Lively Introduces Activity-Sharing Products that Connect Older Adults and their Families

Lively (http://www.mylively.com), a start-up offering an inventive activity-sharing experience that supports the independent lifestyle of older adults, today unveiled its product line on Kickstarter to generate pre-order pledges before Lively’s general availability, expected in July 2013. Lively’s activity-sharing products aim to solve the dilemma for up to 40 million older adults living at home in the U.S., Canada and Europe who want to stay independent and the 100+ million loved ones that worry about their health and well-being. With its launch today, Lively gives people a better way to ‘age in place’ and eliminates parent-sitting by families. (To view a video showcasing how Lively works click here).

At a price point of $149 plus a low $19.95 monthly subscription, Lively is the only consumer-priced product of its kind. For a limited time, consumers will be able to get Lively plus one month’s subscription for free with a $99 pre-order pledge on Kickstarter.

“Studies have shown that living independently encourages successful aging for older adults through improved self-esteem, health and life satisfaction,” says Dr. Laura L. Carstensen, the founding director of the Stanford Center on Longevity and Lively board member. “Yet this can be a challenge for extended family who feel responsible for the care of their elders as they’re often ‘sandwiched’ between their aging parents and own children, while balancing jobs and parenting. This generates immeasurable feelings of guilt and worry. Lively’s activity-sharing products apply just the right touch to melt away these concerns and enable an entirely new avenue of connection.”

Lively brings together an in-home passive sensor technology solution and LivelyGram, a printed mailer, which form the basis of an ongoing activity-sharing connection between generations. Its hardware uses cellular technology to communicate with passive sensors placed around the home that blend into the background to learn and share an older adult’s normal daily routine, such as when medications are taken, time spent out of the house, or eating and drinking activity in the kitchen. Notifications and an at-a-glance online display easily update the user and the circle of people whom they choose to share their activities. Lively’s system is easy to set up and does not require any Internet connection or phone line to use, in deference to the nearly 65 percent of older adults age 75+ that lack Internet access.

In addition, LivelyGram gives younger generations and other family members a creative way to share the events of their lives. Once a circle of family and friends are invited to contribute to their personal LivelyGram, pictures and short messages that are submitted are automatically turned into a printed personalized mailer that arrives in their older loved one’s physical mailbox approximately every two weeks. It’s easy to include any picture saved on the computer or photos directly from a Facebook, Instagram or Flickr account, and more. Short messages and sweet hellos for LivelyGrams can be written from any computer, tablet or smartphone (iPhone support to provided by July 2013; Android support by Q3 2013).

“Older adults and their extended family miss and crave deeper connections with each other,” says Iggy Fanlo, co-founder and CEO of Lively. “Lively's approach leads to more dignified and meaningful conversations between older adults who live on their own and their loved ones by enabling everyone to focus on what's really important: ‘how’ they're feeling and ‘what’ they're doing, rather than ‘did they take their meds’ or ‘did they drink enough water today.’ We think it’s the empowered and practical way to make the ‘connected senior’ a reality.”

By 2015, there will be more people in the U.S. over the age of 65 than under the age of 15; and older adults universally want to stay in their homes indefinitely while they age. In a 2011 study conducted by AARP, 90 percent of respondents age 65 years and older ranked this preference. Activity sharing with Lively is focused on well-being for everyone. With Lively in place, adult children feel assured their parent or relative are doing well and older adults living alone can share how they’re taking good care of themselves while remaining independent in their homes.

Click to Tweet: No more parent-sitting when you order @mylively through @kickstarter & give older adults freedom to stay independent. mylively.com

“The vast majority of older adults who live on their own are in good overall health and critical day-to-day monitoring isn’t necessary,” said David Glickman, co-founder and COO of Lively. “Yet so many products targeted at them today use fear as a selling tactic, addressing potential mishaps or focusing on emergency response. We’re intentionally focusing on how older adults and their families want to live in a way that fosters strong emotional well-being and peace of mind.”

The consumer-friendly and non-invasive design of Lively is the result of its partnership with Bould Design, the industrial design partner for popular consumer products, including the Nest Smart Thermostat. Lively also is participating in PCH International’s Accelerator program, which assists innovative startups in order to shorten their time-to-market process by applying the same end-to-end integrated supply chain solutions and manufacturing resources used by the world's leading brands to gain a competitive edge.

Those wanting more information about Lively or interested in helping to bring its new products to market through its online campaign can visit http://www.mylively.com. Lively will fulfill all U.S. pre-order pledges by July 2013 and all Europe, Canada and Australia pre-orders by December 2013; versions planned for other International markets will be announced by Q4 2013.

About Lively

Lively was founded by Iggy Fanlo, David Glickman, and Keith Dutton in the summer of 2012 and is headquartered in San Francisco. With collective backgrounds that include working at some of the world’s most innovative consumer product companies, they’ve formed a vibrant team of talented individuals who share a passion for changing the way older adults stay connected across generations. The company is backed by Maveron LLC and angel investors.

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