Suthar moves to Chattanooga to launch new company
Parth Suthar is so passionate about his technology that he relocated from India to Chattanooga to participate as a specialist in this year’s “Gig Tank” while he looked for ways to launch his business in the United States.
His company is not one of the seven that are part of this year’s cohort. Suthar, however, brings previous experience as a start-up entrepreneur to his role as one of a team of specialists that the other companies can access for knowledge and help.
During a recent visit to CO.LAB, we met Suthar who quickly seized on the opportunity to tell us about Sensevery Wireless., a company focused on “making the life of seniors better.” Knowing that we fit the demographic, we had more than a passing interest.
Suthar cited several important statistics. For example, 10,000 Americans turn 65 every day and will continue to do so for the next 17 years. About 3,000,000 accidental falls among seniors go undetected each year. Finally, about $54 billion will be spent annually by 2020 on treatment for falls in this country.
“We are focused on activity monitoring” that allows seniors to have more independence, Suthar said. The monitoring is done through the deployment of sensors at a home or assisted living facility.
Sensevery’s proverbial “secret sauce” is the way it integrates the data from the sensors. “How do you make sense out of the sensors,” Suthar asks rhetorically.
“It does not require Wi-Fi,” he says, explaining that SIM cards will be placed in a hub in each installation to capture data from the sensors.
The standard deployment would include separate sensors in the living room, bathroom, kitchen, main entry door, key fob and individual’s pill box. Other sensors could be added.
“All of the sensors are off-the-shelf,” Suthar said.
He sees a customer base that includes working very closely with insurance companies and hospitals to help them underwrite insurance claims and medical costs, with real-time data-driven analysis.
“This will also help insurance companies get insights and build individual pricing models – enabling better engagement, loyalty and reducing risks of their customers,. Suthar says.
The technology can also help families be more comfortable with their seniors living independently. Insurance companies and hospitals are also potential customers. “It would help both have a better understanding of patients from the data we collect,” he said.
Sensevery’s preliminary pricing calls for the base installation to sell for less than $200, and the company to have a monthly fee of $39 to do monitoring and, if necessary, call for emergency assistance. As he continues to develop his business plan, Suthar is also trying to raise as much as $1 million to finance the rollout.
Meanwhile, he is also sharing his knowledge from two previous start-ups with others at CO.LAB.
