The AgeTech Collaborative™ (ATC) is pleased to announce the launch of the AgeTech Brain Trust, an innovative program designed to connect ATC participants directly with Collaborative leaders who can offer individualized attention and in-depth answers to participants’ sometimes thorny questions about doing business in the AgeTech space.
We spoke with ATC enterprise account manager David Lange, who explained more about the AgeTech Brain Trust, how it works and how Collaborative participants can use it to take advantage of the ATC’s collective wealth of knowledge and expertise.
What is the AgeTech Brain Trust?
The AgeTech Brain Trust program is designed to amplify the voices of our community leaders from across the Collaborative. The idea is to connect participants who have questions with people who can provide informed answers.
We’re in an industry that’s growing fast and that has only recently been coming into its own with a name and an identity. There are so many different facets of AgeTech — from caregiving, medical tech and long-term care to the investment side of things — and they’re all interconnected. So naturally, people have questions, and we want to be able to connect them to the incredible store of knowledge and talent that exists in our community.
Who are these informed leaders that will answer questions?
These Brainiacs, as we’re calling them, are featured participants in the ATC ecosystem who are kind enough to volunteer their time to this program. We selected them from all five participant groups in the Collaborative, and they represent a range of categories, specialties, geographies and parts of the industry. That diversity was very important to us as we were building this program.
Who’s eligible to ask the Brainiacs a question?
Anyone in the Collaborative can reach out to a Brainiac by going to the AgeTech Brain Trust directory. There, you can browse the profiles of all our Brainiacs. If anyone looks like they have expertise that matches your area of inquiry, you can send them a question right there in their profile. The message will go to their inbox, and you can have a conversation with them that way, or set up a meeting.
So it’s all accessible on the ATC platform?
Right — it’s all via the direct messages on the ATC platform. If you’re not checking your ATC messages regularly, you can visit your profile to make sure you’re set up for email notifications. That way, whenever someone contacts you on the platform, you’ll never miss a message.
What kinds of queries do you envision people will bring to the Brainiacs?
There are many different areas that people are interested in, but questions might include, “How do you work with test beds?” “How do you put on a successful clinical trial?” “How do I raise a series A funding round?”
Questions can also be more open-ended, such as “What’s it like to work in the medical devices space? What’s your experience working in financial services for people who are 50-plus?” Whatever the question, the Brainiacs are there to help.
How many Brainiacs are there, and how were they selected?
We have 14 inaugural Brainiacs, but we will certainly add more in the future. People should check back early and often, because you never know when a new Brainiac will be added — and maybe they will have the expertise you’re looking for.
In selecting them, we looked at a couple of factors. First, we wanted to make sure to represent all of our participant types — startups, testbeds, enterprises, investors and business services. Second, we wanted to focus on people who were luminaries in our community and who already had a track record of being willing to serve by helping out others.
What was the catalyst for this program?
Every day, we see the need for informed answers in the Collaborative discussion board. People ask questions, and the community responds — which is incredibly helpful. But those conversations tend to be pretty broad.
We realized there was a need for a place where people could go with their more specific, targeted questions when they’re looking for niche expertise, not just general community knowledge. With the AgeTech Brain Trust program, we can leverage the wealth of knowledge in the Collaborative so that people don’t have to turn to outside sources, especially sources that cost money.
So people can find in-depth answers to specific questions, for free. That sounds pretty awesome.
The Brainiacs are there to help, so I encourage people to be specific in what they’re asking for. That might be, “Hey, I would really love to set up a meeting with you to discuss this problem I have.” Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need, because ultimately, the Brainiacs are there to meet people where they are.
Want to learn more about the AgeTech Brain Trust? Please reach out to David Lange at dlange@aarp.org.
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