In the past five years, the two-decade long multiple sclerosis diagnosis of Christian Ross’s aunt went from bad to worse. Once a lively woman until her late 40s, she is no longer self-reliant.
“Her mind is completely fine, it's her body that's not,” said Ross, a long-time realtor in Atlanta. “She relies on the phone and social media. That's her way of communicating with everyone.”
Now, the real estate broker has given her aunt an opportunity to use her communication skills by being a "conversationalist" for her startup Happy Talks.
“She sends me selfies after getting off a call, as if to say she’s helped another one,” said Ross, who worked as a managing broker at real estate firm Engel & Völkers Atlanta until this past spring. “I feel like she found a greater purpose, and she's always giving me ideas.”
Happy Talks, an AgeTech startup
Launched in January of last year, Happy Talks is a connection service. Callers for the startup will have phone conversations with elderly and socially isolated members of families to give them comforting human interaction.
The number of people aged at least 80 years is expected to triple between 2020 and 2050, to 426 million, according to a World Health Organization report. About 13.8 million older adults in the U.S. live alone, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Happy Talks is considered an AgeTech, sometimes called SilverTech, startup, a sector that focuses on the needs of a growing aging population through technology. Investment into companies that have a focus on elder care has gradually increased from approximately $40 million in 2011 up to at least $368 million in 2020, according to technology research publication Crunchbase.
Venture capitalist Dominic Endicott told Forbes in 2019 that he projects the global Aging Economy to reach $27 trillion by 2025, with the digitization for AgeTech having a potential of $2.7 trillion by that time.
The need to alleviate loneliness among older adults became an increasing problem after the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of adults who felt they were isolated from others doubled in September 2020, compared with a similar survey conducted in 2018 by the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. Research shows that social isolation and loneliness can create health risks for older people.
Happy Talks plans for growth
Happy Talks has been bootstrapped with Ross's personal savings and plans to raise $2 million by the beginning of 2023. It currently has 10 part-time conversationalists and 50 patient customers. It looks to reach 1,000 patient customers next year, Ross said, and will focus on expanding through churches, senior living groups and medical care plans.
Members of Happy Talks are primarily the children and grandchildren of adults who need care, Ross said. The startup provides four half-hour long conversations to patients per month and sends boxes filled with items based on their interests and conversations.
“We just want to help give peace of mind to families," Ross said.
While certified caretakers are welcome to become conversationalists, anyone can sign up to work for the platform after a background check. Ross says that around 90% of her callers are not licensed professionals.
After an applicant is hired, they undergo six weeks of training primarily focused on how to listen with empathy to a patient. For example, if a patient is a widow, the conversationalist will ask questions about their favorite memories with their husband.
