Gogograndparent: On-Demand Mobility and Home Services for Older Adults

In this episode of "Building for the Silver Economy", Serena and Sally speak with Gogograndparent's Co-Founder and CEO Justin Boogaard and Cassandra Baptista, Director of Marketing and Communications. Gogograndparent (aka Gogo) is a Y Combinator-backed (YC S16), digital caregiving assistant that manages rides, meals, medication and groceries for older adults living at home. Gogo has fulfilled millions of requests for hundreds of thousands of people living independently at home, and is available in all 50 US states and Canada. Justin and Cassandra discusses Gogo's founding and growth trajectory, how Gogo evolved from being an on-demand mobility service for older adults to also being a home-services provider, the challenges and successes Gogo has achieved while rapid-scaling during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how attitudes towards aging in the United States have informed the current developments in the American Silver Economy as well as policies towards older adults.  Read more about Gogo's initiatives and services at: https://gogograndparent.com/ -- 00:03 - Sally gives an overview of Gogo Co-Founder Justin Boogaard and Director of Marketing Cassandra's profile, and how they each found themselves in age-tech  01:30 - Justin discusses what inspired he and his co-founder to found Gogo, the  challenges his grandmother faced in transportation and mobility, and how the initial  prototype grew its audience 10:20 - Justin talks about key milestones during Gogo's growth journey, going from managing 1 to millions of requests, how Gogo's growth intersected with rising preference  for aging-in-place 18:00 - Justin talks about a significant innovation in American aging care, and the City of Boston's innovative Age Strong campaign  24:10 - Cassandra (Cassy) discusses Reframing Aging, how aging is perceived in the US and how this perception has informed the Silver Economy and policies for older adults in America  27:45 - Justin speaks about Gogo's target audience (older adult themselves v. caregiver), how customer's Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) affect their changing demand for home services, and what Gogo's core value-add is as a digital mobility and caregiving service  41:10 - Justin discusses how Gogo balances fast growth and quality, and the challenges and successes Gogo encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic -- “Building for the Silver Economy” is a podcast dedicated to answering a deceptively simple question: why is the Silver Economy (ecosystem serving the 50+) not more popular in the United States? We interview leading operators, academics, investors, media professionals, and industry experts regarding their experience in the Silver Economy, and their take on the current lack of popularity of the Silver Economy. Hosted by Serena Dang and Sally Gao.