LOS GATOS, CA — South Bay business associates Tina Choi and Ana Lelescu are unwilling to take aging baby boomers out to pasture — unless they want to go.
The two tech business savvy movers and shakers are joining forces to provide activity based tours for baby boomers and seniors — an all-but-forgotten market in the youth-revered tech world of the Silicon Valley.
Few know any better than Choi, who served as an Apple computer operations manager in the supply chain for 15 years. Now age 46, she recalls being a little awestruck at having worked for the legendary founder, Steve Jobs. She broke out of the Cupertino computer kingdom almost a year ago to create services for people like her mother, who doesn’t care to spend her every waking moment in front of an electronic device.
“We don’t necessarily develop technology for people over (age) 20. We develop it for people under 20,” Choi said. “From my own experience with aging parents, I knew something had to be done with the problem of social isolation among seniors.”
The Cornell University graduate who also invests in startup companies run by women carries a razor sharp mind for how to run a commercial business. But it was a personal experience that drove her to create a one-stop, online travel guide geared toward seniors seeking activities in their own back yard.
Now in its Beta-type infancy due to go live by April, the Travonde site provides easy-to-follow tabs that may take a user through places to travel to; restaurants to frequent; community centers to patronize; events and performances to tap into; and social networking sites to participate in.
“I’m very passionate about this. People who are retired want to connect,” she said. “Who cares if you have an iPhone 10 or 11?”
Landing this burgeoning, $26 billion market lies with providing a product that crosses between easy technology and the human connection.
“I want to make my company like Apple for someone older,” she said. Choi used artificial intelligence and machine learning to develop the leisure and entertainment computer platform, which stands for “travel on demand.”
Travonde is just what Lelescu needs to assist in her own business venture — California Passport Tours. The Morgan Hill based company is a full-service, guided tour operator that specializes in agricultural-related outings for baby boomers and seniors. Think wine tours, museum jaunts and farm visits.
The chief executive officer has run the Santa Clara County company for seven years but needs a jolt of assistance in helping to find places where she can take her consumer clients. She averages between 25 to 30 people in a given month, albeit seasonal fluctuations.
Choi will receive 5- to 10 percent of the partnership proceeds for conducting the research and compiling the data on where to go and what to do in the region. The service is valuable to Lelescu, who operates the business with a van and three part-time drivers.
“I use her platform to get access to the senior market. Right now, I have to do a lot of organization. It’s a powerful tool,” said Lelescu, who, at age 51, is quite familiar with feeling a void in businesses that cater to her age group.
“After you hit 50, lots of things change. I feel more and more that with the senior market, people turn 60 every day. They’re still very active,” she said.
Anyone seeking information on Travonde may contact Tina Choi at Tina@Travonde.com or 408 421-8134.
