Aging in America News

Q&A with Serial Entrepreneur Mary Furlong

by Allison Cook

Mary Furlong has raised over $300 million in corporate sponsorships and venture capital to support solutions for older adults. Before founding Mary Furlong and Associates, which supports start-ups and funders in the longevity field, she founded SeniorNet in 1986 and led Third Age Media. Furlong also produces the Longevity Venture Summit, a partnership with AARP’s AgeTech Collaborative that just wrapped up in Berkeley, California.

What made you go into this field?

When I first started, I wrote a book called Computers for Kids over 60. At the time, I was in my thirties. I realized that, while many were looking at technology for young people, very few were looking at technology for older adults. I just fell in love with the audience. I saw that older adults had talent, knowledge, wisdom, interest, and curiosity. I wanted to tap into that.

I was privileged to meet good sponsors and supporters that allowed me to grow that vision. Though I was early—you could call me a pioneer—I was very curious. It was like a puzzle where I kept finding new pieces, and the market kept expanding with more innovations and digital solutions.

Now, at 76 years old, I assemble those puzzle pieces to support a variety of exciting start-ups, partner with venture capital firms, produce my podcasts, and put on two conferences every year. I like being in a space that’s only going to grow. With the first of the Baby Boomers turning 80, the longevity market is a growth market.

What trends in the field should people be aware of?

AI is certainly important. There is also a lot of innovation around addressing and monitoring chronic conditions associated with aging, including those related to mobility, balance, cognitive fitness, and cardiac health.

Another trend is innovating around workforce participation. Companies like GetSetUp help older adults find pathways to learn, contribute, and make money with their skills.

Lastly, loneliness is still a big issue. How do we create new forms of community? Intergenerational activities are an important part of this.

What advice would you give to new entrepreneurs?

First, look at the unmet needs and understand whether it is a need or a nice-to-have. We just retained a client, Audien, in the hearing aid space—one in three people have hearing issues, so new technology solutions that map to those needs make sense.

Second, understand it from the customer’s perspective through early market research and co-creation. Let the customer tell you what they want – and listen to what they say!

Third, it’s a complicated distribution landscape. There are lots of ways to go to market, and, with the market evolving so rapidly, you have to be agile.

To summarize, be focused, have an innovative mindset, be agile, and learn from the people that older adults trust—many of the nonprofit partners in the ecosystem have earned that trust.

What common missteps do you see new entrepreneurs making?

The biggest misstep is focusing too much on the technology and not enough on the customer. I’ve seen many companies fail because they were focused on tweaking their product but not working collaboratively with the customer. A caregiver needs a solution within 9 minutes, not 9 hours.

If you could change one thing about this field, what would it be?

The pace. I like being on the entrepreneur side because we move fast. I’m a fan of sailing—you have to adjust the sails when you’re building your business. When I first went after grants, they said they decide quarterly. An entrepreneur would go crazy waiting for a quarterly answer. I’ve seen entrepreneurs go to market in Europe where there’s a large older population, get traction, then come back here—they move very fast.

What excites me is when things move – when deals get done at our conferences, when our Business Plan Competition winners get term sheets the next day, or when entrepreneurs scale their business quickly.

Allison Cook is the founder of Better Aging and Policy Consulting.