Meet the Innovators

Dave Pedigo, CEDIA’s Senior Director of Emerging Technologies

Q&A With Leaders in Technology and Aging

Each week on Tech Tuesdays, we’ve been featuring innovators in the Technology and Aging industry. Today, we spoke with Dave Pedigo from CEDIA. Here some highlights from our conversation.

Q: Hi Dave. Good to talk with you. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

A: I’m the Senior Director of Emerging Technologies for CEDIA. Our focus is the custom electronic industry for the residential side, things like home automation, home theater systems, distributed audio, distributed video, home health, and so on. My job is helping to identify the emerging trends, opportunities, and threats to industry. And I also help manufacturers and integrators communicate back and forth, and to identify new channels of revenue.

[pullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Things are happening so fast, we can’t humanly comprehend the rate of change. [/pullquote]

Q: How did you get into this industry?

A: Back in the early 2000s, I’d been working for a trade association for the satellite industry. Then I got recruited to work for CEDIA, and I’ve been here for the 12 years since.

Q: So, what is CEDIA? Can you tell me about it?

A: CEDIA is the trade association for the custom electronics industry. It’s an international association, with 3500 member companies world-wide, representing manufacturers and home technology professionals. We do so many things in addition to the trade show. We used to have the slogan, CEDIA: More than just a trade show. We’re involved with government affairs, lobbying, and watching for potentially harmful legislation. We also write industry standards, help develop best practices, and work with industry partners to try to create the industry. We help connect manufacturing with suppliers, and with home owners. In a short time, electronics have gone from “nice to have’s” to “must have’s” in the home

Q: Have you seen changes to CEDIA over the years?

A: (laughs) Yeah, that’s hysterical. I don’t think there are that many sectors that have changed as rapidly and dynamically as we have. The biggest change is the change from analog to digital. And we’ve gone from huge computers to pocket-sized computers. There’s HDTV, aging in place… Digital health is at such an amazing time right now. We have a whole council with various areas of expertise, trying to keep track of their own segments of interest, and even they can’t keep up with how fast things change. There are so many announcements coming out, just in the last week, so it’s almost impossible to keep up with and comprehend.

Q: You’ve seen a lot of what goes on in the industry. What do you think it’s doing right?

A: What’s happening is the democratization of intellectual property. Now everything is digital, everyone has a computer, with the ability to do tons of programming. There are so many people with so many ideas, and it’s theoretically simple to take an idea and convert it to reality. So, my formula for the next industrial revolution is: 3D printing, social media, and crowd funding. Take those three things, and someone who has an idea, and what would have been difficult to pull off a few years ago, is relatively easy.

There are so many people with so many great ideas, and so much change. The chief scientist at Google calls it the law of accelerating returns. Things are happening so fast, we can’t humanly comprehend the rate of change. The Apple watch, for example, some people may say it’s a novelty. I use it mostly as a heart rate monitor, and it’s really accurate. I’m using it to collect long-term data that I can take when I go to the doctor, and say, “This is happening.” It quantifies the information.

So, all these things, whether it’s a gigantic or a small company, it’s faster to market. We’re collecting so much more data than we used to. We’re on the edge of solving a lot of problems. Another example with the Apple watch, they’re trying to tackle five major types of health issues. There are tests you can do every day on the watch. You tap the watch, and it measures how you do. Apple aggregates that anonymous data, and is looking for triggers for events such as asthma attacks. The data in aggregate will help all for solutions to our biggest medical problems.

Q: And what would you change?

A: A lot could be done better. If we start with premise that anyone with a dream can create a product, that is also the exact problem. There’s a lot of stuff coming out that is half-baked, or doesn’t operate well with other products. So there’s also a lot of stuff that: A) doesn’t work very well, or B) doesn’t work very well when put in combination with a series of other products, which, in a home, happens every day. Also, almost all the products being developed today are trying to get to market as fast as possible with the easiest ease-of-use, and they don’t take privacy and security into consideration. As an example, take camera manufacturers. Security cameras are great, don’t get me wrong, but to make them easy to set up by a typical consumer on a smart phone, they use techniques that allow for easy backdoor networking entrance, that make it easy to watch what your camera is broadcasting. And I get it, I promise you. The general consumer these days is willing to risk a potential privacy incursion for convenience.

Q: Do you have any advice you would offer an entrepreneur?

A: My biggest advice is that, if you’re getting into this, create a business plan. That might sound like simple, easy advice. There are plenty of people who get into this industry, because they’re passionate, or hobbyists who think they can make a living. But you have to figure out how you’re going to make money at it. If you are providing a good or service and not running the business well enough, and you go out of business, that’s a disservice to the customer. Too many people assume the technology side is the more important, when in fact running the business is more important, and the tech side will come to you. The sky is the limit, especially in home health. Holy cow. But you have to be able to stay in business.

Q: You’re an expert in emerging technologies. What do you see coming up that’s exciting?

A: We’re on the verge of some truly innovative solutions that will improve the quality of life. The biggest one for me is voice control. My father has some major health problems. He lives with me, on the main floor. When he gets up at night, he had been taking a flashlight to fumble around and find the keypad for the lights. But now he can say, “Alexa, turn on the kitchen lights 50 percent,” and the lights turn on. That’s not just a novelty when you’re in your late 70s and in ill health, it’s a necessity. You could say we could have done it with a motion detector, but I move around at night a lot and I don’t want the light to come on all the time. This is better. It’s just a simple example of what’s coming. 2016 will be an amazing year for voice control, for natural user interfaces, and also for virtual reality and augmented reality, which gets nerdy and sci-fi-ish, but it is here and really amazing.

Laura Mitchell Consulting is a strike team of experts in the aging and technology industry. Know someone that we should feature in our “Meet the Innovators” blog series? Contact us at info@lmcllc.us and let us know!

Meet the Innovators: Majd Alwan, Senior Vice President of LeadingAge

We recently spoke with Majd Alwan, an expert in the Technology and Aging space, the Senior Vice President of Leading Age, and the Executive Director for CAST (Center for Aging Services Technology.) We thought you might be interested in hearing the highlights from our conversation!

Q: Thanks for talking with us today, Majd. Let me start by asking you to tell us who you are and what you do.

A: I’m Majd Alwan, Senior Vice President of Technology at LeadingAge. I’m an engineer by training. I have a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering, a Master’s in Control Engineering, and a PhD in Mobile Robotics from the University of London, Imperial College of Science, Technology, and Medicine.

