Feel the Heat

As Americans age, they become more concerned about brain health. Five million Americans already suffer from Alzheimer's disease, and that number is expected to rise to 16 million by 2050, according to data from The Alzheimer's Foundation of America. Naturally, products that help seniors keep their mental edge are growing in popularity. 

Dan Michel founded Dakim Inc. in 2001 to provide such a product and came up with the mPower Cognitive Fitness System. He got the idea after designing games for his father, who was suffering from Alzheimer's. "The more I engaged him in things that turned out to be cognitively stimulating, the more 'with it' he was," recalls Michel. The staff at his father's senior living community loved the games, too, and asked Michel to create a product they could use with other residents. The resulting touchscreen system lets seniors play games, puzzles and other challenging and fun cognitive activities. The response from senior centers has pushed sales into the seven figures and inspired this Santa Monica, California, entrepreneur to create an at-home version, set to launch this year. 

To enter this market, start by approaching caregivers, says Jacqueline Marcell, an elder-care and Alzheimer's expert and author of Elder Rage. "There's a growing need for products and services that fit the marketplace," she says. Check out what's already available and think about what would make life easier for both patients with dementia symptoms and their caregivers. 

Eager to launch a product to help seniors deal with Alzheimer's and dementia? Check out the following tips to launch:

• Get to know them. Spend time in senior communities, engaging with and learning from the seniors you hope to serve. "I realized, based on observing the world of senior living communities, that [my] system would have to do all the heavy lifting," says Michel. "You couldn't expect caregivers to know about technology and computers--the system had to do everything by itself." 
  
• Take your time when developing your product. It took five years of R&D before Dakim brought its product to market. "The bulk of that time was in the refinement of our prototype," says Michel. 
  
• Market to the right people. The decision-makers for seniors with memory issues are usually the caregivers. Says Michel, "Our customers are the senior living providers or the adult children of seniors living at home, or a spouse caring for a senior at home, but the end users are not always the same people."
  
• Give free trials. It pays to give target customers hands-on experience with your product. When Michel invited prospective clients to try the system, it often resulted in a deal. "Sometimes seeing is believing," says Michel. "When you do something that is so remarkably different, you need to really let people experience that firsthand."
  
• Watch the price. Consider how cash-strapped many seniors and their caregivers are, says Marcell. This is especially important if the product will be used in the home. Customers will flock to a product that is both helpful and affordable."

Senior Products Franchises:
American Ramp Systems
americanramp.com 

Amplifon Hearing Aid Centers
amplifonhearing.com  

Foot Solutions Inc.
footsolutions.com

Relax The Back Corp.
relaxthebackfranchise.com

Silver Cross
silvercross.com/franchise 

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