i think this is a great idea with a definite market. letting others do the work while you are take the customers money is always a good business model too, you could eventually even build senior proof homes from the ground up, tailored for a particular person or couple, there's gonna be alotta baby boomers getting very old very soon, and something like this could make alotta money... good luck to you

thanks. and great advice on the senior friendly home! i love it.

I beleive this elderly people monitoring system already exist.

think same as superavit

It probably exist, you just need to find their weakness and exploit it.
I would imagine that there is still place with all those boomer going old!

They all ready have it.

Cincinnati Bell Wreless recently started offering home monitoring systems (for reasons that do not entirely make sense to me). There might be a market in supplying these systems to wireless and broadband companies.

I like this... it would give a good sleep and some rest for the care givers taking care of our elderly.

Similar ideas are running around from some big players so it may have some merit. The trick is to get your marketing rolling soon before the gorillas have already entered the market.

I like the term senior-proof. Instead of locking the cabinets with the cleaning supplies I am imagining locking the shower so grandma can't use it when no one is around incase she slips. ;-)

I'm not sure if this has been done yet (probably has been), but it is a good idea in essence.

With the average age of the population rising this market has a lot of growth potential. You could also pick up a lot of ideas of houses which are tailored to people with special needs (blind people or people with a handicap).

I'm not too keen on the idea of old people proof houses though. When they die (which is bound to happen sooner than later!) the house would only be able to sell to a limited market. Best to keep your options open and only make it a temporary solution to the current occupant.

I have no doubt it's being done on a smaller, more fragmented scale, but as far as I can tell, there's no dominant brand in the space. As I said earlier, I would view it as primarily a marketing and logistics company linking customers with suppliers under an umbrella brand in the same way Home Depot, for example, sub-contracts out their flooring installations etc.

Coolnerd is right. One of the bigger risks is bigger players with deeper pockets entering the fray and squeezing you out, but it's more likely that the would monitor the smaller company to see how it goes and buy it at an early stage. For big companies, it's too expensive and too risky otherwise.

Also, the first out is likely to get the low hanging fruit and easy press, which would give the company instant brand equity. I saw Barnes and Noble burn through $100M trying to catch Amazon only 6 months into the game, but it was already too late. The internet really does make it a battle of ideas and positioning, so there's a huge advantage to being first--more now than ever anyway.

Sounds like there would be a good market here in Canada: Boomers getting older, the generation of seniors with the most amount of disposable income, plus very safety conscious. Get in there quick.

Considering what people will pay for childproofing, this seems like a great idea. The problem will be finding reliable subcontractors, particularly for the small construction type services.

ok so its a good idea but how can we crowdsource this idea? it almost sounds like a company that you would have to start local then grown

This would be good for my mom.

theres allot of companies ripping off elderly who just want a safe home. there also isn't a great deal of things already out there that arn't ourageosly expensive. i think your idea is a good one

Hi, I'm new around here & this is the first thread I am readin.
I think it's a good idea - like mashersmaher said, there are a lot of rippin off going on there & it would be a good idea to offer something that is community-based & low cost but having the security & privacy that they require. So one question is - are you talking about senior proofing existing homes or are you talking of creating senior-proofed homes or both?