In the previous articles in this series I write about my experiences as a 50+ entrepreneur and advocate for later-in-life workers.
We convened our first public event in San Francisco on October 23, 2018. San Francisco and Silicon Valley is where I conducted much of my career. It’s where a good chunk of my network is located.
There was a certain amount of pressure to make a good showing. It was time to show off what we’d been spending the past year on to a hometown crowd.
The audience was peppered with old friends and colleagues, investors, Fellows from Stanford’s Center on Longevity, representatives from Encore.org, alumni from The Modern Elder Academy. Many offered to help us on our mission to be a catalyst for transformation.
It was a smooth presentation. We had savvy partners on stage and via video. It was a very luxe and comfortable setting too. Along with partners Silvernest, Age Without Borders, Wow Fifty, and New Retirement we had a broad cross section of companies working in what seems to be an exploding industry.
Next up was a very interactive and honest conversation about work, financial health, life transitions and purpose for our generation. It was heady, for sure, but by the end of the evening there was an enthusiasm and agreement that some sort of movement would evolve from all of this.
Our co-founder Carole McManus worked the audience and as usual brought her vast knowledge of the inner-workings of communities at this stage. Some asked where this movement will be situated, under what umbrella would the conversation happen? Carole and I agreed that Next For Me would be a logical place for that. She knows that it’s a big undertaking, but we’ve done this together a few times before.
What’s Next For Us
Without missing a beat we’re putting together a program in Washington DC that will happen on December 12th. Our collaborators will include Susan Donley at Stria. Stria is a media platform for the longevity market. They provide information, experiences and content that inspire cross-sector solutions for our aging society.
That’s big for us. We’ve watched as she launched the brand and are honored to be working with Stria. Susan was Publisher and Managing Director of Next Avenue, public media’s first national service for America’s booming older population. Under Susan’s leadership, Next Avenue grew to serve over 45 million people at nextavenue.org, and she founded Next Avenue’s Influencers in Aging, an annual list of people changing aging in America.
We’ll also continue helping our readers host more informal events in their communities.
All of the stories we’re hearing and the friendships we’re making will be at the heart of a report we’ll write in January on the state of the 50+ generation.
Many thanks to our partners Silvernest , Age Without Borders , Wow Fifty, New Retirement and the kind folks at Werqwise who manage the lovely setting with grace.
Previous articles in the series:
- A Conference Talk Leads To What’s ‘Next For Me’
- The Story, The Advisors And The Team
- Putting A Legal Structure In Place
- Spreading The News And Early Investments
- Testing The Facebook Ad Waters
- The Modern Elder Academy
- Can Your Startup Start A Movement
- Meeting Matter.vc
- Becoming A Caregiver Statistic
- Talking To Our Audience
- Making Assumptions And Forming Hypotheses
- How To Cope When You're Alone Again On The Startup Journey
- Developing The Brand Architecture
- Raising An Angel Round and Perception
- A Fellow Entrepreneur Offers Guidance
- The New Pitch
- Gracefully Radio Interview
- Ready For Anything, Even Wait And See
- Always Be Publishing
- Getting Out Of Your Head
- Activating A List Of Investors
- In The Details Of Subscriber Growth
- Interview: StartOut
- Keep On Connecting
- Backing Away From Facebook And Twitter
- Sell Your Product, Not Stories To Investors
- Building An Event Business
- Finding Comfort With Agility
- The Zen Of My Company
- I Got This
- Mapping Our Business Plan
- A Coaching Session and Going Bigger
- Meeting The Competition
- How Writing Boosted My Confidence
- Attending Jason Calacanis’ Launch Scale Conference
- San Francisco Here I Come
- Notes from Launch Scale Conference Part 1
- Notes from Launch Scale Conference Part 2 - Next Door and Network Effects
- Notes from Launch Scale Conference Part 3 - Craig Newmark's Philanthropy, Founders for Change