I am also the Executive Director of the LeadingAge Center for Aging Services Technology (CAST). At CAST, we bring together aging service providers, especially those who are forward thinking, along with innovators from technology companies, and researchers from universities who are involved with developing and evaluating technologies. Our mission is to accelerate the cycle of developing, evaluating and adopting technology that can improve the quality of care and the quality of life for older adults and care providers, and help reduce the cost of caregiving on society. I know it sounds lofty, but I believe anything is possible if we put our minds to it, and have the right players and the right approach.

Q: How did you get started in this industry?

A: I’ve always been fascinated with biomedical applications of engineering, even starting back in grad school. When I was working on my PhD, I started working on designing an autonomous wheelchair for handicapped people, and that really sparked an interest in working with the aging population and people with disabilities. As you know, technology can benefit both. I landed at the University of Virginia as an assistant professor, and was hired to lead their Robotics and Eldercare Technologies Program. Then in early 2002 I attended the inaugural meeting that led to the creation of CAST. I’ve been involved in CAST from its early days.

Q: You’ve been part of the aging and technology industry for some time. What is going well, and what do you think could be better?

A: While we were developing our portfolios of hands-on technology application planning and selection tools, we recognized that while many provider organizations are engaged in strategic planning, many of the plans are shallow, on technology especially. They don’t dig deep enough into their goals, or look at what technologies are out there that could be key to achieving or facilitating those goals, or accelerating them, or reaching them more cost effectively or efficiently. We realized that organizations are adopting technologies but approaching them in a siloed manner. That’s a problem. So the next logical step is strategic IT planning, to identify what’s needed in the IT infrastructure, then layer technology applications on it.

So last year we launched a strategic IT planning portfolio. It makes sense for providers to take the opportunity of their next major investment, for example campus expansion, a new building, upgrades to facilities, etc. and use that project as an opportunity to look at the required IT infrastructure and invest in it first, and then invest in the applications. If you want to implement telehealth, if you haven’t planned ahead, you may discover your IT infrastructure can’t support it, maybe your network can’t handle the bandwidth for video conferencing with the hospital.

Q: How would you say that CAST is helping to change the way we provide aging services?

A: We start with trying to create vision, helping providers overcome the imagination barrier, by envisioning how technology can change the way they deliver services. We created a video for the 2005 White House Conference on Aging to show what we thought the future could be.

We also encourage technology companies to pursue the idea of living laboratories, to pilot technologies in provider settings as opposed to research study labs, or hypothetical environments. And we encourage the use of “user-centric” design, engaging caregivers and older adults in early stages of development, and raising the awareness of providers of developing technologies.

Then we realized that, although this was necessary, it wasn’t sufficient. So in 2011 (at that point I was leading CAST) we realized there was a need for more hands-on tools, and hand-holding guidance to help providers with technology adoption. So we did a scenario planning exercise of future business models that are technology-enabled, and at the same time likely to become mainstream over the next few years. We identified key enabling technologies that are foundational for these models, and then started portfolios of tools to help providers plan for, select, and implement these technologies.

Our first portfolio was on electronic health records (EHRs), and later ones featured remote monitoring, medication management, functional assessment and activity monitoring. This year we tackled the issue of shared care planning and care coordination across different settings, including the entire extended care team. The portfolios provide both a process, and also selection matrices that provide a lot of information about commercially available products, as well as easy-to-use interactive online selection tools that let providers objectively select solutions that are right for their care model or setting, and their must-have functionality and features.

Q: What’s coming up next?

A: The field of aging services is luckily very broad and rich, so we started with electronic health records, and are expanding. Once you create a monster, you have to keep feeding it and taking care of it. So we have to update the tools we created annually. Product offerings change as startups go belly up and their products disappear. Some firms are acquired and products are always enhanced, phased out, or launched. So we’ll continue to enrich our existing portfolio tools, and every year we add a new one. Next year is Care Coordination.

We’re expanding our EHR portfolio to add a 7-stage adoption model. You can measure the adoption of EHR by whether a firm has it or not, but we don’t have a good handle on what functionalities are used. So, with this model in place, we’ll get a perspective from EHR vendors on where their clients are, and later we plan to survey providers to see where they think they are.

And every year we add a new area. On the docket of potential tools are technologies for fall detection and prevention, emergency nurse call and response systems. And social connectedness is another big and exciting area.

We are advocates for technology, and we really examined technology policy priorities this year, and released an issue brief focusing on a few potential bills and initiatives, encouraging members to help us advocate for these things, including the expansion of access to the Internet, both for older adults and for aging service providers, advocating for the expansion of telehealth and telemedicine and removing restrictions on reimbursement. And we advocate for long-term post-acute care providers in EHR incentives. We’d like to see them actively participate in the health information exchange, and to be financially rewarded for adopting and using the new technologies.

Q: So, with all your experience in this space, do you have any advice to offer a new entrepreneur?

A: Sometimes entrepreneurs get too enamored with their own inventions. As an engineer, and as a former entrepreneur who has dabbled in startups, and from my research, I’d say you should talk to your potential clients and users, engage them from the early stages. Have a user-centered design approach. Treat them as co-development partners, and not just as a pilot site or test subjects. They have a lot to contribute, to help ensure that your product has a higher likelihood of being embraced and implemented. Engage with providers who understand the regulatory environment and the business environment. That’s important, for a company to make it through the long and scary Valley of Death from initial investment to making it in the real world as a sustainable business.

Blog, Meet the Innovators

Meet the Innovators: Jill Gilbert, Producer of the Digital Health Summit

We recently sat down with Jill Gilbert, an expert on products in the Aging and Technology space, a longtime entrepreneur, and the producer of the Digital Health Summit of CES.

Q: Hi Jill. Thanks for talking with us today. Can you tell us a little about yourself?

A: Glad to be here. I’m Jill Gilbert. I’m the producer of the Digital Health Summit, which is part of the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) put on by Living in Digital Times. Living in Digital Times is a production company behind a number of different summits. They brought me in seven years ago to help build the Digital Health Summit at CES. And it’s been a ride ever since.

Q: How did you get into this industry?

A: I started interning in the film industry when I was in college, and got a job with Disney when I graduated. I was in the film industry for 15 years. After 15 years, I was ready to get out of LA, so I moved up to San Francisco, not knowing exactly what I’d be doing.

