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Kevin Hale

GoGoGrandparent - A way for seniors to use Uber and Lyft

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GoGoGrandparent helps older adults use on demand transportation services. We primarily handle two challenges:

1) Technological accessibility - they call to order a ride, no smartphone required.

2) Ride management - we screen drivers to make sure they're comfortable with seniors, monitor rides and communicate on behalf of the registered callers

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Justin Boogaard
Maker
Hi folks! GoGoGrandparent makes it easy for older adults to use services that will help them stay independent. We're starting with making it really easy to call a ridesharing service without having to use a smart phone. Using the service is super simple: when registered callers call (855) 464-6872 they'll hear: "Please press 1 for a car to pick you up from your home, please press 2 for a car to pick you up where we dropped you off last or zero for the operator". We're starting with rides but are already testing food delivery and home care services. You can learn more about our story here (sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/apr/10/gogograndparent-uber-seniors-without-smartphones) - we built it for our grandmas. The service is automated, available everywhere and we have 24/hour phone support. T​hough the average age of our callers is early 80's, t​here ​are no age ​restrictions - in addition to older adults our second largest demographic is the visually impaired. Our fares include an additional $0.27/minute phone service fee, which from what we've seen comes out to an average of between $3 and $4 per ride. ​​We do a lot on our end to customize the experience for older adults. ​When someone registers we'll send them a brochure about how it works and a business card with our numbe​​r​ on it.​​ ​Family members can get automatic text updates whenever a loved one uses the service​​. ​Check out our website and try the demo, if you have any questions​ post them here!
Neil
GoGoGrandparent is an amazing service and I'm so excited to see you take it across the country and keep expanding! So proud!
Shahan Khan
@justinboogaard Congratulations on launching! Absolutely ❤️ the idea, and really excited for it 😊
Varadh Jain
@justinboogaard looking forward to continuing to see Ben big impact you're going to have! #technologyforall
Justin Boogaard
Maker
@boogsau Are there more of us?! I know of one, in Australia, my sister found him on Facebook. His grandfather is from the same fishing village as mine.
Sajeev Aravindan
@justinboogaard Do you require the caller to say the pickup location or can you figure that out?
Jack Smith
looks very cool. from the screenshots, i can't see how the grandparent would know the car license plate # though, which is normally displayed in app
Justin Boogaard
Maker
@_jacksmith The system is primarily audio, the texts are what goes out to family members. When someone calls in and selects where they want to be picked up, then when they get matched with a driver they hear: "Thanks for waiting! Your driver's name is John, John will be there in 5 minutes. John is driving a gray Toyota Camry and the first two letters of John's license plate are 7, J."
Robert Jackson
@justinboogaard Important to note: the first two letters of a license plate are issued sequentially by region, so in CA for example you'll see lots of "7J" or "6J" license plates. You'll definitely want to go for the last two letters of a plate, which are random.
David Lung
Maker
@robertjksn @justinboogaard thanks for the info Robert, we'll make that change right now!
Kevin Hale
Hunter
GoGoGrandparent is an automated hotline that lets older adults use services that will help them stay independent. First - they're making it possible for the elderly to call a ridesharing service without the use of a smart phone. I'm excited to have my grandparents try them out. We're also excited to have them in the Summer 2016 batch of YC,
Justin Boogaard
Maker
@ilikevests Thanks for hunting us Kevin, we're really happy to be here!
Brandon Foo
GoGoGrandparent is an amazing product that brings life-changing services like Uber and Lyft to people without smartphones!! So proud of @justinboogaard and the team for bringing this to seniors across the country!
Justin Boogaard
Maker
@foolywk I appreciate you to infinity
Gauri Manglik
Very cool! This could not only work for grandparents but also less tech savvy parents :) Curious to know -- what's the BIG vision for this product/company?
Justin Boogaard
Maker
Thanks for the question @gauri. We see this product as the beginning of a beautiful senior care business. When you decide to give up driving, older adults soon find themselves giving up a lot of things. It's really that (and the subsequent lack of social life) that drives them to seek really expensive alternative housing. If we can continue to provide services that keep older adults happy, social and healthy in their homes, I think we'll be able to lay the ground work for building a really great company.
Bjorn Larsen
@justinboogaard @gauri Love the concept (both initial product and bigger vision), but I can't help but feel the clunkiness of the name may hold it back…
Justin Boogaard
Maker
