Enabling seniors living an independent life

K. Ramya Sree

With many of us leading a busy urban life, elderly care becomes a burning issue for working professionals. Elderly just as kids need special attention and care during their old-age. Be it assisted travel, community services, or senior-friendly mobile phones, Senior World, a bootstrapped startup, is here to the rescue of senior citizens.

Senior World was born in 2015 with a strong vision of promoting positive aging. After a long tenure as C-Suite executives, the founders listened to their hearts and decided to serve the country’s elderly population, which was a forgotten demographic. Seniors’ lives are getting reshaped like never before.

As we heard about their offerings, we spoke to the co-founder and CEO of Senior World, Rahul Gupta, to know more about the one-of-a-kind work their firm is doing and what’s in store for them.

“Think of every customer like your parents; treat them exactly like you would treat your parents,” is the motto the founders Rahul Gupta and MP Deepu strictly follow, which led to the success of this start-up.

“To start with, we are all living longer. With more and more people living well into their 80s and 90s, the 60+ group is today’s fastest-growing segment. It is not just how long the seniors are living, but also how they are living that’s changing. More and more families are going nuclear. Seniors are, therefore, increasingly staying away from their children. Technology and the internet have never been as important as they are today in keeping families connected.”

While these changes are making some seniors more vulnerable and hesitant, they are also opening doors for others who are reclaiming their retirement to “refire”—carving out active retired lives, pursuing passions they never had time for earlier, traveling, and contributing to society. “At Senior World, we believe that seniors aspire to get a lot more from life and also wish to give back a lot more to society. Our goal is to enable them to do both. The company plans to achieve this by providing content, products, services, and engagement avenues that impact the lives of seniors and their families positively,” said Rahul on founding the organisation.

As seniors progress in their lives, many of them show a willingness to rekindle old interests, passions, and hobbies. SeniorWorld Club offers an engaging platform for its senior community where they can delve into a space of freedom and liberty. “When seniors connect with like-minded people through our club, Facebook page, and travel groups, they together take a walk down memory lane, reliving moments of their youth.”

Enjoying the company of others who have similar personalities or interests helps give an adrenaline rush and pushes the elderly into a happy and content space. Nothing seems impossible, and doing something meaningful together creates everlasting bonds. The older adults do not shy away from trying adventure sports like river rafting and even ziplining.

“Reliving such moments of joy and adventure with a peer group helps one meet the inner child in themselves,” he added.

In distinctive initiatives, the company organised “Seniors Got Talent” and “SeniorWorld Awards 2022” to recognise and honour seniors’ exceptional talent and show gratitude for the immense contribution made to society by the elderly population of India.

In conclusion, asked what all do they have to offer for the senior citizens, Rahul informed, “Easyfone offers a range of customised easy-to-use feature mobiles for seniors that have been built with an inclusive design thinking process. These phones are equipped with big buttons, loud sounds, effortless charging, photo dial, an external torch feature, an SOS button, etc. A range of simple, powerful, and affordable safety and alarm devices known as Juvo Safety are aimed at providing customizable and assisted travel services for seniors.

They were introduced in 2016. We make sure every customer travelling with Silver Wings Holidays has a unique and memorable experience that is unparalleled across the industry. Senior World Club is an engaging platform to make new friends, participate in meaningful activities, read relevant content, and learn new things—like art, singing, dancing, technology, meditation, yoga, and a lot more.” Through Senior World’s Facebook page, they have built a strong and flourishing community of 3 Lakh+ seniors.