Industrialist Ratan Tata launched India's companionship startu | Inspiring Thoughts

Industrialist Ratan Tata launched India's companionship startup for senior citizens, Goodfellows, in a bid to encourage intergenerational friendships.
Shantanu Naidu, an MBA from Cornell University, founded the Goodfellows startup. The 28-year-old is a General Manager at Mr Tata's office and is the fifth generation of his family to work in the Tata Group.

At the launch of Goodfellows, Ratan Tata said, "You do not know what it is like to be lonely until you spend time alone wishing for companionship."

The startup appoints young graduates, 'Goodfellows', who help in assisting the senior citizens and provide companionship, "similar to what a grandkid would do"

With 15 million elderlies in India living alone, either due to the loss of a partner, or families moving away for unavoidable work reasons, many of them have caregivers but the issue of loneliness or lack of company has been the primary reason for deteriorating mental and physical health.

The business model of Goodfellows is a freemium subscription model. The first month is free with the goal of having the senior citizen experience the service since it's hard to understand the concept without actually going through it. From the second month onward, a small subscription fee has been decided based on the limited affordability of pensioners.

Shantanu Naidu said "The start-up emphasises 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 having quiet company sitting around doing nothing together, and we are here to accommodate it all. In its beta phase, we discovered how organically the Grandpals bonded with the Goodfellows. Mr Tata's investment in our venture further is a huge source of encouragement to our dedication to this concept."