Well, it has been several months since we last posted to the Carespace blog. I am sure at least my family noticed. The reason for the silence is all efforts have been inwardly focused on building the Carespace product itself.  In addition, navigating the myriad of issues you face when launching a start up in an economic apocalypse has taken up a bit of time. I guess it helps a bit to be deeply passionate and committed to what you are trying to accomplish. If Carespace isn't a passionate endeavor, then I don’t know what would be!  Paul Graham from ycombinator, a well known start up incubator, has an interesting video  on this topic at StartupSchool.org. If you want to learn more about this subject it is definatly worth the 20 minutes.

I would also like to announce that after months of development effort, we are now officially “Open for Business” at CareSpace.  I hope someday find it funny that the final push to get the site up and running came in October of 2008 - which will certainly be forever engraved in the economic history books. Over the last few days we have moved the official CareSpace site into production.  You can now register and officially enter the site. After registering, you will receive an email verification before you can login. (Make sure to check your spam box.) Click on the link in the email, enter your email and password created at registration, and we can start our journey to make life easier for the millions of people who care for loved ones with disabilities or serious health issues.

We are very excited about the potential of the site.  We are also equally grounded in what we still need to get done. There is no question the site still needs some work.    What is also undeniable is that we have officially opened the doors for business.

We have one goal – 6001 registered users in two weeks. Why 6001? It is rumored that Facebook had 6000 registed users in its first two weeks.  I figured it would be fun to grab at least 1 more user. If we get to 6000 registered users I am sure we can find at least 1 more.

Come on in and try out the site. Some applications are still not up and running but you can certainly get a feel for what we are trying to accomplish with the project. Our first objective, beyond getting a good base of registered users, is to perfect the “Benefits Finder” application.  This application was created to make it easier to find supplemental benefits.  Benefits are submitted by the community.  It is very easy - it will take you about 1 minute to add a benefit.  Just think of all the people you could help by making it easier to find benefits they might be eligible for.  I will be posting a lot more about the benefits finder application as we get the community going on it.  I think the timing is ideal for this application. Who wouldn’t want to find a way to save a little money in today's environment?

Look forward to hearing everyone's feedback on the site and communicating more regularly on our progress.

Gotta run - 5991 more registered users to go.

Brian

Comments

[Dan Kelley]

Brian:

I work with your Dad. I noticed in the last paragraph of the "About Carespace" page was a typo, which I have corrected in all caps. Being a printer, I just find these things. Good luck with your new site.
“As parents of a child with special needs, we know first hand how difficult it can be to care for a loved one with a health issue or disability, and make it through the constantly-changing maze of new and complicated issues. For us, the best source of information has been other people we have met through our community. We think this concept of "HELPING Each Other" applies whether you are caring for a child, spouse, parent, grandparent, friend, or yourself. There is just no substitute for learning and interacting with people who have the same real life experiences."

[Joe Zavada]

As a proponent of aging at home and wireless home care technology in Pennsylvania, I want to commend you and wish the best for this very innovative and helpful site.

[Brian]

Thanks for picking up the typo Dan. Much appreciated. We having a lot of moving pices right know so every bit of feedback helps.

BTW - If my Dad told me about it I would have probably found a way to deny it was there.

[Brian]

Joe - thanks for the kind words. One of the folks involved in Carespace is on chair of the board for the extended care federation. He is also a big proponent of using technology to keep folks in the home longer as they age. Here is an article on Rich.

http://boston.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2007/10/08/story5.html

I think one of the keys to success in the home care tech market is we need to make it easier for product and services companies to reach folks with their innovation. I know a bunch of product companies out there and they have to spend a lot on marketing to get the word out.

In addition, we need the community to get organized around driving some policy change in insurance and government. I am a big proponent of these services and with the wealth recently destroyed in this country - combined with the aging population -this should be a key area for innovative solutions.