I love innovation. Crave efficiency. Support convenience in right-sized doses. Applaud inventors. Cheer on advancement. Value connection, but much appreciate intimate conversation over large crowds.

I thought I would walk away from my first CES like an awe-struck child. I did not. Hey CES! Hello Vegas! There are a lot of people here. It’s a zoo. Overwhelming and mesmerizing. I’m an extrovert. Put me in a room and I will chat it up with complete strangers. But something was off. I decided to spend more time with my favorite grown-up human on the planet which was a bit of a distraction. Why? Because a conversation and romantic dinner was more rewarding to my soul than large crowds and networking banter. Does it pay the bills? Not so much. But it makes me feel more alive. Perhaps a reminder I should have stayed home more the last 12 years and skipped out on a work trip to connect with what really mattered. A plus-one instead of looking for a conversation. Priorities, not balance.

I looked at a ton of lifestyle tech. Apps, devices and solutions to tell me how healthy I am and make me live forever. Toilets that can report things I am not certain I want to track. Scales reporting every biological marker. Flying cars. Self-driving cars. Glasses with hearing aids that allow you to hear the world but depend on navigating apps just to turn them on. Only to leave me with the question, “Do I want to jump into the future or go back to the basics?”

Uncertain is the best one-word recap.

Fundamentally I hold true to one mantra. No one knows what it is like to be 85 until you are 85. There are younger people trying their hardest to solve the issues for an aging demographic. But you first have to connect with said demographic to understand who they are, and what they value. We cannot create “for” until we create “with.” In AgeTech, families are extremely important, but family is not always the end user. What is compelling to a family member may be quite off-putting to an end user. I will start and stop with a camera in the home. Do you have a camera in your bathroom? I doubt you would welcome one. Dignity matters.

Human Connection & Number One Connection

I think back to my grandparents. They lived to 91 and 94 without a single ounce of tech. They loved hard. Lived quietly. Had enough, but nothing extreme. Middle class. They prioritized religious community, Friday night dominoes and board games with grandchildren. I know they had something special that fueled their longevity while not ever being hyper-focused on a year count. You need people, but as the Harvard Study tells us, those closest to you influence you the most. The five people, and as Ken Stern reminded us, “The one closest to you.”

The Longevity Project

My favorite talk was with Ken Stern and Danielle Duplin. They chatted about Ken’s research looking at longevity in various populations around the world. Not a blue zone chat but also not far off from what science tells us is the elixir to happiness. Community, purpose, curiosity, and life-long learning for enjoyment, not promotion. I believe the creators and inventors of tech are far better suited for longevity than the consumer. To create is to enter into a world that challenges norms and boundaries. To consume is to follow suit of what is cool, hip and easy. I do not believe there is a shortcut to longevity. Living long has never been easy. It is about discipline and perseverance, not quieting or eliminating the inevitable aging process.

The inner circle of who you choose to age with is paramount.

Two Types of Tech

There are two types of tech. One that connects you to the world and opportunity and another that makes you self-sufficient as a solo entity. The second is a kind that eliminates conversations with experts, reducing your social setting while keeping you focused on a screen more than you look up to see the world. The best tech is one that balances these two components. Tech that makes you rely on others to become the best version of yourself. One that provides you the opportunity to share your wisdom with a broader audience. Tech that makes you feel relevant and seen, not disappear into the world of advancement leaving you feeling low-tech and uninterested in AI. The shortcut to do it all in a millisecond of time and mind frame. AI has its value. I am more productive in many ways, mostly organization. But AI that takes away the need for brainpower and creative thought shrinks our minds. The shortcut never wins.

Back to the Basics & Hard Work

This is not a selfish plug despite being impressed with my gains. I committed to push ups a year or so ago. I try to do 100 a day. I am not always successful. For years I have thought about the regime that Herschel Walker taught us. Body weight and discipline are a force. You do not need a fancy gym and thousands of dollars worth of equipment to train. Only a goal. I do not need tech to work to achieve results. No charged Airpods. No functioning screen on the treadmill. No app. No 24-hour gym when I travel. No gym membership back home. Not entering data into an app that tells me how many minutes, miles, steps or nutrition points I racked up. I just need will…and accountability.

My nasolabial folds are in full effect, but my body is strong. I can focus on anti-aging or I can focus on function. What is going to help me perform, not present well. A few more months of 46 in 2026. I feel the onset of decline. Perimenopause is a force. Way too many ACL’s make runs difficult and less desirable. I am not overly concerned with an app that tells me my body age for a bragging right. There is not a better indicator of longevity than how you feel and what you are compelled to complete when you wake up in the morning.

That saying of what you do when no one is watching is powerful.

Next & Beyond

As someone who proudly knows my best friends and soul companions are in the generations ahead of me, I plead. In AgeTech we must be laser focused on partnerships, not patronizing behavior. If, and when, (my kids are 9 & 12) interject life advice, I simply laugh. “One Day.” One day you will know what it is like to go to work and provide for a family. One day you will understand real stress and complex social circles.

If you have a product focused on AgeTech and you have spent more time with younger people creating your product than you have with people you intend to use your product you have the equation backwards. A “No” from an end user is 100x more impactful than a 46-year old advisor and self-proclaimed guru in aging adults. Every board should have a member that uses the tech. Trust your instincts and brilliance, but please be humble enough to be challenged.

We don’t know what we don’t know…

And, that is a true privilege in the design process.

Alongside,

Sara