Around that same time, my dad, as part of his business, was getting interested in resources for seniors and for their families, so I started researching that concept. I started out by looking for resource books. That’s something I used to have in the film industry, with contact numbers for every single thing you’d need for a show. I wanted something like that for senior care, but everything was so scattered. Listings for assisted living were mixed with listings for nursing homes. Everything was a mess. To make sense of it, I started the Gilbert Guide, a local guide to help you find places that would fit your needs best. In it, I tried to set levels of quality which hadn’t been done before, which was an interesting and complicated thing to do.

Out of that we created a national directory of senior care. I remember when we were googling “adult day cares in Mississippi,” building the directory piece by piece. Eventually I moved my focus to products, and specifically how to match seniors and caregivers with products that are coming out of this telehealth space. I started doing videos, called The Daily Wrinkle, where we would test products. I still remember there was a blanket designed for putting out fires. You know how heavy, hard and cumbersome it can be to use a fire extinguisher. For a senior, it’s almost impossible. So we tested this product. We went into my kitchen where (under the watchful gaze of a San Francisco firefighter) we purposely lit a grease fire, and then put it out with this blanket.[pullquote align=”right” cite=”Jill Gilbert, Producer of Digital Health Summit” link=”” color=”#69AE22″]”We want to help companies lower the cost for healthcare, and to bring better healthcare to consumers.“[/pullquote]

My real interest was in products, so we sold that company, and I was brought into my current position at Living in Digital Times to build the Digital Health Summit.

Q: Have you seen any connection with your film background?

A: Interestingly enough, film production lends itself to what I do now, helping to “sexify” the products, helping to bring more appeal to healthcare, so that it attracts the interest of a broader audience, so the press will write about it, and consumers will learn about it.

Q: So, what is the Digital Health Summit? Can you tell me about it?

A: It’s a conference and exhibition where we bring together cutting edge technologies, to try to move the conversation forward. We want to help companies lower the cost for healthcare, and to bring better healthcare to consumers. Our show shines a big spotlight on the industry. CES is an enormous show, and if you’re not in context on show floor, you get lost. So we help package and verticalize certain topics there. If we can put a brand on it, then when people attend the show, they’ll know what to find there, and where to find it.

It has since expanded into baby technology, which was a natural progression from healthcare, because so many devices and products are developed for new moms. Last year we expanded into beauty tech as well. A significant amount of beauty technology comes out of the healthcare world, for example lasers that might help with hair removal or skin discoloration.

Q: What about the Summer Summit? It’s a little different, isn’t it?

A: Yes. The Summer Digital Health Summit has a slightly different focus. It’s about helping companies know how to do better, how to build, scale, grow, and really to succeed. It’s for entrepreneurs, companies in digital health, caregivers, carriers, and investors. It’s a nice mix of people that have to work together to perfect the system, and to move the industry forward, and hopefully in turn move their own businesses forward. We bring a number of elements together, including education, through robust panels, speakers, and case studies. And we bring companies together that can learn from each other or work with each other. And unlike CES, which is unwieldy, we keep this one more intimate, so people can get down to business.

Q: Have you seen changes to the summits over the years?

A: In the beginning, seven years ago, I was practically begging people to come to CES. When that show started, there was one company signed on. Now it’s the largest exhibit at CES. The biggest names in healthcare come to CES. People do real business there. It’s an immense opportunity for companies to be there.

This June will be the fifth Summer Summit. In that time, the biggest change I’ve seen is that the topics and the audience have gotten much more knowledgeable. When we started out, the topics were like “Telehealth 101” or “What is remote monitoring?” It was much more introductory. Now we’re diving deep. The topics are much more focused, and the audience is much more sophisticated. Plus, when we started, we were talking more futuristically, but now we’re talking about real solutions, real results, and real data. Now we’re telling patients’ stories on how digital health saved or changed their lives.

Q: You’ve seen a lot of what goes on in the industry. What do you think are the biggest challenges right now?

A: The technology is right. We have it. It’s here. We’ll continue to see developments, obviously. But how it’s how it’s packaged and delivered, the business models and how to monetize it, that’s a big challenge. We struggle with reimbursements and with adoption. So I think one of the biggest challenges is how to get the technology into the hands of people who could use it, or the physicians who could recommend or prescribe its use. The challenge is engagement, adoption, and long-term use. Many companies have gone by the wayside, and it’s not about the quality of their technology. It’s the other factors. Did they use their money wisely? Did they partner with right people? It’s easy to run out of money, to focus on wrong market, to not meet the regulations. It’s hard to be CEO of a digital health company, very, very hard. I don’t want the job, but I hope that I can help those who do have the job, those companies, to elevate their companies and help them succeed. We are pro entrepreneur.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: We’re starting a new site called Discover Baby Tech. We have a couple of new moms here, which is how we got the idea. I searched high and low for all the latest products and technology when I was preparing for my son, but I couldn’t find a consolidated site for all these technologies. So we’re launching one. This will be a fun blog to write. We’ll be featuring all the products in the space, showcasing them, and letting dads and moms in on what we find. We discovered so many cool things when we were building it out, so it’s fun for us too.

And right now I’m really getting focused on the Digital Health Summer Summit. I’m planning content and building out the show floor. And I’ve already started developing themes and content for CES, which is next January. We’re working on finalizing space for Beauty Tech and Baby Tech for next year. Lots of companies are coming back. We’re taking the shows to the next level, thinking about how best to raise the bar. Those are our big goals.

Blog, Meet the Innovators

Meet the Innovators: Peter Radsliff, CEO Presto Services

Q&A With Leaders in Technology and Aging

We recently had the pleasure of talking with Peter Radsliff, CEO of Presto Services. We’re featuring highlights from that conversation today in our ongoing blog series on innovators in the Technology and Aging industry. FOTO Peter Radsliff

Q: Hello, and thanks for talking with us. To start off, can you tell us a little about yourself?

A: My name is Peter Radsliff and I’m CEO of Presto Services. I’m a longtime consumer tech marketing and product guy. I’ve developed and launched a lot of new products in my career. I’ve worked for a well-known consumer electronics brand, a Fortune 100 company, and have been an executive at five venture-backed tech startups. Presto is my latest startup and I’ve been there the past 8 years.

Q: How did you get into the aging industry?

A: It’s funny, while I was working for a Fortune 100 company, I got a call from a recruiter. They identified me as a person who might be a good candidate for the first VP of Marketing hire at Presto when the company was being formed. After about 15 interviews, I ended up not taking the job because it didn’t make financial sense to leave some stock option value I had at my current company.

