Social Isolation and Connection with Friendi.fi, Vermut and Happy Talks
This episode focused on social isolation, intergenerational and social connections.
Victor Wang introduced Friendi.fi (pronounced “friendify”) a platform using AI to combat loneliness among older adults, highlighting its success in PACE programs and its mission to scale to millions. Friendi.fi was a spin-out from Care.Coach, Victor’s first startup.
Fernando Dellepiane shared Vermut’s marketplace of activities for older adults, illustrating its success in Spain, partnerships with healthcare companies and plans for expansion into the US.
Christian Ross discussed Happy Talks, a service offering social phone calls and more to older adults to combat loneliness; with memberships ranging from $59 to $189 per month. noting its impact on mental health and the importance of sentiment analysis and prevention of exploitation.
The discussion emphasized the importance of technology in addressing social isolation and the need for diverse solutions to support various demographics. There was quite a bit of AI discussion. Check it out! May is Mental Health Awareness Month.
Recorded on May 29, 2025, this episode is part of our Social Isolation Series. Speakers are listed in their order of appearance.
Victor Wang, Co-Founder, Friendi.fi; Chairman of the Board, care.coach; co-Founder AgeTech Las Vegas
Friendifi is an AgeTech Collaborative from AARP Portfolio Company
Fernando Dellepiane, CEO and Co-Founder, Vermut App
Vermut won the AgeTech Collaborative™ from AARP pitch competition at VIVE in 2025
Christian Ross, Founder, Happy Talks; AgeTech Atlanta company member, Atlanta Startup Village Co-Host
Resources:
Victor’s Friendi.fi presentation at the Spring 2025 Medicarians conference
Mary Furlong’s 3-5-25 What’s Next Living Longer Better Smarter Podcast with Fernando
Bob Kramer’s mid-May 2025 LinkedIn post on Social Isolation and Intergenerational Connections
We apologize for the technical difficulty with Victor Wang’s audio quality during some of the second half of this show.
====
LinkedIn Show Post that includes a carousel of speaker photos
Hosted by: Linda Sherman and Debbie Howard. Further info on them is in the sidebar, fifth item with a microphone symbol.
We continue to record new Rethinking Aging Club podcasts live on Thursdays. How to join live.
Please follow both of our podcasts including News for the Ages by Rethinking Aging Club.
We are catching up with publishing historical Rethinking Aging Club podcasts, and hope to be current by the end of August 2025.
New episodes on both of our podcasts are usually published the day after they are recorded.
Music: Solemnity written and performed by Richard Sherman
