January 17, 2016, by Anna Birk
What is Aging2.0?
“The mission of the global Aging2.0 initiative is to accelerate innovation in order to improve the lives of older adults. It brings together startups, industry leaders, investors and older adults. The organization was founded by Katy Fike and Stephen Johnston in San Francisco in 2012. Aging2.0 is a sister organization of Generator Ventures, which provides startups with capital and access to long-term care organizations.”
What is Aging2.0 Berlin?
“The local chapter in Berlin shares Aging2.0’s global mission, but works on a local level. The events will be held in Berlin and anyone who is willing to attend an event – whether from Berlin or not – is welcome. We as the local organizing team are in close contact with the team in San Francisco, i.e. to investigate opportunities for startups from Germany in the USA and the other way around.”
What happened during the kick-off?
“It was attended by the founders of around 12 startups as well as by several experienced caregivers and investment scouts. First, I presented the mission of Aging2.0. Second, I asked the participants, what they expected from the local chapter through a real-time poll. (For the results, see Tables 1-3 in this article.) Third, I presented some of the latest insights from SeniorWise. Finally, several interesting speakers presented their ideas and organizations. For example, Florian Caspari (Töchter & Söhne Gesellschaft für digitale Helfer) presented his e-learning solution for caregivers, Albert Premer (escos automation) presented his telemonitoring solution for care homes and Gerd Graumann (evivecare) presented his work on a speech therapy application to help people recover from a stroke. Sebastian Glende presented his company YOUSE, Felix Werth the Partei für Gesundheitsforschung and Marten Haesner introduced the Working Group Ageing & Technology of the Geriatrics Research Group at Charité. Some of the other participants were Bernadette Höller (werpflegtwie) and Anke Paulick (Wohnen-im-Alter.de).”
| At Aging2.0 I want to… | |
|---|---|
| 83% | find out about new trends and ideas |
| 58% | find out about new products and services |
| 58% | get to know new people |
| 58% | find potential business partners |
| 33% | promote my organization or idea |
| 17% | find an employee |
| 8% | find potential customers |
| 8% | find an employer |
| 8% | find venture capital for my startup |
| 0% | find a co-founder |
| 0% | find a startup to invest in |
| How many Aging2.0 events do you want to attend this year? (including this one) | |
|---|---|
| 0% | one event |
| 0% | two events |
| 42% | three events |
| 33% | four events |
| 25% | five events |
| Which topics must be addressed at an Aging2.0 conference? |
|---|
| Upcoming technologies |
| Usability |
| Alzheimer’s |
| How to get innovative products on the market |
| Results of usability and evaluation studies |
| Usage of mobile apps by elderly people |
| Geschäftsmodelle |
| Prosthetics, usability, design, Hilfsmittel, technologies |
| Caregivers support until technology enables autonomous aging |
| User-centered design approaches |
| New tech for health of aging people & how to achieve eternal youth |
| Business models to scale senior technology |
| Home based therapy |
What is SeniorWise and which role does it play in Aging2.0?
“SeniorWise is the company I founded in 2014. We make interactive products delightful for seniors and their caregivers. We do this by researching their needs and habits. Based on our in-depth understanding, we design prototypes for our clients. We then test and improve with a representative group of potential users. Because of that, our clients’ products have higher adoption and satisfaction scores than those of other companies that try to enter the AAL (active and assisted living) market. Aging2.0 is a great way for us to get in touch with the people behind the latest ideas in the areas of active aging and care. We want to support these people in becoming even more successful.”
What will happen next?
“This year, Aging2.0 Berlin aims to organize a conference around aging and a pitch event which will be streamed live to Silicon Valley. There will also be ample time for networking during these events, so that participants can identify potential business partners. In the coming five years we expect to see a rapid growth in the number of solutions that allow people to grow old in their own homes and that ease the lives of caregivers. Aging2.0 will help us to achieve this vision.”
Join us!
- If you want to be informed about upcoming Aging2.0 events in Berlin, please register for free at http://www.meetup.com/Aging2-Berlin/.
- If you have questions about the local chapter Aging2.0 Berlin, send your message to .
- If you would like to learn more about the global Aging2.0 initiative or receive their newsletters, please visit http://www.aging2.com/.