I'm super-impressed and really happy to see this recent batch of YC companies tackling some very underserved and unsexy problems.<p>While Amulyte is not a new idea, I do think their product is a much-needed improvement on what's existed for some time. But will that improvement be enough for it to be a widely adopted product? I don't think so. Products offering similar solutions have been around with moderate levels of success, and neither seniors nor their caretakers are technologically savvy enough to see an accelerometer or self-quantification as selling points. And while selling to nursing homes might seem a good idea, they're already relatively well-monitored settings that account for only 20% of deaths due to falls in people ages 65yo+ [0].<p>I think this is mostly a marketing issue, and an interesting one. This is a morbid product. Buying it acknowledges to some degree that you're old, and on your way out. It's not like life insurance where you buy it once and don't think about it. Nor is it like taking medications that are <i>contributing</i> to your health. A product like this serves as a constant reminder of your fragility while not providing any immediately obvious benefit. Imagine putting it around your neck every day. Beyond the inherent psychological barriers that a product of this nature can create, marketing for this type of solution just hasn't seemed to help. Life Alert, a wear-around-your-neck monitor for the elderly that's been around for a long time, has been known for its "I've fallen and I can't get up!" campaign [1]. What elderly person or caregiver would ever want to relate to someone in that commercial?<p>I don't know what the answer to that problem is yet. How do you get people to acknowledge the eventual death of their beloved elderly and push them to be proactive in taking preventative measures without using scare tactics? I'm not sure, but coincidentally, I finally got to reading the article <i>Slow Ideas</i> by Atul Gawande [2] this morning that touches on similar problems -- problems that are insidious and have no immediate solution. He seems to strengthen PG's points on doing things that don't scale [3]. In particular, he talks about how marketing efforts, efforts that scaled, in India to combat cholera were unsuccessful, and how opting for the door-to-door method resulted in significant drops in mortality. The message of the article was that these problems require more than just slick ads and pamphlets. They require changing the norms, changing the way people perceive these problems. And from his experience, the most efficient and successful way of doing that is to do things that do not scale. Maybe that's the answer.<p>A product like this isn't just a shiny new toy someone orders from Amazon, or backs on Kickstarter. This touches on some very deep problems in our society and its views on preventative health, mostly that we don't take it seriously. I think a company like Amulyte should really focus its efforts on creating an effective marketing strategy. They may have the most advanced monitor in the world, but that won't tear down many of the barriers that exist for this type of product. And if they can crack that marketing problem, then there's a lot more success out there to be had. Some food for thought, Amulyte guys. Good luck! I'll definitely be watching closely.<p>[0] <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Falls/nursing.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Falls/nursing.h...</a><p>[1] <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQlpDiXPZHQ" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQlpDiXPZHQ</a><p>[2] <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/29/130729fa_fact_gawande" rel="nofollow">http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/07/29/130729fa_fact_...</a><p>[3] <a href="http://paulgraham.com/ds.html" rel="nofollow">http://paulgraham.com/ds.html</a>
Seems like a smart move considering 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 <i>every day</i>. Hopefully they're in it for the long haul.<p>It will be interesting to see what the marketing strategy will be.
This is the best kind of startup - targeting an important problem whose current solutions are outdated and not very good.<p>There are LOTS of seniors already using such a product (usually ordered by their concerned family), and a low monthly fee is not an issue when your loved ones's life is at stake.<p>The existing solutions are basically a DECT cordless phone with a one-button 911 call. Marketing something like amulyte should be a slam-dunk. Of course you're not gonna sell "it has GPS and an accelerometer" - you market "it will notice when you fall, it will automatically call for help, even if should be unconscious, and even tell people where exactly you are".
It's marketed as a device for the elderly but another segment that could benefit from this are disabled people living alone.<p>When I left my parents house, I looked for something like this to use in case of an emergency. One option was to pay a monthly fee for a similar device, that upon activation makes someone call you and if you don't pick up they send an ambulance or call someone.<p>In the end I went for a wrist-watch like device that hooks itself to the house alarm and dials a predefined number when you press it. It obviously only works when I'm at home but that was enough for me and it doesn't include a monthly fee.
$30/month is too much for this to get Wal-Mart traction (which is what it needs, because not even the daughters of seniors buy FitBits online). Seniors often live on what they call "fixed income" which is a euphemism for government aid, pensions (which are diminishing), etc. A new expense cannot be covered by working harder or smarter. A $30/month new expense is exactly why lots of seniors do not have smartphones (ironic then that Amulyte folks say they considered making a phone app but not enough of the audience have smartphones, then made a device that costs the same as a smartphone data plan).<p>Consider that the Kindle 3G comes with free cellular service. The hardware is in the same price ballpark, so why does Kindle let me download entire books for free, but Amulyte charges me $30/month to publish tiny updates that I hope I don't need?<p>Also consider the SPOT satellite messenger. It costs $150 plus $150 per year, which is much cheaper than Amulyte. The main downside for this application is that it does not work indoors--but the SPOT folks could add GSM capability and then their device seems almost universally better (the one exception being ergonomics for seniors).<p>Finally, ergonomics. Amulyte can't be too large, or it will be a constant dangling reminder of dying. And it obviously shouldn't be black in color--if not because black implies death then because new little black electronic widgets are really confusing and scary to old people. Round and light-colored would make a difference for some of the target audience.
Firstly it's just great to see someone from YC targeting anyone over 24 :) Ok, snarky joke is over.<p>I think this is a great idea. I see 3 challenges. i) Seniors tend to be more frugal than the younger generation so $30 per month might be a dealbreaker. Having said that children would probably pay that to know their parent is safe so maybe that's the better angle. ii) Superseded by a smart phone based app. No need for $99 for the device and $30 in a subscription. Will someone do 85% of this for an iPhone/Android device at $5 per month?
Sounded good, until I heard about the monthly fee.<p>I don't think this will go very far, as there are probably other companies going after this market without any extra fees.<p>Also, the battery life needs to be at least a month.
I really like what these guys are building. Real market, real need, real customers. Great approach to solving the problem too.<p>I'd definitely bet on this type of product being the future of senior monitoring.
I worry about the battery life here. Other devices can last much longer by using those base stations. And in this population, what happens if they forget to charge once a week?
Sound almost like A. C. Clarke's CORA (<a href="http://www.e-book2u.org/sf/Clarke08/30298.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.e-book2u.org/sf/Clarke08/30298.html</a>):<p><i>"THIS IS A CORA ALERT. WILL ANYONE WITHIN RANGE OF MY VOICE PLEASE COME IMMEDIATELY. THIS IS A CORA ALERT. WILL ANYONE WITHIN RANGE OF MY VOICE PLEASE COME IMMEDIATELY."</i><p>Another piece of past future come true?
It would seem a much simpler solution would be feasible. A small GSM device that is essentially powered off until it is needed, at which time it would be booted up and begin sending GPS coordinates via SMS. If you wanted higher reliability, you could look into the FM-based system that LoJack uses, but either way, constant communication seems unnecessary.
What are the dimensions? Although this product isn't intended to make a fashion statement, the elderly may still be averse to carrying/wearing around something rather bulky. Especially if they're having trouble admitting to their fragile state.
In some European countries panic buttons for the elderly are provided by public health organisations.<p>Perhaps Amulyte could target those organisations, aside from marketing to individuals.