Ratan Tata Launches India’s 1st Companionship Startup:
Ratan Tata unveils India’s First Companionship Startup For Senior Citizens.
In order to encourage intergenerational friendships, industrialist Ratan Tata launched Goodfellows, India’s companionship startup for senior citizens.
The Goodfellows startup was founded by Shantanu Naidu, an MBA graduate of Cornell University. The 28-year-old works as a General Manager in Mr. Tata’s office and are the fifth generation of his family to work for the Tata Group.
“You do not know what it is like to be lonely until you spend time alone yearning for companionship,” Ratan Tata said at the unveiling of Goodfellows.
The startup hires young graduates, known as ‘Goodfellows,’ to assist senior citizens and provide companionship, “similar to what a grandkid would do.”
With 15 million elders in India living alone, either because of the loss of a partner or because of family members moving away for unavoidable work reasons, many of them have caregivers, but the issue of loneliness or lack of company has been the primary cause of deteriorating mental and physical health.
Goodfellows’ business model is a freemium subscription model. The first month is free, with the goal of allowing the senior citizen to experience the service because it is difficult to grasp the concept without first going through it. Based on the limited affordability of pensioners, a small subscription fee will be implemented beginning with the second month.
“The startup emphasises that companionship means different things to different people,” said Shantanu Naidu. To some, it may mean watching a movie, retelling old stories, going for a walk, or simply sitting around doing nothing, and we are here to accommodate it all. We discovered how the Grandpals organically bonded with the Goodfellows during the beta phase. Mr. Tata’s investment in our venture is an additional source of encouragement for our commitment to this concept.”
Concerning the model, the startup stated that a subscription model ensures that when senior citizens bond with their companions, they do not keep rotating the graduate visiting them because this does not allow for enough time or emotional attention to form a true bond. “When we make friends, we desire to see them frequently. This will be avoided if each time a new person is used “the firm explained
Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, spoke about the investment “The bonds formed by Goodfellows between two generations are very meaningful and are assisting in addressing an important social issue in India. I hope the investment helps Goodfellows’ young team grow.”
In addition to expanding its services to people with disabilities who face comparable or greater challenges, Goodfellows plans to provide travel companions for seniors who are delaying travel because they lack security or company.
ALSO READ: Mass Singing of National Anthem
