For Startup K4Connect, Connectedness Is More Than Technical—It’s Connecting Aging Adults With Loved Ones And Beyond

Although it is very true accessibility is first and foremost built with disabled people in mind, it’s also very true accessibility is not exclusively the domain of the disabled. Accessibility is beneficial to literally anyone and everyone, from larger text on computers to subtitles in foreign films to meal kits and more. The discrete set of software features companies like Apple and Google include in iOS and Android, respectively, represents only a smidgen of what accessibility means conceptually. This is what makes accessibility so dynamic: as many people have various needs and tolerances, the same can be said for accessibility’s potential applications.

Consider the aged community. Amazon has poured considerable resources (most notably, Alexa) into projects designed to help senior citizens live more happily and independently. In the past few months, I’ve reported on two such efforts: Smart Properties, which helps those in assisted living communities stay better connected with loved ones and their care team; and Alexa Together, which allows seniors to use Alexa to call for help if assistance is needed, amongst other things.

K4Connect is another company dedicated to helping the aged population through accessibility. The North Carolina-based startup describes itself as a “mission-driven technology company” that works to make technology accessible (and thus empowering) to older adults and other individuals with disabilities. The company does this by unifying disparate pieces of software to make everything accessible in one place, rather than a hundred places. “[It’s] really this idea of helping them [older adults] live their optimal like, using technology, no matter their age,” said Scott Moody, K4Connect’s chief executive, in a telephone interview with me conducted last September. “So it’s the whole idea of allowing them to live [a] more independent, healthier, and happier life.[That’s] what K4Connect does.”

The road from conception to company wasn’t a straight one, according to Moody. “I can’t say it was a straight arrow. It was kind of a circuitous route,” he said. Moody formed a separate company, which went for its initial public offering, or IPO, on Wall Street before eventually being acquired. Moody was retired at that point, having gone on a trip to Rwanda. After returning home, he spoke to his wife about ideas he had on starting a new company that used technology to help people. Moody was clear in telling me he’d never really considered older adults or disabled people as a demographic, but that he had the thought of developing an operating system that would tie together seemingly disparate devices. He envisioned it as one software system that would, for instance, coalesce all the services one uses at a hotel—front desk, concierge, room service, and more—in an integrated way. This would alleviate cognitive friction caused by the front desk being one number, while the concierge being another, and so on. It wasn’t until Moody met a man with multiple sclerosis that solidified the idea of targeting older adults and people with disabilities.

The notion that older adults dislike technology, Moody told me, is false. They dislike technology that’s hard to understand. “They love technology that actually helps them live their life in an optimal way,” he said. “When you do that, they use it.”

Moody is appreciative of the efforts companies such as Amazon and Apple do to help those with disabilities; it’s important work, to be sure, but Moody emphasized they’re still relatively siloed. All of the things people can access on their devices—food delivery, ride-hailing, and more—exists in their own bespoke application, replete with their own bespoke user interfaces. With its K4Community technology, however, K4Connect aims to “bring them [different software] together as if it’s one product,” Moody said. The difference is K4Connect customers still use the products and services they know and love: Moody told me his company integrates with Alexa devices, iOS devices, and much more. They just house the functionality under one roof, so to speak. This is big in terms of lessening cognitive load; jumping from app to app to simply, say, adjust the thermostat may prove arduous for someone to remember where and how to do so.

The average K4Connect user is an 84-year-old woman. Moody believes the aged population is overlooked when it comes to accessible technology; most is built by and for young people in their teens or twenties. Yet Moody’s company has 40,000 users to date, calling the older generation (age 65+) “an exceedingly big market.” It’s important for designers and engineers to realize, he added, that designing for an 80-year-old person is not the same as designing for a 20-year-old. Older people use technology too, but most prefer a simpler, more streamlined experience. They want to do things, not necessarily sit slack-jawed at technology’s marvel.

“I particularly believe that it’s the purpose of K4Connect [to] band together the people that want to serve others, and we can do that better together,” Moody said. “And I can’t think of a more important demographic to serve.”

In the months since our interview, Moody and team have been busy. Amazon tapped K4Connect to be a partner in the aforementioned Smart Properties initiative, while K4Connect announced deeper enterprise integration with Amazon’s Each Show devices. In addition, K4Connect released two reports on the state of technology and aging adults. The first, the Fall 2021 Quarterly Insights Report, looks at “how technology accelerates and supports resident safety, wellness, and satisfaction.” The second looks at how technology is a key driver in enriching resident life in living communities, as well as staffing needs and community engagement.