Two years later when I was looking for my next career move, one of Presto’s board members whom I knew, from a well-known venture capital firm, called me and asked whether I wanted, “my old job back.” Apparently the VP of Marketing Presto had hired was leaving and I now had my second chance at the job. By that time Presto had a new CEO and when I met him he asked whether I wanted the job. I said, “Aren’t you going to interview me? He replied, “Everyone else already has, I’m just the new guy, so why start over from scratch?” So I accepted the job in 2007 and that started my history in the aging/wellness/digital health space. Who knew that a mere year-and-a-half later, I would replace that man as Presto’s CEO. [pullquote align=”right” cite=”Peter Radsliff, CEO Presto Services” link=”” color=”#69AE22″]”From a marketing standpoint, the minute you brand something as being for old people, you make it less marketable as a product.“[/pullquote]

Q: What’s the history of Presto? How did the product come about?

A: Like a lot of products in this industry, a well-known entrepreneur was having trouble communicating with his father who didn’t use a computer, and he said to himself, “You know, there’s got to be a better way.” What was different and interesting about Presto’s founding story is that the company was incubated inside one of the world’s largest venture capital firms. Presto actually started within their office complex and spent a year and half researching how to address this perceived communications gap, whether a new device for interaction with non-PC users could succeed, and what form it should take.

At first, the thought was that they should develop a simple-to-use 2-way electronic communication device. They were, in essence, trying to design an iPad-like device in 2004, long before Apple’s introduction of the iPad in 2010. In hindsight, this was a pretty ambitious project for a startup. It turned out, the senior subjects in the research study didn’t want an electronic device. At the time, there were a lot of additional costs with digital communications, setting up broadband to the home, or cellular services. And bottom line, this type of gadget just wasn’t wanted by the test subjects. So the team went back to the drawing board to ask, what else could Presto be?

Then someone had the idea of using plain-old 8 ½ x 11 inch paper. Working models were made, and more research done, sending email and photos over standard telephone lines that would automatically print out in high resolution and full color. Neither a computer, nor broadband Internet service was necessary for the system. One big worry was the complex user experience and cost of developing hardware with a built-in scanner to enable handwritten scan-and-email replies, but what the research subjects resoundingly stated was that they knew how to reply to an electronic letter, they picked up the phone and called back! So Presto decided to partner with HP to develop the Presto Printing Mailbox. Presto developed the cloud service with many other features for family caregivers, and HP developed the hardware. FOTO PPM

Q: Does that change the way we provide aging services?

A: When a family caregiver has only in-person visits or phone calls to communicate with their mom or dad, that’s a pretty frustrating and limited set of options. Since few people write letters anymore and the speed of life is way faster than the mail carrier, there needs to be some other way to create a visual way to communicate and provide a persistent record of delivered information. Can you even imagine a world without email or text messaging today? Without visual communication and a persistent record, you lose a huge amount of efficacy in the dialogue. Bottom line, Presto provides almost instant written communication between people in the digital world and those who don’t participate, or who struggle with it.

A while ago I received a note from a Presto end-user, a grandmother. The note was on purple, flowery stationery and handwritten in cursive. I’ll never forget it. She wrote to tell me how much Presto had helped her life. How her son lived in another state, but she’d just that morning received a picture of a sonogram of her grandchild about to be born. She ended her note saying, “Thank you, from all the mothers.” As CEO of a technology firm, that’s the reason why I get out of bed every morning.

Q: So, what would you change about this industry?

A: I’d like to see us stop defining people by age. Age really has nothing to do with this industry, we’re ALL aging! One way to look at it is to think about the healthcare industry. The vast majority of healthcare dollars spent in America are spent in the patient’s last few years of life. It’s actually shocking when you look at the healthcare system as a whole. That could have defined the healthcare industry as primarily an ‘age-related’ set of activities. But of course, healthcare is healthcare; people get sick at all ages, and receive treatment at all ages. What if we applied the same reasoning to our industry? Just like healthcare, our products are used proportionately by one age group, seniors, but we should look at them as people first, not by their age.

Belief sets arise and create a divide between those who think of themselves as old and those who don’t. From a marketing standpoint, the minute you brand something as being for ‘old’ people, you make it less marketable as a product, less interesting to news outlets, and investors, less likely to be developed and used where it can do the most good. It’s part and parcel of our youth-obsessed society. I’d like to see us reframe the discussion so it’s not always an age thing, and that would be big step forward.

Q: I hear you’re making some changes. So, what’s next for you?

A: What’s next for me? I’m going back to my product design and development roots. I did my undergraduate and graduate work at San Francisco State University’s Design and Industry department where I later joined the faculty. I have recently been advising students there who have made it to the finals of the ‘Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge’ which is being judged April 4, 2016. I am also taking on some strategic marketing and product advising work at my consulting firm, Product Alchemy (www.prodalchemy.com), where we help our client’s products and services realize their full potential.

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Meet the Innovators: Michele Ahlman, CEO of ClearSounds Communications

Q&A With Leaders in Technology and Aging

We’ve been talking with innovators in the Technology and Aging industry. Today, we spoke with Michele Ahlman, CEO of ClearSounds Communications. Here are some highlights from our conversation. MicheleAhlman Head shot

Q: Hi Michele, thanks for talking with us today. Can you tell us a little about who you are and what you do?

A: My name is Michele Ahlman. I’m CEO of ClearSounds Communications, CEO of Clear Digital Media, and Vice President of HITEC Group. I’ve been in the hearing health business for 35 years.

Q: That’s a long time. How did you first get started in this industry?

A: It’s a family business. Early in the 80s, long before there was much technology, my mom founded our first company, HITEC Group. That firm is a distributor of telecommunications products for the hearing-impaired. My dad blew out his hearing as a tank commander in the military, so her entrée to the industry came through my dad’s own personal experience with hearing loss.

My mom was a school teacher in Chicago for many years. She didn’t have an MBA. No plan to take over the world. She liked the idea of giving back, helping people, creating opportunities, doing good, and creating a legacy for her kids. That was her mission. She lived by the golden rule, built strong relationships, and HITEC flourished over the years.

Q: Where did they get the idea for ClearSounds?

A: My dad came on board in the mid 80s. He went to the phone company, Illinois Bell at the time, and he said, “You guys are doing a half-assed job taking care of people with disabilities.” So we took over the special needs center for the phone company, which later became AT&T. We were their special needs center for 17 years, and the incubator for telephone accessibility ideas for folks with hearing loss.

