Proving Age is No Barrier to Entrepreneurship, the Founders of PacSana Are Hoping Their New Wearable Will Transform the Elderly Care Sector, Writes Gerry Byrne.
Will a discrete electronic bracelet help the elderly care industry’s global staffing shortage? Fergal Duignan, I certainly hope so, says PacSana’s CEO and co-founder.
Not all PacSana pioneers past their prime are as old as Duignan (50). His co-founder, Arthur ‘Boots’ Mangan is closer to 70 (the nickname was bestowed by explorer Tim Severin when In a large sailing currach, Mangan crewed his 1976 recreation of St. Brendan’s voyage to Newfoundland.
Duignan mildly objects to being categorized as a geriatric entrepreneur and jokingly points out that the late 40s are the average age of new entrepreneurs, which is the same age he was when he made the decision to found PacSana.
This is not his first venture into business. He introduced Open Linux, an open source desktop management system, in 2003. He went back to sales in the IT industry because it wasn’t a huge success and he needed a steady income as a new father.
The fact that PacSana’s product was created by the partnership’s senior lemon, Arthur Mangan, should serve as additional evidence that age is irrelevant. It is a clever wristwatch-sized electronic device and mobile app that enables family members and caregivers to keep track of the health of elderly people who live alone.
Raising capital has undoubtedly not been hampered by age. The innovative technology developed by PacSana, which already finds extensive use in elderly care settings in New England, where the company has a second office, has just secured a second funding round from Duignan for €1 million.
Eoghan Quigley and Richard Hayes, who have had a number of successful exits, led the funding. Operating company Pac Sane Ltd raised €650.000 in January 2021 from the Pradn Family Partnership, Howard Roberts, Frank Dolphin, Paschal Naylor, and Thomas Archer Ballina Investments. Through Enterprise Ireland, PacSana has received a taxpayer investment of €150,000, and Duignan has contributed €50,000 to the project as well.
According to Deignan, the main purpose of the product is to keep people out of nursing homes for as long as possible. The PacSana bracelet transmits vital health information to family members or caregivers, allowing them to determine how long an elderly person can continue to live independently.
In this market, alarm features are the main component of most wearables. The PacSana device has a panic button, but its main advantage is that it lets caregivers keep an eye on things like gait, rest intervals, and mobility.
The information that PacSana collects can be used as useful proxies for everyday activities. “We can obtain useful insights if the patients are not maintaining their regular patterns,” Duignan explains. “They might require assistance getting out of bed in the morning or falling asleep at night.
“We have spent close to €1m on R&D and we expect to spend perhaps another €1.2m on top of that,” Deignan explains. “Revenue should reach €1m by the end of this year,” he adds.
Despite the fact that the US has a sizable population that is aging, PacSana is not just there for demographic reasons. In contrast to Ireland, where nursing homes are the only option, the elderly care industry in the US is tier- and stratified-based on the level of care required. Services can include everything from quick, daily home visits to independent living in a watched apartment to a variety of environments that are more closely monitored and nursed.
As they get older, patients are advanced gradually through these tiers. According to Duignan, PacSana enables many patients to remain in the independent living tiers for a longer period of time and as a result, uses less scarce manpower. Additionally, PacSana can place products in numerous facilities as a result of a single sale because the elderly care sector in the US is characterized by large operators.
At the end of 2021, PacSana had incurred start-up losses of €330,000, excluding €430,000 in development costs that were capitalized. Duignan predicts revenue growth “many multiples” of what Right now, PacSana is content. “We believe it will significantly change the market, and we are considering other virtual care offerings.”
