CHENNAI: Good companionsa to boot launched on Tuesday, it claims it can offer seniors everything a grandchild will do, and the firm has raised initial funds from industry titan Rata Tata for this premise.
At a time when millions of seniors in India are living alone, due to the loss of a partner or the estrangement of families, there are various startups catering to their daily needs, but none for loneliness, the startup noted at the its launch in Mumbai on Tuesday in the presence of Ratan Tata, artist Shriya Pilgaonkar, content creator Viraj Ghelani and others.
Founded by Shantanu Naidu (general manager in Ratan Tata’s office), Goodfellows, which pairs elderly people with young college graduates to make meaningful friendships, it took six months to complete a successful beta and will now be available in Mumbai with Pune, Chennai and Bengaluru as the next target cities.
During the beta phase, Goodfellows says it received interest from over 800 applications from young college graduates seeking employment at Goodfellows. A cohort of 20 people was selected from this to provide companionship for Mumbai seniors.
The team undertook several rounds of control and some internal psychometric tests to choose the best graduates, he said.
Most of the funds currently raised are intended to be used to increase human capital (youth pool). In addition to this, the startup also hosts monthly events for seniors and their “good mates”.
“The links between the two generations created by Goodfellows are very significant and are helping to address an important social issue in India. I hope the investment helps the young Goodfellows team grow, “said Ratan N Tata, president emeritus of Tata Sons.
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