When AT&T got out of consumer products, we realized the industry was left with outdated technology. So at that stage we incorporated ClearSounds, and entered the world of engineering, manufacturing and design. We created a lot of new products for people with hearing loss, and it became very successful.

Q: What do you find to be the biggest challenge in this industry?

A: People with hearing loss don’t form a distinct, easily identifiable group. But what’s intriguing is that, over the years, the profile of the hearing aid user hasn’t changed much: someone in their mid to late 70s who has struggled for over seven years before pulling the trigger to get help. But hearing loss is nondiscriminatory in age, and in fact, it’s increasingly affecting the younger generation. And still, the people who take action hasn’t changed over time. The psychology around it is mind boggling. It’s not like there’s a group of people who raise their hands and say, “I have hearing loss, and I can’t wait for technology to help me out with that.” Even though it could. It’s fascinating.

Q: So what is it? What’s stopping people from taking action?

A: There are a variety of factors at play: cost, convenience and mindset. Cost and convenience is addressed with the emergence of over-the-counter hearing aids. Finally, people have the option of reduced cost and more convenience, but it hasn’t moved the needle significantly. Sure, these new products are moving, but they’re not reaching new consumers. They’re reaching people who were already taking action through hearing care centers and audiologists. [pullquote align=”right” cite=”Michele Ahlman, CEO ClearSounds Communications” link=”” color=”#69AE22″]”It’s not like there’s a group of people who raise their hands and say, “I have hearing loss, and I can’t wait for technology to help me out with that.“[/pullquote]
In 2012, we formed Clear Digital Media, our third business, to deliver real-time content on the issue of hearing loss to patients in waiting rooms of audiologists’ and doctors’ offices, and we’re even expanding into dentistry. Our mission is simple. It’s to educate, entertain, and engage people who could be getting help, trying to address this challenge of hearing loss.

Q: Is there anything you would change about this industry if you could?

A: As we think through the process of distribution, and how people adopt technology, we have to address the question of whether we’re a technology industry or a healthcare industry. How do we address the psychological barrier of people taking action to treat their hearing loss?

Hearing aids are expensive. Getting one is usually an expensive process, and not always a convenient one. Often hearing aids aren’t covered by insurance, and I think that changes people’s mindset. The senior demographic typically looks at the doctor as the expert. Insurance covers the visit, and those two things are associated, part of the medical world, getting treatment. Hearing care is often out-of-pocket, and expensive, so our mindset isn’t the same. It changes how people take action.

Plus, it’s typically not a crisis, not like when you break a leg, and need to get treatment immediately. When we start to lose hearing, it’s gradual. People can raise their voice when talking to you. You can adjust volume control. If there are seniors or grandparents in your life, you’ve probably heard them tell you they’re fine. It’s just that you mumble. People tend to wait until they’re so frustrated, until the process of communication is so exhausting, that they don’t do it anymore. Hearing impacts how we see ourselves, based on how people react to us. It’s ironic that it’s so important, but we don’t take action because we don’t want to admit it’s a problem.

Hearing loss progresses. It doesn’t get better. The younger you are when the hearing problem starts, the worse it’s going to get. But people don’t want to talk about it. It’s all very intriguing, and we need to figure out how to break through the psychological barrier, and let it affect the products themselves, and how they’re delivered.

Q: What is the industry getting right?

A: In the hearing healthcare area, what we’re doing right is realizing that the consumer rules. We can try to control distribution, but the consumer makes the final decision. The true path to growth, to more people adopting the technology, is when the consumer has an element of control over the process. When the distribution model controls the customer’s behavior, when there are limited options for accessing technology, and for finding choices that fit, then nothing’s going to change. And the industry is shifting to understand that better.

Q: What’s next for your companies?

A: We’re about breaking that psychological barrier that limits people from taking advantage of the technology advancements that are out there, that keeps them from picking and choosing, and blending them together into the best Frosty ever (laughs). This is a deep question, that no-one has figured out yet. It’s complicated, but an extremely exciting opportunity for us.

We need to figure this out. ClearSounds has a series of Bluetooth connected devices, so we’re trying to move to form factors that are cooler, and that make people feel better about owning technology. It brings music back to life for people, and that seems key to me, because it’s really important to a lot of people.

On the Clear Digital Media side, we’re engaging patients at the point of care, building loyalty, and providing a tool to educate, engage, and entertain people in the waiting room. All of this helps change the dynamic between the patient and the provider.

HITEC Group is rebranding, from hearing-impaired technology to health-inspired technology. We’re expanding into things that get people motivated. What gets you going? What motivates you to take action? We will be tying all of these things together.

Q: What advice would you give a new entrepreneur?

A: I think there are two types of entrepreneurs. Midwestern-model entrepreneurs have a great idea. They go to family and friends, and do everything they can to launch the business all by themselves, a self-funded, mortgage on the line, small family business. Then there are Big Idea entrepreneurs, who have a big idea, go to venture capitalists to get investment money, give up some control, but blow it out of the water, go public, become wildly successful. My parents are serial entrepreneurs in the model of the Midwestern entrepreneur, and that’s what I’ve always known, so my advice is in that mindset.

Give more than you expect in return, and the payoff is tremendous. There’s no substitute for working hard, no patch, no pill. You have to be ready to bust your ass and be scared as hell. If you can get through that, anything is possible. My own parents worked hard. There were times things were really tough, food stamps, Section 8 housing. I grew up in a world where there was no other option but working your butt off. I remember my parents having conversations where they told each other, “We will make it. We will be successful.” That way of thinking has resonated through my life. And honestly, I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity.

Laura Mitchell Consulting is a strike team of marketing and growth strategy experts in the aging and technology industry. Know someone we should feature in our “Meet the Innovators” blog series? Contact us at info@lmcllc.us and let us know!

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Meet the Innovators: Mary Furlong, Expert on Entrepreneurship and the Longevity Market

Q&A With Leaders in Technology and Aging

We recently spoke with Mary Furlong, of Mary Furlong and Associates (MFA), a long time leader in helping entrepreneurs find opportunities and succeed in the longevity market.

Screen Shot 2016-03-14 at 10.36.03 AM

Q: Mary, we’ve known you for quite some time as an educator and leader in this space. Can you tell our readers a bit more about yourself?

