquisition, and a look back to the year 2000 reminds us of what happens with that toxic combination. We may all be surprised who breaks out with a successful solution and my guess is we will never see it coming.

I would say the most commonly underestimated aspect for any start-up, but especially those targeting the senior demographic, is the lack of willingness to change. You may have the greatest new invention or re-invention and may hear plenty of feedback saying how wonderful it is. However, when the rubber hits the road people will be much less likely to actually purchase. It's very unfortunate, sometimes doesn't make any rational sense at all, but is completely true. This is only multiplied in the senior housing market where the demographic doesn't include a lot of the typical 'early adopters'. This makes change even slower to occur, on the institutions and the residents. In light of this, make sure your runway is 3-5x longer than you think you need it to be.