In This Issue:

• LETTER FROM MARY
• BOOK EXCERPT
• NEW WEB SITE
• AGING IN PLACE TECH WATCH
• RECOMMENDED READING
• SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
• MARKET FINDINGS
• NEWSWIRE

LETTER FROM MARY

It is such an exciting time of the year! We are preparing for the seventh Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit on June 16, 2010. Once again we are featuring a Boot Camp for the finalists and participants on June 15th. On June 17th we will help Gail Sheehy launch her new book, "Passages in Caregiving" at the Golden Gate Yacht Club. Recently, Michelle Bauer, founder of the Florida Boomer Lifestyle Conference (25 percent of the boomer/senior market is in Florida) remarked that this marketplace is like a rugby scrum with everyone trying to get the ball.

As an avid fan of rugby for 30+ years, I know that the one who moves the ball out of the scrum and gets some yardage is an important influencer in winning the game. I think Michelle is right. Over $40 million went into venture-backed start-ups focusing on the boomer senior market space in the past six months. Research groups like FIK in San Sebastian, Spain, are planning strategies for development in the gerontology and technology space. We have seen new alliances such as AgeTek form and you can expect to see technology and the business of aging play a role in many conferences in the years to come.

We will be bringing some of these strands together in Silicon Valley. We are pleased to have returning judges Nancy Kamei, sector director at Intel Capital; Andy Donner, director, Physic Ventures; Jody Holtzman, senior vice president, research and strategic analysis, AARP; Peter Ziebelman, general partner and co-founder, Palo Alto Venture Partners; Carole Anderson, vice president of education, American Society on Aging and Andy Cohen, CEO and co-founder, Caring.com, as well as new players such as James Datri, CEO and president of the American Advertising Federation. We will be teaching skills in writing a business plan, connecting participants with the top analysts in the field, such as Laurie Orlov of Aging in Place Technology Watch.

We will also be offering case studies on how to go to market and how to develop private public partnerships. Increasingly in this counter cyclical economy where the budgets of non profits are constrained, we can find interest and deal-flow between emerging technology companies with products and services for the boomer/senior market and non profits who already have trust with the customer. Learn how to diversify the revenue stream of your non profit by discovering the latest products to serve the needs of older adults.

There is still time for you to submit your three- to five-page business plan for the competition (but hurry -- the deadline is Friday). We are doing a global outreach and trying to connect entrepreneurs with mentors to help with the plans. Feel free to write to furlong@aol.com if you need help with your plan and we will try and provide assistance. We are going to share some top-tier pain points for boomers and beyond in this report.

Issue: Money and Family. Kevin Donnellan, executive vice president and chief communications officer of AARP, was a keynote at the What's Next conference. He mentioned that 69 percent of boomers are financially supporting the needs of their adult children. Financing longevity is a real issue. Many boomers have had experience with their 401k becoming a 201k+ and are looking at the 30-year bonus round. Over 44 million boomers are involved in caregiving. How are they managing the stress? What resources are available? (Check out the Mature Market Institute website, the Aging in Place Technology Watch Blog, and the National Alliance for Caregiving for more data.) Also you might want to pre-order Mark Miller's new book, "The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security" published by Bloomberg Press. This book is as important to boomers today as "Fun with Dick and Jane" was in 1955.

Issue: Caregiving and Aging in Place. More money changes hands when an adult falls than when a baby is born. There are new technologies to help older adults age in place in labs from Israel to Singapore. Exciting new companies are going to market such as Wellcore, a fall-detection and wellness monitoring company that is a conference sponsor. (Wellcore is also an MFA client). The technology is first rate, the design is extremely attractive, the product works and the go-to-market plan is a 2010 strategy. Learn from Wellcore founder Vijay Nadkarni how niche portals like Caring.com, distribution channels such as firstSTREET, referral channels and events such as CES and NCOA-ASA and What's Next can be part of a launch strategy.

No one does a better job of explaining the puzzle pieces of the Aging in Place technology market than Laurie Orlov. Study her website in depth to see the market opportunity. Care management is an important part of this puzzle to understand. Don't be shy about sending in a plan that relates to services. In-home care is already a $50 billion dollar market. Expect new players to arrive who understand that technology will be a part of the boomer lifestyle. Look into the business-to-business opportunites of Apple's new iPad to service this market. Also, follow the progress of start-ups like SilverRide with their brilliant ideas related to transportation and the market. And read the authors who know the customer well. I just received a copy of Francine Russo's new book, "They're Your Parents, Too!" (click on the link to purchase). I am hoping to feature Francine at all of our conferences in the next few years. I know that this is a topic that really pings with the audience.

Issue: Housing. The Chief Economist of Zillow, Stan Humphries, caused the audience at What's Next to sigh when they heard the data about how many houses were underwater and how challenging the marketplace was for boomers. We will be profiling this data in an interview in the next issue. We have helped developer Michel Gaucher with a solution in Nueva Vallarta Mexico: a development that reflects the themes in my book, "Turning Silver into Gold." We have created a unique development that is a cross between Canyon Ranch and The Aspen Institute. Many boomers are going to be seeking innovative, global, lower cost alternatives in housing. While in Richmond, Va., last week, I found a new condominum on the James River priced at $130,000. Richmond is where my mother is from. There is a great sense of Southern hospitality, an amazing revitalized downtown including great restaurants like Six Burner, and a wonderful university with a brand center run by Kelly O'Keefe. We stayed at the lovely Jefferson Hotel and I took the train to Washington, D.C. -- so much better than driving! They are developing a new high-speed rail line between Richmond and D.C. -- such a beautiful ride across the Rappahonock River. I expect to see this become a booming market. What are the other housing solutions? Who will create the next generation boomer and beyond center? Will it be in Costa Rica or Mexico? How will healthy living and play fit into lifestyle?

Issue: Health, Vitality, Beauty, Romance. These are all opportunities and they run across the spectrum. One of the top speakers at What's Next was Liz Boehm of Forrester Research who gave an overview of the consumer-directed healthcare opportunity. Every dissonance of aging is a market opportunity. I was recently at the J&J Consumer Day and spoke to the group. They gave me a gift basket of products. I pulled out fifteen products that boomers could use. These included Neutrogena Clean Replenishing Cream for adults. I also found at least seven products that my niece with a toddler could use. Since women boomers influence products and services selection for their parents, their children and their grandchildren, it is an important market to understand. To learn more, take a look at the content and forums on AARP.org, Caring.com and Vibrant Nation.com. Also take a look at the lucrative grandparent market at Grandparents.com. There are over 60 million grandparents -- the average age of a new grandparent is 47. Even in a recession, boomers will continue to support the learning and lifestyle needs of their grandchildren and extended families.

Issue: Entrepreneurship for boomers. Since there are not a lot of ads on craigslist that say, "Wanted: VP of marketing -- must be 60 to apply," boomers are turning to franchising and entrepreneurship. Steve Jurvetson of DFJ spoke about the need for an "eBay for information products and services for boomers" in an interview at our last Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit. Take a look at the YouTube clip.

These are just a few of the needs and pain points that are important when you create a business plan. Reach out to Susan Ayers Walker of SmartSilvers or to any of those associated with the competition to learn more. Take a look at the website.Talk to our previous award winners and finalists like Chris and Natasha Ashton of Petplan, Onne Ganel of Edwards Lifesciences, Beth Saunders of LifeBio and Margit Novak of Moving Solutions. Learn how the competition made an impact on their lives. Take the step today to tap into the boomer and beyond market -- it is a global market and 91 percent of the net assets are in this marketplace. You will not only discover a network, you will also discover a wonderful community of colleagues who are building businesses that are not only transforming the lives of older adults, but are giving back in amazing ways.

I am hoping to find a sponsor to provide scholarships for students to attend. Let us know if you are interested in joining AARP, Southwest Airlines, and Wellcore as a sponsor. If you are a previous winner or finalist, we welcome your participation as a sponsor of the prize and we will offer a free exhibit. We will announce the speakers of the event soon.

Stay in touch,

Mary

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BOOK EXCERPT

Our book excerpt this month is from "They're Your Parents, Too!" by Francine Russo, a widely recognized journalist known for her alertness to developing trends in her own boomer generation. For nearly a decade Russo covered the boomer and aging beat for Time magazine and also wrote for The Atlantic,The New York Times Magazine, The Village Voice, Redbook, Family Circle, and other national publications. Dr. Russo, a New York Times Fellow at the International Longevity Center and among the "Who's Who" at the Sloan Work and Family Research Network, is much in demand as a keynote speaker. You can learn more about her and "They're Your Parents, Too!" at her website: YourParentsToo.com.

From Chapter One, The Last Transition of Our First Family:

Mrs. Keller, an impressively tall 91-year-old woman hobbled out, leaning on her cane, her face stony. Her daughters each took a deep breath. This moment was the climax of a year of contentious family meetings, and a decade of seismic shifts in their family since their father’s death. Dottie, a sweet-tempered woman with unruly curls, was chafing because her younger sister, was taking charge. She was floored when Arlene, crisp and efficient, declared, "Mom will go in the car with me. You follow."

"I just shut down," Dottie said, "and my sister rolled over me and my feelings by sheer force of personality." For Arlene, sitting at the wheel and seeing her mother’s stricken expression was awful.

As soon as they got to their mother’s new home, Arlene channeled her emotions into a whirl of activity. When Dottie arrived, Arlene was in a frenzy of hanging pictures. Dottie stood there gaping. She’d taken photos of the farmhouse walls to help place the pictures in a familiar way. Soon, one after the other, their sisters showed up and shouted that Mom said she wanted a different picture up.

"But Mom just told me she didn’t want that one now," Arlene repeated with increasing desperation.

Finally Arlene just walked out. "I couldn’t take it any more," she said. Continue reading this excerpt...

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NEW WEB SITE

Boomergadget.com is a new place on the Web where boomers can laugh, learn and share stories about technology. The recently launched site features some great stories by Robin Raskin about how technology can enhance your life. You'll also find the comic, "The Adventures of Bernie Boomer," stories about tech and boomer healthcare, new gadgets and more. Check it out.

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AGING IN PLACE TECH WATCH

What does Laurie Orlov have on her blog this month that you might want to take a look at? Glad you asked. First, she points out how newspapers are perpetuating a stereotype about seniors and their supposed fear and loathing about using computers.

She debunks that lazy journalism with a few facts -- like the fact that 38 percent of those 65+ are online. She also delves into the subject of "recareering" and talks about the fall detection feature from Philips Lifeline -- and the stark marketing message that goes with it.

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RECOMMENDED READING

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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Save the Date! ALFA Conference & Expo, May 15 in Phoenix
The ALFA conference puts the spotlight on new ideas, strategies and creative solutions for what lies ahead and is described as the most important event for senior-living executives. More info.

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MARKET FINDINGS

Generation Y Poised To Take Over Marketplace
As baby boomers move out of their prime earning and spending years, Generation Y, which is even larger, is poised to take the boomers' place as market movers. Generation Y, also known as the echo boomers, number 84 million and range in age from 15 to 34, making up 22 percent of U.S. households and eclipsing boomers, ages 45 to 64, by 4 million. Because Generation Y is marrying later, their spending power has the potential of being even greater than their predecessors' once the economy recovers, offering makers of consumer goods a juicy target. Read more.

Ski resorts tackle future with fewer baby boomers
Resorts have planned for at least a decade for a fast and furious drop-off of visits from baby boomers who helped build the industry but who will likely cut back as aching knees, hips and backs set in.Older baby boomers, now 55 to 64, started dropping out more rapidly at 54, said Nate Fristoe of the research firm RRC Associates, and now younger boomers, ages 45-54, are approaching that birthday. Read more.

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NEWSWIRE

Boomers beset with mobility disabilities
The number of middle-aged Americans with certain mobility-related disabilities, such as trouble climbing stairs, is on the rise, according to a new study. This upward trend for baby boomers contrasts with a decline in disabilities found for people 65 and over. The study is based on data from the National Health Interview Survey, conducted annually from 1997 to 2007 and including up to 15,000 individuals each year. The results show that more than 40 percent of people aged 50 to 64 reported having problems with at least one of nine physical functions, and many reported difficulty with more than one.

Aging bikers at greater risk of injury, death
As the number of baby boomers taking to the road on motorbikes has risen, so has the average age of motorcyclists involved in crashes with riders aged 40 plus more likely to be injured or killed, a U.S. study says. A University of Rochester Medical Center study of 61,689 motorcyclists aged 17 to 89 found that aging road warriors were nearly twice as likely to die as a result of a motorcycle accident compared to younger riders.

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