A: My name is Mary Furlong. I’m a serial entrepreneur. I’ve built three companies focused on the 50+ market. My work is to improve the lives of older adults, using technology to support their needs, and reinstantiating their leadership in our society. [pullquote align=”right” cite=”Mary Furlong, Mary Furlong & Associates” link=”” color=”#69AE22″]”Every dissonance of aging is a market opportunity.“[/pullquote]

Q: So how did you get your start?

A: I started my first company, SeniorNet, in 1986. It was the first “social network” for older adults. My second company was called ThirdAge Media, a portal for baby boomers. Mary Furlong and Associates is my third company. It’s a consulting practice that helps companies navigate business strategy, development, financing, and so on, for the boomer market. In 2007, I published a book called Turning Silver Into Gold, on how to operate a profitable business in the aging market. I also produce the What’s Next Boomer Business Summit and the Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit.

Q: What do you think is going well in the aging and technology industry?

A: I think the momentum is going well in this industry. Steve Jurvetson of Draper Fisher Jurvetson talks about technology innovation, that it improves every day, and so does general enthusiasm for it. I think that’s very true. The demographics are there. What could change is the regulatory environment, for example, reimbursement for technology that helps keep people at home. Fewer trips to the emergency room is a good thing, because the cost of those visits is high.

Every dissonance of aging is a market opportunity. Smart people figure out those dissonances, and how to leverage the opportunities. So that’s exciting, because these opportunities are limitless, when you’re figuring out how to transform the quality of life for older people.

Q: If you could change something about this industry, what would it be?

A: It’s very fragmented right now, and that’s a challenge. And it’s a problem that there’s not enough attention given to low income. We need to get in touch with the reality of how much money is needed for people to finance their longevity, and solve the real problem of how do we get the costs down. I would also say that we’re not doing enough to facilitate the notion of older people as creators and producers, and not merely as consumers. How do we help them become part of the entrepreneurial force that transforms things?

Q: What advice would you offer to a new entrepreneur?

A: Write a business plan first. A short one. We have a couple of sessions at the What’s Next conference about this. Really figure out what is your niche, and what you can uniquely do in the market that will serve a need. What is your go-to-market strategy for the next six months? What is it for the next 18 months? Understand how you will distinguish yourself, and make the business work. Think about whether you should keep your day job while you build the business. This is the biggest challenge, because, as you know, not all new ventures are a success.

Q: How have you helped change the way we provide aging services?

A: We host two conferences every year. What’s Next Boomer Business Summit focuses on marketing and business development. Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit brings together entrepreneurs, with leaders in the field of aging, and the venture community, and is designed to teach entrepreneurs how to think through a business. This next one is our 26th conference. Doing this for so long, and bringing together so many people from different facets of the market, we’ve developed a business ecosystem focused on the longevity market. Now there are many other conferences that cater to this marketplace, but ours was the first.

We bring people together to help facilitate the conversation, to get more innovation in the marketplace. People needed a guide for how to bring products and services to the market, and to accelerate their traction. So what we try to do is calibrate how to help them refine their business model so it scales, and gets the right support and financing. We help them identify potential partnerships. We’ve helped companies raise money and get pilots done. Going to our conferences is like getting a mini MBA in the longevity market.

I’m out in Silicon Valley, where we look at aging as an opportunity, as opposed to Washington, where they look at aging as a liability. I like rephrasing the question, asking how will we improve the role of older people, helping them be creative, engaged, contributing in our culture, and enhanced by technology, as opposed to people who are draining the system. I’m a natural entrepreneur, and I’ve recently started calling myself a cartographer, helping people understand the landscape of this market, and helping them develop a roadmap for going to market.

Laura Mitchell Consulting is a strike team of marketing and growth strategy experts in the aging and technology industry. Know someone that we should feature in our “Meet the Innovators” blog series? Contact us at info@lmcllc.us and let us know!

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Meet the Innovators: Laura Mitchell, Marketing and Growth Hacking Expert, and Founder of Laura Mitchell Consulting (LMC)

Q&A With Leaders in Technology and Aging

Laura Mitchell is a veteran of the aging and technology industry and the founder of Laura Mitchell Consulting, cofounder of industry pioneer GrandCare Systems, cofounder of the 2011 AgeTek Alliance, creator of the renowned industry-wide Aging/Technology Webinar serie and the,host of the LMC “Meet the Innovators” blog series. Long ago, Laura adopted the philosophy that “a rising tide lifts all boats,” and that in a developing industry, we need to work together. This mentality was the inspiration behind this series. And today we’re talking with her.

Q: Who are you and what do you do?

A: I’m Laura Mitchell. I’m a marketing consultant, growth hacker, social media specialist and general aging/tech industry advisor. I started up my consulting business, Laura Mitchell Consulting (LMC), a year ago and I help small to mid-size organizations with online digital strategies, go-to-market plans, branding, websites, PR, writing, and really anything that helps businesses grow and increase awareness.

Q: How did you get your start in this industry?

A: It’s funny. In high school, I always assumed I would become a doctor, but I already knew I wanted to have my medical focus on the aging population. I never had a desire to be a pediatrician. I had been a primary caregiver for my great-great-aunt in high school, and I just really loved our times together. I went to UW-Madison fully intending to do pre-med and eventually become a geriatric physician. Well, life got in the way, as did organic chemistry, and I opted not to go the pre med route and instead study abroad in Germany (but that story is for another blog). Man, am I glad I didn’t pursue medicine and instead get to do what I do today. I was a founding member of GrandCare Systems in 2005, a pioneer and lead innovator in this space, and the rest is history. My life is exactly what I would have wanted it to be. I get to combine my passions for healthcare, technology, taking care of the aging population, and of course marketing.

Q: How are you helping to change the way we provide aging services? [pullquote align=”right” cite=”Laura Mitchell, Laura Mitchell Consulting” link=”” color=”#69AE22″]”Everyone can learn by listening to others, listening to caregivers and listening to the seniors.“[/pullquote]

A: I spent a lot of the last decade as a public educator, because (unfortunately) it was a necessary step in order for technology to be taken seriously. Now, I’m taking all of these passionate innovative companies to the next level by providing a strategic, seamless, integrated marketing solution to get them out there, through stories, testimonials, proven statistics and educational platforms.

But the question still often is, how do we get the messaging out? How do we gain trust? How do we gain credibility? I think in some ways what I’m doing is taking a look at the final goal and working back, developing a map for companies to get there.

Q: What do you think is going well in the aging and technology industry?

