Ratan Tata Invests in India’s First Start-Up ‘Goodfellows’ for Senior Citizens

Industrialist Ratan Tata is investing in a  promising start-up called ‘Goodfellows’ that would cater to the needs of senior citizens as well as promote intergenerational friendships. 

The start-up founded by the charismatic Shantanu Naidu has grabbed the attention of the public and media alike as it is surely the need of the hour. 

Shantanu Naidu is the popular face often captured in the media alongside Ratan Tata on most occasions. He’s the general manager at Tata’s office and a product of Cornell University. 

Keeping in mind the struggles senior citizens face today, the start-up aims to provide companionship to senior citizens. 

Young educated graduates who have been trained in empathy and emotional intelligence have been kept in charge of these senior souls. 

Some of the activities that the youngsters would have to indulge in would be reading newspapers, playing games, going for walks or it would be as simple as being in the same room as the senior citizen.

Travelling which becomes a challenging task as one grows old is also one of the activities that is in the pipeline. Elders can travel with their travel companions and explore their favourite tourist destinations. 

Of course the youngsters or in other words “Goodfellows” would get paid for offering their company, time and services to their “Grandpals.”

To enjoy services, one can register on thegoodfellows.in site or give a missed call on 8779524307. 

28-year-old Shantanu Naidu said, “Everything a grandkid would do to help their grandparent, we would do as well, there's no exhaustive list for it. We are looking to venture into the travel space, where the elderly can have curated travel plans along with their companion to explore the places they want to visit. As they get more senior, the physical and mental blocks of ‘no I can’t travel’ start kicking in & it's really sad because now is the time they have to do those things.”

“This is not an app; we do have a website for sons and daughters to sign on and see what is going on so they can sign their parents/grandparents up,” he added.

The business model of Goodfellows is a freemium subscription model. The first month is free. From the second month onward, a small subscription fee has been decided based on the limited affordability of pensioners.

‘Goodfellows’ is currently operating in Mumbai and the team has plans of opening centers in Pune, Chennai, and Bangalore. It has completed its beta over the past 6 months. 

Speaking at the launch Ratan Tata expressed, “You do not know what it is like to be lonely until you spend time alone wishing for companionship." He said that no one cares about getting old until they actually  get old. He hopes that the venture would mature, grow and change people’s lives for the better.