Last week an 85-year-old friend of mine raised a new investment fund. No surprise there, perhaps: Alan Patricof has spent 50 years working in venture capital and remains determined to stay in the game in a way that reflects New York’s hyperactive work culture.
But his latest initiative has a Covid-19 twist. The Primetime fund, launched with business partner Abby Levy, plans to invest in start-ups that are serving the “elderly”, defined as those aged over 65. (Never mind that this no longer looks so terribly “old” today.)
But both Patricof and Levy think it is an underserved market since, they say, about 10,000 Americans turn 65 each day, the elderly already account for more than half of spending and the west has an ageing demographic. The US Census Bureau calculates that “seniors” account for 15 per cent of the population today, but will reach 22 per cent by 2050. “[This is] a sector that has long been ignored by venture capital money,” says Patricof.