A: I think there are a whole lot of passionate folks who are in it for exactly the right reasons. They want to see the industry succeed. They want to see our aging population receive the care they need, faster, better, more efficient care, and at home if possible. They want to improve lives. You can tell, because they have been in this industry for years with so little recognition and pay back. The goal is to improve the lives of seniors and those who care for them. I still consider many of the folks I have met over the past decade to be some of the kindest, most passionate, most selfless, and most innovative people I have ever met. This industry will always be special to me, because there is so much heart and soul in it.

Q: What would change about this industry if you could?

A: I have to say, one of my constant struggles is listening to people talk about technology as “nice to have” and not as a necessity. It’s almost as though it’s a theater system or something. It is not taken seriously and it needs to be. I know technology is a huge change, a huge disruption, and that can be uncomfortable. But, we cannot simply ignore the fact that our aging population is going to outnumber caregivers and there won’t be enough brick and mortar to satisfy their needs. We need to stop having a few loud naysayers dictate how this happens. No more focus groups on whether technology is a good idea, or on whether folks are actually aging. These are decoys to deny that there truly is a substantial problem and that technology is obviously the answer to enabling our caregiving and aging population.

Q: What advice would you offer a new entrepreneur?

A: I would say that you need to listen to your heart when some of the financial guys tell you, “Nobody wants that,” or question ROI on something that is clearly valuable to an aging senior or an exhausted caregiver. I would also remind them to listen to others in the industry. I have seen very bright, intelligent and creative folks take a whole lot of money and eventually go out of business because they didn’t ever take the time to listen to what some of us have learned along the way. Everyone can learn by listening to others, listening to caregivers and listening to the seniors. Most importantly, there is a huge market. We can all work together. Don’t let hubris get in the way of making some strategic partnerships with other organizations or listening to your competitors.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: I am very excited to be attending the What’s Next Boomer Business Summit in D.C. I am on the social media team this year, and producing the “Mingle in a Minute” power networking event. I’m proud of my team, the expertise, passion, and creativity, and we’re continuing to grow. I look forward to working with more and more innovative companies in this space and really seeing all of us make a difference for the aging population. After all, the rising tide lifts all boats. Let’s do this together!

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Meet the Innovators: Laurie Orlov, Industry Analyst and Founder of Aging in Place Technology Watch

Q&A With Leaders in Technology and Aging

In this, the latest in our ongoing series on innovators in the Technology and Aging industry, we spoke with market analyst and industry ground breaker Laurie Orlov, founder of Aging in Place Technology Watch.

Q: Laurie, you have been such a pivotal fixture in this industry. Could you tell us what your role is and how long you’ve been in this role?

A: I’m a technology industry analyst – describing and offering insights about the market of technology for older adults. I’ve been working as an analyst and writer in the aging and technology space since 2009.

Q: How did you get your start in this industry?

A: It was personal for me. I became interested in elder care because of my own experience. That led me to volunteer as an ombudsman for nursing homes and assisted living facilities in Florida. As I spent more time doing that, I became even more interested, and I decided to get certified in Geriatric Care Management through the University of Florida. While in school, I prepared a bibliography project about technology and older adults. It was fascinating and I really starting thinking this industry needs an analyst. I’d had many years of experience as an analyst in the IT industry, and I knew how it was done.

So I began blogging, wrote a market overview, gave my first speech, and started offering advice to clients. The not-so-secret to building that business is that I’ve been blogging a couple of times a week since 2008, and after a while in the same topic space, the content rises in the search rankings. Plus, I was talking about technology for older adults to businesses, and nobody else was really looking at this market and providing advice as to what it could and should be.

Q: So, what do you think it should be? What would you change about this industry, if you could?

A: One of the biggest issues is that both standards and integration between devices are lacking. That means that every one of the devices must be marketed separately. It’s not like firms are plugging their products into a standard network. If you think about an electrical outlet in the wall, the fact that you can plug an appliance or device into a wall is because the standards for plugs exists. You don’t have to buy a different end for each appliance, because these standards were determined a long time ago. But we don’t have those kinds of standards in technology for older adults.

With standardization, and more effective marketing to generate awareness, engineering costs would be reduced by volume. Once you have volume, you can develop more products. It could be that this is the year when we’ll finally see this happen. The healthcare industry has realized that there are financial benefits to keep people in their homes, because the penalties for readmissions are growing.[pullquote align=”right” cite=”Laurie Orlov, founder of Aging in Place Technology Watch” link=”” color=”#69AE22″]”You need to evaluate whether there’s a demand other than you and your own grandma.”[/pullquote]

Q: What do you see that the industry is getting right?

A: There are now products out there that serve the needs of older adults, and they are generally coming down in price, which is not only good but required. Some of the products are being integrated with healthcare services. The penalties for readmissions have been going up with the Affordable Care Act, so it’s apparent that providers are interested in avoiding admissions or having their patients readmitted to hospitals. The industry is really focused on that space now, and that’s a positive sign.

Q: As a market analyst, what is your role in the aging and technology industry?

A: I help technology vendors by positioning their products into categories and identifying the other entrants and where they fit. I speak about the importance of this market in webinars and at conferences, and I help to organize and categorize the market for those attendees as well. If there’s a new product being launched, my site provides a platform in which it can be announced, so people not only know it exists, but also know how to find it. I also give advice to new entrants, trying to help a company head off a potential marketing or positioning mistake, help them identify strategic partners, and help them see if the product they’re thinking about really is a valuable addition to the market place. Sometimes telling someone it’s not all that useful or that the category has failed can be the best advice they get. That’s what an analyst does: helps position products and services in the market.

Q: What advice do you have for new entrepreneurs?

A: I’d tell them to make sure they’ve adequately tested their product before broadly shipping it. I hate to see one company tell me they bought another company’s product, and when they tested it, it didn’t work. There’s no testing body for the technology in this space, so it’s incumbent on the company to test, and in multiple circumstances, which sometimes can be hard to do.

I’d also advise them to make sure they understand the competition. I have people come tell me, “We don’t have any competition.” That’s rarely true. Make sure you understand the ecosystem. Make sure your product can be part of a broader solution. Understand the trends in healthcare. A lot of people get started in this industry because of an experience in their own families, because of something that occurred with their parents or their grandparents. To me, that’s a good trigger, a really good motivation to get into this space, but that’s not the same as market research.

