Few people understand the retirement village sector better than Tim Russell; he built RetireAustralia from scratch to the countrys fourth largest operator in 10 years, with 26 big villages.
So his first new business initiative since resigning from RetireAustralia last May will be interesting. He gave a first glimpse at our LEADERS SUMMIT, and the news is he is going digital with care.
Called Five Good Friends, Tim describes it: The FiveGood Friends model is a community centred peer-to-peer help marketplace.
It will have some of the characteristics of the Uber style home care services like Better Caring (see separate story) but it will also include a Community Services Manager as the focal point of coordinated care and support for each client.
A major component will also be an app that both allows the client to digitally build a social community of like minded people around them plus family to track both their care and welfare.
Simple to use technology enables you, family members and trusted friends to connect to the network of help, the Community Services Manager and each other. Through a simple app you can schedule and choose the help you want, know who is coming to help and when they are coming and also give feedback on your experience.
He and his partners see Five Good Friends as a combination of the US digital services of nextdoor.com and Honor.com, with the added benefit of a real person monitoring and co-ordinating the services delivered.
Tim and his partners recognise that retirement villages offer an ideal environment to deliver its care services and its community. Village operators will be able to engage with Five Good friends to enhance their care services.
Why Five Good Friends? Tim and his mates follow the research of Dan Buettner, famous for his Blue Zones of friendships that lead to longer, better quality lives. The secret is to have five good friends in life.
The full Five Good Friends service will be launched initially in SE QLD over the next few months.
http://www.fivegoodfriends.com.au/
http://www.ted.com/playlists/64/might_you_live_a_great_deal_lo
Peter Scutt offers Better Caring to Village and Home Care operators
Founder and CEO of disruptor digital home care service Better Caring presented at our LEADERS SUMMIT the case for engaging with village and home care operators. His business case was summarised as:
