When I'm 64…or Thereabouts

To all the healthcare entrepreneurs who will read this, I am encouraging you to give serious thought to applying for and attending AARP’s Health Innovation@50+ LivePitch, taking place Friday, September 21 at the New Orleans Convention Center. Here’s why:

You may be under 50, but if you are looking to build a big company in the healthcare marketplace, you had better get yourself a fake ID. I don’t mean the kind that makes people think you’re 21, but the kind that makes people think you understand the over-50 crowd. Here’s what that crowd has to say to you, “Hell yes, you’ll still need me when I’m 64. Do you have any idea what kind of market force I wield?” In fact, according to the U.S. Consumer Expenditure Survey, 65% of the aggregate net worth of all U.S. households is owned by adults 50 and older.

While I am getting dangerously close to the 29th anniversary of my 21st birthday myself, twenty-five years in the healthcare industry has made it pretty clear to me where our collective bread is buttered. If you are unprepared for and or closed-minded about serving the nearly 45% of American citizens who happen to be over age 50 and who are spending 9-18% per year of their cold hard personal cash on healthcare-related products and services, you are missing the golden goose. And while Americans over age 64 comprise just 13 % of the U.S. civilian population, they make up some 40 % of those with the top 1 % and top 5 % highest healthcare spending levels, making them a prime target for new technologies and services that can significantly optimize the way we care for this segment of our population.  Today more than 70 million Americans ages 50 and older—four out of five older adults—suffer from at least one chronic condition, so healthcare entrepreneurs targeting this segment of our population have a target-rich environment in which to prosper. Get to work, people!

AARP has long had this figured out and has over 36 million members who are not just retired people. in fact, AARP is educating and offering services for all people over the age of 50, whether they are retired, working full-time or working while wishing they were retired. If you are legally entitled to blow out the inferno created by 50+ candles on your birthday cake, AARP wants to know you.

So my point is this: if you are among the enlightened healthcare innovators who knows the road to business heaven is also not paved with good intentions, but with revenues gleaned from people over age 50, I urge you to apply for the AARP Health Innovation@50+ LivePitch, taking place Friday, September 21 at the New Orleans Convention Center as noted above. This event is, among other things, seeking to find the most exciting startup companies in the health technology and innovation sector that serve the needs and wants of Americans 50 and older.

The AARP Health Innovation@50+ LivePitch event takes place during the 2012 Life@50+ AARP National Event & Expo in New Orleans, which is attended by 20,000+ members and guests from across the U.S. and beyond our borders. Turns out that people turn 50 all over the world, making the market opportunity even bigger than I earlier described. The Health Innovation@50+ LivePitch event will give savvy entrepreneurs who can see past their own iPhone reflections the chance to mix and mingle with relevant representatives of the venture capital, angel investor and media communities. You can show off what they have to offer, and maybe even win a prize that helps advance your business objectives. To apply for the competition, you can find the form HERE.  You can also get 50% off of the conference by using the code LISA50 on this link –  http://health50.org/register/.

The application deadline is Friday, August 17. Eligible companies can be at any stage, but must have raised LESS than $5 million to date and have their product launched before or launchable within 12 months after the competition. There is no fee to apply although you must pay the price of watching me be the official emcee for the day’s festivities in order to win. Second prize is two days watching me as emcee. Ha! And while you’re at it, check out AARP’s vast health website found HERE.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM93K3Olyrs&feature=youtube_gdata_player