Mumbai-based startup Goodfellows, which connects the elderly to youngsters willing to assist them as companions, has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons.
“The bonds between the two generations created by Goodfellows are very meaningful and are helping to address an important social issue in India. I hope the investment helps the young team at Goodfellows grow,” Ratan Tata said.
The startup was founded six months ago by Shantanu Naidu, general manager in the office of Ratan Tata. The startup said it is coming out of the beta phase and is ready to offer its services to the elderly in Mumbai with plans to expand to Pune, Chennai and Bengaluru.
The startup claims that during the beta phase it received over 800 applications from young graduates who wanted to work as companions to the elderly.
A cohort of 20 applicants was selected in Mumbai during the beta phase. The startup claims that the young graduates applying for the job of companion are vetted intensely for “empathy” and “emotional intelligence.”
The vetting process involves in-house psychometric tests to assess their intelligence and personality traits.
Youngsters offering companionship are referred to as goodfellows while elderly seeking their help are referred to as grandpals by the startup.
“The start-up emphasizes that companionship means different things to different people. To some, it may mean watching a movie, narrating stories from the past, going on a walk, or quiet company sitting around doing nothing together, and we are here to accommodate it all,” said Naidu.
To strengthen the bond between the elderly and youngsters, the startup also hosts monthly events where they can enjoy and engage with their peers and more youngsters.
Goodfellows can be accessed through its website thegoodfellows.in, Instagram handle or by giving a missed call at its official number.
According to the Longitudinal Aging Study in India (LASI) by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, published January 2021, 5.7% of senior citizens in India live alone.
