Startup Circle: How Yodda with technology is enabling convenient home care services for elders in India

Yodda Elder Care, headquartered in Pune, is a premium elder care company driven by technology. It provides 24/7 emergency response, healthcare assistance, and concierge services to senior citizens in the cities of Pune, Mumbai, and Hyderabad. They also provide an emergency SOS and community platform to elders living throughout the rest of the country. Yodda offers multiple technology solutions including a one-touch mobile application, several smartwatch integrations, and GPS pendants, where elders can raise routine service requests or trigger emergencies through a number of mechanisms or simply by making a phone call.

Tarun Sharma, a successful innovator and technologist, founded Yodda in March 2021 - India’s first technology- driven elder care company. Their mission is to create the world’s largest community of senior citizens and enable them to live comfortable, safe, and worry-free lives. Being a strong advocate for the benefits of at-home care and independent living for senior citizens, Yodda’s key offerings include 24/7 emergency response, healthcare facilitation, and convenience services.

Speaking to CIOL, Tarun Sharma, Founder and CEO, Yodda Elder Care, has shared his views on how Yodda is enabling seniors and elders to avail integrated and sustainable healthcare services with the touch of a button on the app. He talked about his startup journey and also he speaks about the growth plans for Yodda Elder Care.

Tell us about Yodda and your offerings. Tell us about the team.

After losing my parents due to critical illnesses and seeing tragedies unfold during Covid, I decided to spend the final chapter of my career servingthe elders in our society. While I started working on Yodda in October 2020, Yodda was officially incorporated in March 2021, and we launched our first offering, Yodda Care, to market in October 2021. Yodda’s second offering, Yodda Enable,was launched earlier this year.Yodda Careis a managed service where all requests, from on-ground emergency response, chronic medical issues, to everyday chores, including appliance maintenance, insurance management, bill payments, and groceries, are delivered by Yodda employees through a set of partners. Yodda has three plans,including 24/7 emergency response, healthcare facilitation, and concierge services.

Ourteamconsists ofexperienced and dedicated Primary Care Representatives who work closely with our seniors to understand and care for their daily requirements. On the other hand, our Field Care Representatives are all dependable armed forces veterans who have been meticulously trained in first aid response and emergency management - they are our feet-on-the-street in crucial situations.

Yodda Enable, on the other hand, is a moderated platform that leverages an elder’s trusted support network of friends, relatives, and neighbors to assist them with routine assistance and emergency response. Yodda employees take charge of the emergency response over a video conference and moderate the emergency. From consolidating vital emergency information to an active, engaging community, elders around the country can use this offering.

Both offerings are delivered through a simple tap of the button on their mobile phones or a phone call.

What are the drivers/market trends that are shaping the concept of Tech landscape in 2023?

Many drivers and market trends will heavily influence the technology landscape in 2023. One of the most significant trends is the accelerated adoption of telemedicine, and home health care, which have become increasingly popular in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Another trend is digitizing health records, which allows for secure and efficient patient information management. This is particularly important in India, where the public healthcare system is often unstructured. In addition, AI/ML-based predictive analyses and diagnoses are expected to play a pivotal role in improving healthcare outcomes.

Overall, this year's technology landscape will be characterized by rapid innovation, with new technologies and trends emerging at a breakneck pace. Organizations that can embrace these changes and leverage technology to their advantage will be best positioned for success in the years to come.

How is Yodda tapping these market trends for growth?

At Yodda, we believe in leveraging technology to provide practical solutions for everyday living for our elderly population. As a technology-first elder care firm, we invest heavily in developing cutting-edge solutions based on the latest technology platforms. Our software platform includes extremely easy to use apps for the elders, their loved ones, and our employees at the forefront of service delivery and an enterprise-class backend built on ITSM principles of incident and problem management. Our software drives theISO-certifiedprocesses integral to our operations, allowing us to deliver consistent and high-quality care to all our users. For example, one of our unique offerings is our Yodda Entrust application, which providespeace of mindto family members living away from the elders they love and worry about by providing real-time updates on service deliveries to them. We also share care reports after situations that required extra attention, such as an urgent medical intervention. Of course, during an emergency, we are also in continuous touch with family members until the situation is controlled. As we continue to expand, we are exploring new hardware and AI/ML solutions that can enhance the quality of life and provide additional security to our elders.

How do you ensure that the elders can use these services from the app or various other devices?

We realize that many seniors are not tech-savvy and may have problems with technology. So, with this in mind, we created our systems such that seniors would find it extremely simple to use. All they have to do is press a button once for a routine service or press and hold the button for a few seconds in times of emergency. We have also integratedwith other life-saving gadgets, such as GPS-based SOS pendants and intelligent assistants. Yodda apps are also available for smartwatches as an alternative solution for elders that may not have a smartphone handy in times of need. All our devices are linked to our centralEmergency Command Centre. Finally, we have developed a robust and easy-to-use IVR system so that our elders may contact us whenever they need help through a simple phone call.

What are your growth priorities for 2023?

We are currently operating in Pune, Mumbai and Hyderabad. We will continue to grow into additional zones in Mumbai and Hyderabad this year. Yodda Enable will continue to be available for elders throughout the country.