From Wantepreneur to Entrepreneur
Solving Caregiver Isolation Together
When my co-founder, Rukmini Banerjee, shared her story on the Wantrepreneur to Entrepreneur podcast this summer, I couldn’t help but reflect on the journey we’re on together. Neither of us ever dreamed of being entrepreneurs. We didn’t write business plans in business school, or chase the startup dream for its own sake. But we do share something deeply entrepreneurial: a drive to build things that solve real problems.
That drive is what led us to CuroNow, a mobile platform designed to reduce the overwhelming mental load of caregiving while strengthening family connection. We’re building it because we’ve lived this challenge. Caregiving isn’t abstract—it’s personal, and it’s universal. Every one of us will age, and every family will eventually wrestle with the questions of how to care for loved ones while holding together careers, children, and community life.
Why We Believe in Community Over Competition
Since starting CuroNow, we’ve spoken with caregiver support groups, aging organizations, and countless other innovators who are working to ease the burden of caregiving. Some people might look at this landscape and ask: aren’t you competing? Our answer: no.
The caregiving challenge is too big for competition to be the focus. No single product, nonprofit, or startup will “own” this problem. The need is too widespread and too urgent. Instead, we believe in community over competition—that by sharing ideas, frameworks, and even mistakes, we can collectively support the millions of families who need help.
What we want to build is not just an app that schedules tasks or delegates responsibilities, but a tool that makes caregiving feel lighter and more joyful. A way to “share the load and share the love.” Because when siblings or children can collaborate without guilt or resentment, families grow stronger, not fractured.
Lessons From Healthcare: Prevention First
In my earlier career at Eli Lilly, I worked on a therapy for osteoporosis prevention. The core message was simple: prevent the first fracture, and you prevent the cascade of disability and suffering that follows. Similarly, in cardiology, prevention of the first heart attack saves lives and costs downstream.
We see caregiving through the same lens. The “first fracture” in family caregiving is often isolation—one sibling carrying the burden alone, a parent feeling cut off, or caregivers burning out quietly. Left untreated, isolation spirals into resentment, stress, and even serious health consequences.
The U.S. Surgeon General recently named loneliness an epidemic. Research shows loneliness is as deadly as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, increasing risks of dementia, heart disease, and early mortality. Nearly one in four older adults is socially isolated, and one in three adults over 45 report feeling lonely.
But prevention is possible. The world’s longest-living populations—the “Blue Zones”—prove it. People there thrive not because of advanced medicine, but because they are surrounded by community, family, and purpose. Connection itself is the best longevity medicine.
Why Caregivers Must Come First
At CuroNow, our philosophy is simple: if you take care of the caregiver, you take care of everyone. When caregivers are supported, they can show up with love instead of guilt, with presence instead of exhaustion. That’s what we’re designing for.
Imagine being able to lighten your sister’s responsibilities with one tap, or send encouragement to your brother who’s handling a doctor’s visit. Imagine replacing the silence of “I wish I could do more” with a playful nudge that says “I’ve got dinner covered—your turn to rest.” This is where technology, designed with empathy, can transform caregiving from a solo burden into a shared experience.
Systems Thinking, Human Connection
One of Rukmini’s most powerful insights from the podcast is her systems-thinking mindset. Inputs matter. Throughput matters. The output—better caregiver and patient outcomes—depends on what we design into the system at the start. For us, that means building connection into the core of the product, not bolting it on later.
We don’t want CuroNow to be just another scheduling app. We want it to be a connection app—one that makes caregiving easier and more meaningful. One that helps families thrive across generations, not just survive the logistics.
Looking Ahead
The tidal wave is coming: baby boomers are aging, and Generation X—the so-called sandwich generation—is already feeling squeezed. Without better tools, caregiving will overwhelm families and communities. But with the right vision, caregiving can become a force for connection and resilience.
That’s why we’re here. Not to compete. Not to monetize suffering. But to give back what we wish we had: a way to stay connected, share the love, and strengthen family bonds across time and distance.
As Rukmini said in her interview: “Take action. You won’t know what step 10 looks like until you take step one.” For us, that step is building CuroNow—with community at the center, connection as the goal, and prevention as the guiding principle.
Because in the end, aging is inevitable. But isolation doesn’t have to be.
Key Stats on Loneliness & Caregiving
1 in 3 adults over 45 report feeling lonely (National Academies of Sciences).
Chronic loneliness is as harmful to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day (U.S. Surgeon General).
In the U.S., over 53 million people provide unpaid care to aging loved ones — many experiencing caregiver burnout and sibling guilt.
At CuroNow, we believe that if you take care of the caregiver, you prevent the “first fracture” of isolation — and instead build a system of shared love and support.
Reflections from a grateful co-founder,
Pat
