Project Plan

Company Profile

Headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, Vera (Virtual Engagement and Response Assistant) is a holistic, personal solutions company bridging the gap between home care, independence, and digital innovation.

We provide smart home systems to improve the quality of life for individuals who are suffering from dementia or cognitive impairments by utilizing a unique combination of artificial intelligence, smart sensors, and algorithms to learn patient behavioral patterns. We believe in a proactive approach to healthcare through robust reporting of routine monitoring services and vital health metrics.

Vera was founded in August 2020 by four passionate women who, through their own experiences, know that there is a dire need for a better solution for this underserved population. Our leadership team believes in making quality personal, driving for innovation, focusing on others, and delivering legendary service.

Vera provides peace of mind for its users, and their family members and caregivers by alleviating the sense of loneliness, serving as a virtual friend, and maximizing safe, independent functioning.

Market Evaluation & Segmentation Strategy

The Smart Homes Market was valued at USD 64.60 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach USD 246.42 billion by 2025, at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 25% over the forecast period 2020 – 2025. The North American smart home market is projected to account for the majority of the global market share in 2021. This increasing prominence and growth can be attributed to several factors:

The IoT (Internet of Things) has gained popularity among resident consumers by connecting household products to the internet. The IoT links products, software algorithms, services, and end-users enabling a smooth flow of data and making real-time decisions.
The growth in consumer adoption of IoT is attributed to the spreading penetration of the internet, the increasing usage of smartphones, and expansion of social media and tele-communication platforms.

In addition to smart home growing its market share, North America is a major player in the global medical wearables’ domain. Global Medical Wearable Market is valued at USD 12.788 billion in 2019 and expected to reach USD 37.67 Billion by 2025 with the CAGR of 19.73% over the forecast period. Wearables are mainly designed to collect a person’s data, the appropriate health metrics, and exercise. The secondary (emerging) functionality provided by biosensors may include disease specific measured values. The high demand in the market of wearables is a direct result of the following:

Growing self-awareness about health, increasing interest of consumers to monitor health related data, development of disease prevention mindset.
Medical wearables provide convenience of data collection, and analysis without interrupting day-to-day life.
Seamless and frictionless integration, technology efficiency and ease of use.

In terms of data sharing, recent studies illustrate a greater agreeability and comfort amongst consumers to share the collected data with their medical providers and insurers (63% in 2016 to 72% in 2018)

Customer Evaluation and Segmentation

Studies show that the home remains the preferred sight for patients with cognitive impairments. For an individual with the diagnosis, maintaining independence in their residence often involve utilizing extra support of a caregiver. Below is the segmentation of the caregivers by type and function. At Vera, we believe that our target segments are also main decision makers: prime caregivers and family members in both remote and in-person care categories. The following analysis will be based on characteristics and attributes of the target audience.

Customer Segmentation Strategy

Key demographic metrics:

Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980)
Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996)

Why

Needs: peace of mind, data privacy and security, patient’s safety, time saving, comfort in reassurance

Product preference: can work as a stand-alone system or integrated with the existing care system

What

Buying behavior and tendencies: smart home system owners, early adopters, convenience seekers

Who

Psychographic: have a family member with cognitive impairment, or a providing care for one, tech savvy, leading busy lifestyle, working/career oriented professional, managing work and family responsibilities. Customers who are likely or intend to purchase a smart home system or element.

Key decision makers

Nurses

Family members

Concerns/purchase drivers

Patient’s comfort and satisfaction, patient’s safety, physician requirements compliance

Necessity, safety, low risk, peace of mind, price

Deciding factor/product selection parameters

Reliability, performance, patient outcome, safety

Reliability, performance, positive outcome, safety, ease of use, price

References:

https://www.alz.org/help-support/caregiving/care-options/in-home-care

https://internetofbusiness.com/smart-home-manufacturers/

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/smart-homes-and-assisted-living-advanced-technologie-and-global-market-121.html

https://www.medgadget.com/2020/04/medical-wearable-market-share-current-trends-and-research-development-report-to-2025.html

https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/global-smart-homes-market-industry

Brand Positioning & Brand Profile

Competitive Analysis

What companies currently serve our target segments? Medical Alert Device companies, Memory Care Facilities and other smart home systems. Why choose Vera for the solution to helping a loved one affected by Dementia stay independent in their home and relieve stress and concern of the caregiver?

Specific companies serving the target market we want to serve are TruSense, Alert1 and A Place For Mom.

“TruSense has combined wireless sensors, Amazon’s Echo Dot, and GPS technology to track patients’ daily activities and health statistics, and send that data to family members and healthcare professionals. These smart sensors keep a track of the health statistics and indicate the shift in health statistics and send alerts to the healthcare professionals unlike conventional emergency response systems and hence brought revolution in the healthcare industry.” (https://www.industryarc.com/Report/98/medical-alert-devices-market.html)
Alert1 offers medical alert devices at home and on-the-go to help senior citizens in cases of emergency such as falls. Like most medical alert devices and systems, it is not geared specifically for senior citizens affected by Dementia. It is more geared towards elderly that are prone to falls and other accidents that warrant emergency response.
A Place for Mom is a tool to help users find a senior living accommodation. Besides being a hub to help individuals find a senior community near them, it also provides support regarding costs, timing, transitioning planning, and having a conversation with loved ones about moving.

Brand Positioning Statement

Vera isn’t just a smart home or medical alert company, it’s a personal solutions company for individuals affected by Dementia and cognitive impairment. Its holistic system includes smart home devices and sensors, a virtual assistant AI, and wearable devices to aid the user in everyday tasks, monitor health, provide companionship and send alerts to appropriate parties in case of emergency. A secure hub platform makes it possible for all data and health metrics to be collected and viewed in a secure place, providing peace of mind to caregivers and family members. Vera strives to provide users the means to continue to live independent, fulfilling lives in their own homes, and to provide caregivers and family members peace of mind.

Sources