3 Things Killing Your Parents | India's Ageing Crisis Explained

**Ganesh** (0:03)
India, the world's most populous nation, also the most youthful.

**Adarsh** (0:06)
66% of India's population is below the age of 35

**Ganesh** (0:09)
But what about India's elderly?
Ladies and gentlemen, this episode made me realize that I am a terrible son to my parents. And if you want to be a better son or daughter, this episode is for you. At the same time, today, this episode is going to show you a gap in the market that has so much money that it will blow your mind. Now in the last few episodes, we spoke about India's economic situation. While every brand in this country wants to sell to the Gen Z, millennials or ultra rich, there is a space in India where the audience has crores in savings, wants to spend the money, has a lot of pain, and yet we do not have enough products and services to cater the demand. That is the elderly audience in this country. And think about it, our parents have their entire life savings invested in SIP. They have pension coming in, but they have nowhere to spend. No tourism company sells to them, no fashion brand sells to them, no fitness brand sells to them, and no dating app sells to them. In fact, BCG estimates, India's silver economy will control $1.5 trillion in assets by 2030 So we have a generation sitting on the largest pile of disposable income in the country, and yet, they are being ignored by everyone. So my guest today built a million dollar business doing exactly what other people don't, which is serving the elderly population of India. And in today's episode, he's going to decode their psychology, his business plan, their pain, and the business opportunities that are wide open for people like you and me.
And you know, while doing so, he actually made me a better son to my parents. So if you want to tap into the biggest and the most ignored white space that is going to explode in India, get your notebooks, because this is a delight to watch. And get some tissues because you might weep a bit. What do you do at Marzi? And what does an average person's day look like?

**Adarsh** (1:53)
We have groups of people who want to go on a dosa hopping tour. We'll have like mixology workshop. How to make high quality cocktails?

**Ganesh** (2:01)
What are you saying?

**Adarsh** (2:01)
Why do we feel that if a person is 50 or 60, somehow the only thing they should do is a bhajan? This is another misconception.

**Ganesh** (2:08)
How is lack of purpose directly related to death?

**Adarsh** (2:11)
Have you seen a politician die from a stroke? Our Prime Minister, Mr.Trump, all of these guys fight disease because their will to live is so strong because of purpose.

**Ganesh** (2:21)
How do we overcome this barrier? And what needs to change?

**Adarsh** (2:23)
As loving children, write down what has changed in their life in the last 6 months. They used to drive, now they stop driving. My mom used to cook, now she stopped cooking. What is the thing they want the most? Independence and agency. By you telling them anything, you're taking away their independence to make that decision.

**Ganesh** (2:38)
You know, Adarsh, I read something very interesting. That 63 million people in India today have a hearing problem. And yet, we don't have brands that are making hearing aids that are cool.

**Adarsh** (2:46)
Classic mistake that every company is making is they're pushing this product on the children.

**Ganesh** (2:50)
Can you list top 3 business opportunities in this space?

**Adarsh** (2:53)
I think the top one is a no-brainer. It's elder-proofing of phones. You can do a 15-minute memory test. It will tell you what is your chance of getting dementia. The third one is...

**Ganesh** (3:17)
Adarsh, welcome to the Indian Business Podcast. How would you like to introduce yourself to the audience?

**Adarsh** (3:21)
Thank you for having me here, Ganesh. I help people age like fine wine.

**Ganesh** (3:26)
Interesting. How?

**Adarsh** (3:28)
Ganesh, I think I am solving the biggest untapped opportunity of India. Let me explain.
India today is known as a young country.
80% of our population is above 35 years of age. This is what everybody's telling you. Do you know that by 2050 that is going to be exactly reversed? Can you think of a company which is of top of your mind? If I tell you, tell me the best brand for hearing aids. You don't know because it doesn't exist. Right? Yet 60% of 160 million elders in India probably need a hearing solution after 75
This you can extend to everything. Lifestyle, housing, concierge, travel, events. It's a sector that's waiting to explode. And I'm here trying to change the mindsets around it. So, to help people age like fine wine, I run two companies, Ganesh. One is a housing solution for the gen evergreen because I refuse to call anybody old called Primus. And another one is a cool offline social network called Mersey.