- The start-up is designed to connect
senior citizens with young graduates to form meaningful friendships. Good friends offers a freemium subscription model.- The platform also offers short-term internships and jobs to graduates that allow them to apply their knowledge in this space.
Market leader
The platform has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of
“Over the past 6 months, Goodfellows has taken the time to complete a successful beta and will now be available in Mumbai with Pune, Chennai and Bangalore as the next target cities,” the company said in a statement.
The startup is designed to match seniors with young graduates to form meaningful friendships. It offers all the services that a grandchild would.
There are 15 million elderly citizens in India who live alone, either due to the loss of a partner, or due to the departure of families due to unavoidable work reasons, the statement said. Goodfellows will help tackle the problem of loneliness or lack of companionship, which has been the main reason for the deterioration of the mental and physical health of seniors.
“The ties between the two generations created by Goodfellows are very meaningful and help address an important social problem in India. I hope the investment will help the young Goodfellows team grow,” said Ratan Tata.
During the beta testing phase, it had received more than 800 applications from young graduates seeking employment at Goodfellows, of which a shortlisted cohort of 20 seniors in Mumbai provided company, the company said.
Seniors can use the services by signing up at
thegoodfellows.in or can give a missed call on +91 8779524307.
“The startup emphasizes that companionship means different things to different people. For some, it might mean watching a movie, telling stories from the past, going for a walk or hanging out in quiet company and doing nothing together, and we’re here to accommodate it all. Mr. Tata’s investment in our company is a tremendous encouragement to our commitment to this concept,”
The platform will also host monthly events to encourage its users to engage with their fellows to make the bond deeper and more enjoyable in a different environment.
The company offers a freemium subscription model. The first month is free only to understand the concept without actually going through it. The second month, the user has to pay a small subscription fee that is set based on the limited affordability of retirees.
The platform also offers short-term internships and jobs to graduates that allow them to apply their knowledge in this space while having a sense of purpose or fulfillment in the work they do. The graduates are given the autonomy to invent and create and to make the company their own.
“The largest percentage of investors’ funds are currently focused on scaling human capital, which is a slow process because empathy cannot be controlled quickly or through the traditional recruiting process,” the company said.
It also plans to offer travel companions for seniors who are reluctant to travel due to a lack of safety or companionship, and the startup also plans to extend its services to those with disabilities who face similar or more challenges. are confronted.
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