Over the years, the technology for older adults market has expanded. It’s doubtful that there’s much of a market for niche products that aren’t built around standards, or that aren’t already part of a consumer-ready product. There’s very little out there in the market for older adults that couldn’t be done on a standard platform, mobile device, tablet, computer, or existing home automation technology. There always a need for new software, and the need to integrate with other software, but this market doesn’t need a lot of new hardware devices. There are too many out there already. So I’d also advise that if you want to make an impact, use a platform that can be used for multiple purposes.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: I publish a new market overview every year, and the new one was just published. The purpose is to examine trends that haven’t been well-articulated yet, ideas that haven’t been shared yet. This is not a boring space. I’ll be working on new research projects, and working with new innovative clients. So it’s all new for me.

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Help, I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Reach My Apple Watch!

Connected health, wearables, digital health, population data, and big data are all the rage right now. As the baby boomers reach retirement age, the market for technology to help the aging population gains momentum. Changes happen quickly. That’s why we’ve decided to produce a new #LMCTechTuesday Innovation in Aging Series to keep you, and ourselves, up to speed.

Who were the early players in this market? Who paved the way and shaped this booming connected health world? What happened before the rest of the world knew that this stuff even existed? Where did they get their ideas for products, for marketing, for financing their innovations? What did they learn along the way? What would they do differently? And most importantly, where are their visionary products and minds taking us tomorrow?

We decided to swing for the bleachers right away with long term care veterans Myron Kowal of RCare and David Inns of GreatCall. What’s after that? Watch for all your favorites: Charlie Hillman, Mary Furlong, Jill Gilbert, Laurie Orlov and many more.

“The series is dedicated to the groundbreaking innovators who paved the way for the aging and technology marketplace we see today,” said long-time aging/tech veteran and LMC founder, Laura Mitchell. “There is so much we can learn from the people at the forefront of the industry. These are the people with the vision to define and educate this market, setting the pace for the many complementary and necessary products and services that help so many seniors today. I have learned so much already and I hope you appreciate their wisdom as much as we do.”

A new interview will be featured every Tuesday on the Laura Mitchell Consulting blog with the hashtag #LMCTechTuesday.

What industry experts are saying about the LMC “Meet the Innovators” project:

“The Independent Aging technology industry is still very young and undeveloped. All of the industry participants need to work together to share ideas and help stimulate primary demand. By having these conversations and learning from them, we can all grow more interest and momentum in the space.” David Inns, CEO of GreatCall

“The past 10 years have felt like a sprint uphill, but I wouldn’t trade the experiences and relationships I and GrandCare made along the way. I feel like we’ve been a major player in redefining how people age at home. That feels good and what feels even better is that people are finally buying into the notion of using enabling technologies.” Charlie Hillman, Founder of GrandCare Systems

“People don’t understand how much has changed in the past 10-20 years in the nurse call and emergency response space. This series is critical to outline where we’ve come from, and where we’re going, on our quest for faster and better products and services to help the people we love.” Myron Kowal, CEO of RCare (Response Care)

If you are interested in this market and what the heavy-hitters have to say about it, follow the Laura Mitchell Consulting blog. Learn about the history, present and future of the aging technology industry directly from the insiders who have made this all happen.

Do you know someone that should be featured in “Meet the Innovators”? Contact LMC at info@lmcllc.us and let us know.

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Meet the Innovators: Charlie Hillman, CEO GrandCare Systems

Q&A With Leaders in Technology and Aging

In the third edition of our blog series on innovators in the Technology and Aging industry, we’re talking with Charlie Hillman, founder and CEO of GrandCare Systems. Below is an excerpt of our recent conversation.

GrandCare

Q: Thanks for talking with us, Charlie. Can you briefly explain who you are and what you do?

A: I’m Charlie Hillman, CEO and founder of GrandCare Systems. I make people’s lives better. At least I hope I do.

Q: How did you get into this industry?

A: It started with a personal need. My great-aunt Clara was living next door. She was in her late 80s at the time. We got along great. I checked in on her frequently, had her over for meals once or twice a day. But when she had a problem with her furnace, we didn’t know, because she didn’t want to bother us. A simple temperature sensor could have alerted me to the problem right away. Anyway, it started there, and evolved into something much more. Some of it comes from what I think I’ll need when I age. At some point I realized that, without an application of technology to our aging and healthcare challenges, our country, which includes my grandchildren, will be in trouble.

Q: How did you create your product?

A: I started it in the early 90s. Part of it was in my basement, initially. I’m an engineer. So I started tinkering with what would become GrandCare, using the existing level of technology, but always with a mind that things would improve. So I left some “fill-in-the-blank” areas, where I knew technology would likely show up to enable what I wanted to do, and that would make it affordable for everyday people to use. You always program for the next machine. We still do that. Those that program for present end up creating a product for the past.
[pullquote align=”right” cite=”Charlie Hillman, CEO GrandCare Systems” link=”” color=”#69AE22″]”You always program for the next machine. Those that program for the present end up creating a product for the past.”[/pullquote]
Q: What would you change about this industry?

A: I’d like to give the end user a little more say in what happens. I’d like to reduce the influence of people who are in this industry primarily for the money. This is an emotional and passion-driven industry. You can tell who has a heart and soul for changing the way we age, for the better.

Q: How is GrandCare changing the way we provide aging services?

A: GrandCare’s systems make it a lot easier for more people to worry about someone’s well being, including the family and the people themselves. Enabling someone to have more control over their situation, more influence over their own wellness, is extremely important, and really the only way we get significant improvements.

What’s interesting is that influencing people to take better care of themselves quite often has to do with where the advice is coming from. The system doesn’t have an opinion. It doesn’t have an emotional or irritable response to your behavior. You might not do something if your daughter told you to do it, even if you know it’s good for you, but you would do it when your system tells you to. And the best part is that GrandCare never gets tired of providing constant reminders.

Q: What’s next for GrandCare?

A: An expanded market penetration, once the government, and society as a whole, realizes this is the only way for the healthcare system to remain solvent. Our technology is enabling technology. It is a vehicle to provide better, faster and more transparent care. We need drivers such as nurses, doctors and caregivers using it to analyze vitals and activity patterns and to really influence patient behavior.

Q: What advice would you offer a new entrepreneur in this space?

A: There will be no lack of people telling you you’re wrong, that what you want to do can’t be done. Someone will tell you not to quit your day job. You have to shake it off. Have faith in yourself. Have faith in your vision.

GrandCare is the winner of the 2012 CEA Innovation Entrepreneur Award for Small Business of the Year, and is a two-time winner of SeniorHomes.com’s Most Innovative Senior Products Award.

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