Main Highlights
- Mirthy, a community and activities website for those over 60, has secured about €945K in pre-seed funding a year after opening during the pandemic and gaining over 30,000 users.
- The startup was founded in 2019, caters to the ‘young old’ people who want to live life to the utmost at the start of their third age.
- Mirthy’s platform enables people over the age of 60 to host or engage in events and socializing both online and, ultimately, offline.
- According to a recent Mirthy poll, 81% of users plan to continue attending online events and lessons when the lockdown is lifted.
Mirthy, a community and activities website for those over 60, has secured about €945K in pre-seed funding a year after opening during the pandemic and gaining over 30,000 users. With participation from Ada Ventures, Redrice Ventures, and True, the pre-seed round headed by Ascension’s Fair By Design fund has more than doubled its initial objective.
According to the startup, the number of old people (those over the age of 65) is expected to climb dramatically over the next 30 years; in OECD member nations, there will be an additional 146 million elderly by 2045, representing 70% increase over today’s population.
This demographic’s use of technology is steadily rising. According to a Mangrove Capital Partners report, over three-quarters (74%) of individuals over the age of 55 in the UK currently own a smartphone. More than a third use messaging applications like WhatsApp, and nearly half (43 percent) use social media sites like Facebook and Instagram to stay in touch with friends and family.
Clearly, this is not a dinosaur generation, it is a group of individuals with significant time and spending power who have access to the internet and are embracing new technology. For large consumer technology businesses, this generation is quickly becoming the single most significant market.
Mirthy’s Progress in COVID Times
COVID has also emphasized the relevance of technology in safeguarding older persons’ mental health, happiness, and financial well-being. Mirthy, which was founded in 2019, caters to the ‘young old’ people who want to live life to the utmost at the start of their third age.
Mirthy’s platform enables people over the age of 60 to host or engage in events and socializing both online and, ultimately, offline. Mirthy’s long-term objective is to become the go-to platform for all the social, physical, and financial needs of those over the age of 60.
Mirthy co-founders Alex Ramamurthy and Dhruv Haria have a passion for digital ways to establish communities for those over the age of 60. Ramamurthy had volunteered for Age UK, worked in social enterprises, and was the Chief Executive of The Care Workers Charity.
“While the conversation about an aging population focuses on the increasing strain on health services, my experience has shown that there is a generation with more energy, passion for life, and time than ever before,” said co-founder Ramamurthy. “I want Mirthy to accompany you on this new adventure after you are no longer working full-time, introduce you to like-minded individuals, entertain you, and keep you energized!”
“As my parents neared retirement, I saw how their health was being impacted by their shrinking social groups and the increased amount of inactive leisure time they spent alone,” co-founder Haria explained. “Having established many digital businesses, I wanted to leverage technology to discover a solution for my parents and millions of other individuals approaching or having passed retirement.”
According to a recent Mirthy poll, 81% of users plan to continue attending online events and lessons when the lockdown is lifted. Even when the lockdown limitations are lifted, this promotes Mirthy’s digital-first approach for activities and community.
Mirthy’s team’s aims
Mirthy’s team aims to “kick on the pedal” and move rapidly to remain ahead of potential entries in this sector, having raised more than double the amount of pre-seed investment they had originally expected to raise. For the time being, the team’s concentration is on the United Kingdom, but in the not-too-distant future, the team will seek outside to control this industry internationally.
Ascension Investment Director Emma Steele stated, “We admire the team’s ambition to harness technology that promotes social inclusion and opens up the world for individuals in their 60s, rather than shrinking it.” We really think that supporting the appropriate entrepreneurs and attitude is the key to effective impact investment at scale. And we are overjoyed to have discovered this with Alex and Dhruv.”
“We are all aging!” stated Matt Penneycard, Partner at Ada Ventures. We also want our golden years to be as pleasant and pleasurable as possible. As modern life (and VC!) has been more oriented on young, older populations have been ignored. For a long time, Ada Ventures has been seeking technological investments that can help our aging populations. We are excited about the Mirthy team and vision, and we are pleased to participate in this round.”
“Alex and Dhruv are establishing a trustworthy network for this underserved demographic, built around a peer-to-peer (P2P) events platform,” said Tom March, Managing Partner at Redrice Ventures. This P2P focus demonstrates that they understand the value of genuine human relationships, which we believe is unique in the industry and the ideal basis upon which to develop a culture-defining brand.”
