Luke Gilligan co-founded Resense following his experiences volunteering and working in care communities and nursing homes. Recognizing a need for engaging activities for seniors with Alzheimer’s, Gilligan and his team created the Connect + Comfort Kit, which provides activities for a person living with dementia to help promote brain health. Resense’s success led to the launch of the Resense Register, a dementia-friendly newspaper filled with positive news. Gilligan’s ultimate goal is to foster communication and engagement among seniors and their families, making a positive impact on the lives of those living with dementia.
Throughout my life, I have volunteered in care communities and nursing homes. I remember in third grade going and singing hymns every Wednesday in a local care community and interacting with residents. I will never forget the joy it brought to their faces. When I was 16, I got my first job as a dining server at a nursing home and rehab center. When I turned 18, I became a respite caregiver. During these experiences, the one thing that broke my heart the most was seeing how these individuals were treated many times like children.
In my freshman year at Grove City College, I took a class called Lean LaunchPad, taught by professor Yvonne English. Throughout this class, we were taught the Lean approach to starting and running a business. One of my team members had a grandfather who was living with Alzheimer’s, and we wanted to create a product for him. After more than 60 interviews with loved ones, physicians, psychiatrists, nurses and caregivers, we found there was a need in this market for engaging activities designed for seniors.
With the help of the Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation at Grove City, Resense was created, leading to the launch of the Connect + Comfort Kit, an activity toolkit that utilized a nuanced approach to therapy targeting the five senses while also increasing brain health and eliciting long-term memories.
During my sophomore year, we joined the Venture Lab program within the Center for E+I. We were able to test our toolkits in multiple care communities, develop our own products, build partnerships and launch in May 2022. We were finalists in three national business competitions and placed fifth at e-Fest hosted by the University of St. Thomas, receiving $10,000. We then continued to grow the company, interview experts and do “activity sessions” at local care communities.
During one of these visits, we realized many care communities don’t provide newspapers to their residents. So, we came up with the idea of a dementia-friendly newspaper that would include completely positive news. We launched our paper, the Resense Register, in March 2023, and it has entered over 400 care communities to date.
This year we also competed in many national competitions and were cast to pitch on Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch, a TV show produced by Amazon Business and business magazine Entrepreneur. During the show, we had the incredible opportunity to participate in a fast-paced elevator pitch to a panel of esteemed investors, which ultimately led us to a $10,000 grant to further our mission.
Our goal at Resense is to help bridge the gap between communication and engagement, encouraging family members to engage with their loved ones and cherish the times they have. These individuals are our grandparents, parents and friends. They deserve the respect and support they have shown us all our lives. I am beyond proud of my team and how far we have come, and I am excited to continue impacting the lives of individuals living with dementia.
ABOUT LUKE GILLIGAN AND RESENSE:
Title: Co-founder and CEO, Resense
Age: 21
Year company established: 2021
Employees: Two
