Q1. Can you share the inspiration behind starting Swabhimaan Senior Citizens Homes & Stays, and how has the journey been since its inception in May 2018?
RV: Death teaches you the importance of Life. I observed many family members and relatives passing away in different ages, stages and conditions. Many of them suffered in their final days. This gave me a thought that we can create an Ecosystem where the Seniors Suffering could be reduced and even brought down to minimal.
Areas that Senior Citizens have issues in are Loneliness, Wellness, Need to share, Need for Love and Attention, Need to be attended to in Emergencies and Health situations. Many times their families can reach them yet many times there are gaps in keeping up with them. This can be due to family members’ own issues such as everyday life management and related life issues.
Thus, I thought of Swabhimaan Senior Citizens Homes & Stays. Here, Senior Citizens could live together, understand each other, give each other company, share problems, laugh together, get right attention, food, yoga and wellness and immediate medical and support facilities.
While the Senior Citizens are the Users, their family members are the ones who will book for them on our platform.
Q2. Swabhimaan’s mission is to empower senior citizens. Could you elaborate on the unique services and amenities you provide to achieve this goal?
RV: Senior Citizens can be empowered in many ways. Wellness, Holistic Healthcare, Retreats, Getaways, Get-Togethers and many others. Their Core Requirement is Good Company and Compassionate Peers where they can Share experiences, problems and related areas.
Swabhimaan is focused at giving them Homes & Stays for Short, Medium and Long Term. These will be in form of
- Homes & Hostels
- Senior Citizens Homes & Stays
- Hostels
- Day-Care
- Travels & Tours
- Resorts
- Retreats
- Home-stays for Holidays
- Assisted Care Centers
- Sanatoriums
- Hospice & Palliative Care
- Assisted Living
- Elder Care at Home
Q3. You have a diverse background, including founding Surprizes E-Ventures Pvt. Ltd. How do your experiences in different ventures contribute to your work at Swabhimaan, and how do they intersect?
RV: I come from a wide and varied experience in Brand, Business and Corporate Strategy. I have worked on D2C Brands, E-Commerce Platforms, Marketplaces, Aggregator Models, Thematic Blogs, B2B Platforms, Edtech, and Portals.
Swabhimaan is a Start Up aimed at aggregating Homes & Stays to begin with and progress towards Elders-Tech in the medium to long run.
Q4. As a visiting professor and trainer, you’ve impacted the lives of thousands of students and professionals. How has your teaching experience influenced your approach to senior citizen empowerment at Swabhimaan?
RV: Teaching has been my passion for over 20 years now in my over 28 years career. I have shared experiences with over 29,000 students and industry participants and hope to continue the good work.
Teaching has made me more Compassionate, Empathic, Sharing and Caring as a person. On a higher level, it has made me more Principled, Philosophical, Existential and Spiritual towards life. I can now practice Objectivism, Realism and Ontology in life in practical terms.
Swabhimaan is born out of Compassion and Empathy towards Humanity. Our Mission is to ‘Eradicate the Fear, Worry and Anxiety of Ageing’ in People. We decided to make it a Business Model to make it Self-Funded and Self-Sufficient. We plan to contribute vastly in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) areas in our growth stage.
Q5. Your profile mentions your expertise in brand consulting and business strategy. How do you apply these skills to enhance the quality of life for senior citizens in your care?
RV: While Swabhimaan is predominantly a Startup Idea, it is driven by Strategy. We plan to combine Brand, Management, Business and Corporate Strategy and Principles to make Swabhimaan a go to service for Senior Citizens Homes & Stays.
Q6. Could you share some success stories or memorable experiences from your work at Swabhimaan that highlight the positive impact you’ve had on senior citizens’ lives?
RV: We are at Launch. Our actual launch got postponed due to the 2020 pandemic. We kept the Communication and Awareness alive over the years. We are now working towards a fair and sensible launch. We hope to address this question in more depth 2 years from launch.
Q7. What are your future plans and aspirations for Swabhimaan Senior Citizens Homes & Stays, and how do you see the organization evolving in the coming years?
RV: We plan to extend Swabhimaan from Homes & Stays to Elders-Tech in the medium run. We would like to incorporate Web3 technologies to make ‘lives truly worth living and ageing truly worth ageing’.