Two months ago when Hypepotamus did a deep dive into Atlanta’s AgeTech and caregiving industry, it was clear there was a lot of pent up demand for local innovation.
That demand has brought two unique AgeTech startups, Vivo and Kinumi, together to create a new partnership for active agers.
As Atlanta-based Eric Levitan built up Vivo, a small-group digital fitness platform for aging adults, he realized it could be a “tool” for other AgeTech founders and startup leaders.
And if Vivo is a tool, Kinumi is like a “general contractor,” says founder Chekesha Kidd. “Everything that you would do for your grandparent or parent…we do a lot of the legwork.”
Kinumi works as a personal CareConcierge service that provides coaching-based solutions for those looking to age “on their own terms.”
Travel, fitness, and nutrition are top of mind for Kinumi customers, says Kidd.
“Those wouldn’t necessarily be the first things you think of when you think of aging services and caregiving. But they want to live life and have fun. And having a strong fitness foundation is really critical for them to be able to balance between health and happiness,” she added.
That’s where Vivo comes in. The goal of the platform is to drive behavioral change and accountability for aging adults and their caregivers, even if those caregivers are living far away.
“There are a lot of fitness videos out there. The world doesn’t need another video of someone doing a push up. The world needs a human being who can give you real-time feedback and help create a sense of community because that’s what makes a difference,” Levitan told Hypepotamus.
The two startup founders met in 2021 as part of the Techstars Future of Longevity cohort that year. The two rolled out their first partnership program late last month at the American Society on Aging’s annual conference in Atlanta.
Kinumi is the brainchild of Chekesha Kidd, an investment banker-turned-entrepreneur based in New York City. She saw the need to build a solution to help her mother, who was living alone for the first time after her husband passed away.
Working with Vivo means that Kinumi can help more agers and their caregivers build healthier routines digitally.
Losing muscle mass can have serious consequences for aging adults. “But there is something we can do about it,” said Levitan. “We can engage in resistance training or strength training at any point in our life to rebuild strength, muscle mass, and bone density…and maintain your independence and quality of life. But there isn’t enough availability of programming.”
The partnership is personal for Levitan and Kidd.
“Everybody in [AgeTech] has a personal story or a personal connection that has shown us just how screwed up this whole system is in healthcare, aging, and caregiving. There are so many different broken components,” added Levitan.