@bjorn @gauri Yeah, we're starting to hear that feedback. GoGo actually is a gender neutral term for grandparent so we may just try to do something with that. Open to suggestions!
Sydney Liu
@justinboogaard this is the most amazing thing ever. whenever my grandparents land from the airport, it sucks because I don't have a car. and they don't really have a smart phone....this makes it super easy. I love it. you guys have made an amazing product and the growth is proving it!!! so excited to see what is next!! what are the next steps for you?
Justin Boogaard
Maker
@sydney_liu_sl we're focusing on making the ride service perfect for everybody. For example, The Silent Generation is full of folks that don't speak English very well as even a second language. Translating the service would be easy and important to insure everyone gets the mobility and freedom they deserve.
David Tran
@justinboogaard @sydney_liu_sl Glad to hear translation is in the works! Found myself telling a few people about this service when we were talking about filial piety/taking care of our parents this past weekend— if it were available in other languages, and if a family member could pre-program pick-up and drop-off locations or even new trips, that'd be incredible.
Justin Boogaard
Maker
@dtran320 @sydney_liu_sl languages are in the works and yes, you can pre program pick up locations. They would hear: "Press 3 for a pickup from Vons, press 4 for a pickup from church, etc." Each location gets custom instructions that are messaged to the driver.
Jeanne Pi
@justinboogaard glad to hear translation is in the works. I've been trying to get my 92-year-old father to stop driving. He loves his freedom, so if a Mandarin Chinese version is available, I can see him using it daily. Hope to see this implemented soon :-)
Tiffany Kuo
@justinboogaard Love what you are doing with GoGoGrandparent and your future vision! There is a huge trend of moving away from nursing homes to home care, and GoGoGrandparent makes it easier to move to the home care model that people want.
Justin Boogaard
Maker
@tiffanyamykuo Maybe one day we can give them all the medications they need in a single pill, ehhhh?
Brandon Shin
There's so many times I want to introduce cool new tech to my grandparents, and we're lucky to be able to do so through businesses like these, especially with my grandparents being at that transitional point where them driving is becoming less of an option. GoGoGrandparent is one of those companies that remind you that we live in a truly wonderful world 💌
Justin Boogaard
Maker
@bshins Just wait till we get GoGo 조부모
Justin Brezhnev
This is awesome! My grandmother would love this <3 this is a huge step in making technology more accessible for all!
Parker Thompson
I remember a discussion about this service on reddit roughly a year ago. So great to see it on ProductHunt now!
Justin Boogaard
Maker
@boymeetscode Haha your memory is way better than it will eventually one day be, trust me
Shadi Paterson
If you have to call a number. Why not just call the taxi company directly?
Justin Boogaard
Maker
@shadalabad Thanks for the question Shadi! We're automated, and the prices are up to 30% cheaper
Justin Boogaard
Maker
@shadalabad We're in Canada, but got our eyes across the pond. We have another person really interested in helping us bring it to Austrailia
damien sutevski
Grandparents?? I'm getting my mom on this thing. She wants Uber but refuses to learn any smartphones! Congratz Justin and GGGP team! <3
Justin Boogaard
Maker
@dam13n Thank you! Haha, our use span is from 23 to 99, the more the merrier :)
Justin Boogaard
Maker
@dam13n the 23 year old is a hippie
Giselle Gonzalez ツ
Really LOVE the product and the opportunity to cater to non-smart phone users. This market is huge and speaks to the larger population of the world. On a related note, do you think you're alienating potential users by focusing on catering to the elderly (via your name or the way the website is set up)?
Justin Boogaard
Maker
@giselledarlene Thanks Giselle! We think about it a lot. Our second biggest demographic are the visually impaired. We want to eventually be a senior service business because the industry is so large, but definitely don't want to alienate folks that could also participate in that industry. I don't have a good answer right now unfortunately, check back later!
Ishmael Samuel
Great idea - this is gonna save my older family members a lot of headache.
Vivek Vinodh
Love this! Finally a way for my grandma to travel as she pleases.
Justin Boogaard
Maker
@vivekvinodh From the doctor's office to the casino, the possibilities are endless!
Corey Abramowitz
I love these gifs. On point!
Justin Boogaard
Maker
@mrabramowitz I was told they might be confusing, but decided to take a chance.
Matthew Boyle
Unbelievable. Very good idea.
Andrei Lyskov
This is great! What are you hoping to roll out next after ride sharing?
Justin Boogaard
Maker
@lyskovandrei Thanks for the question Andrei! We've already "elder friendly" meal delivery and grocery shopping, but we want to try medical assistants to appointments before committing to the next product.
Austin Grandt
This is a great idea. Super simple and very useful for non-smartphone users. I will definitely be passing this along to some family members who are curious/know about uber, but don't use the tech required to actually use the service. Great job!