Sector: Software Technology
Year Launched: 2020
Founder: Jordan Schley
Unique Selling Proposition: Communication software tested by seniors, for seniors’ needs.
Strategy: Creation of an easy-to-use video chat tool for a mobile device or tablet specifically geared to those people who are aging and who may be struggling with cognitive, vision or hearing impairments, mobility restrictions or dementia.
website: care2talk.io
Months into the pandemic, it became apparent that, due to many restrictions, people living in care home situations were lonely and isolated. Jordan Schley witnessed this firsthand via his 88-year-old grandfather.
Videoconferencing tools are fine for the tech savvy.
“It was the perfect time to bring back simplified video,” says Schley, founder of Care2Talk, a very accessible mobile application that allows seniors and those with cognitive or physical limits to easily make video calls.
“I gave my grandpa a tablet with the app on it,” says Schley. “He kept on calling me every day with it. It’s simple to use and a way better outcome than over the phone.”
One surprising obstacle was how to make the app very easy to use. When it comes to technology, it’s not as easy as imagined in our over-engineered world.
Care2Talk features include simple touch video calling with a closed caption option; contact information, via email or text, anywhere in the world; locked down tablets without confusing dashboards; and remote access.
“Care2Talk is global — we have customers in nine different countries,” says Schley, including Canada, the U.S., the U.K., New Zealand, Australia and Brazil.
Customers can be family members subscribing for individuals, or care communities/homes with dozens of users. In the case of care homes, there could be up to 300 residents, all of them potential users. The facilities purchase tablets to share among a set group of users.
Schley continues to expand Care2Talk’s client base as well as features of the app. He’s working on a telehealth component and emotional mood detector in which the app’s camera would take photos of users’ facial expressions while they are on a telehealth call and determine if they are sad or happy, he says.
Care2Talk’s simple, yet satisfying, video-chat technology is expanding the world for seniors and others in care.
“It’s very important right now, with a rapidly aging population,” Schley notes.
