Simran Sharma: Revolutionising elder care in India

At just 22 years of age, Simran Sharma has already marked three years as the co-founder of ‘Yodda’, a venture she embarked on with her father, Tarun Sharma, to offer eldercare services and solutions provider offering integrated and sustainable services (medical support and non-medical conveyance) with the touch of a button on the app.

Simran Sharma joined her father, Tarun Sharma, after the family struggled with immense personal loss, to launch Yodda eldercare. As of today, Yodda has successfully saved the lives of numerous senior citizens with their emergency services by ensuring elders get immediate assistance and attention when requested.

‘Yodda’, headquartered in Pune, started with a focus on providing at-home care for senior citizens but has since evolved to address a broader spectrum of needs encompassing safety, security, and wellbeing for all individuals in India, especially women and young adults. Their impressive reach of over 14,000 users is a testament to their impact. In an exclusive interview, we delve into Simran’s experiences, the company’s evolution, and her vision for its future.

Simran never wanted to be an entrepreneur and was looking to pursue medicine at the University of Waterloo in Canada. “In 2016, my grandfather suffered from a paralytic stroke which took away his ability to sit, stand, talk, and eat. Six months later, he passed away. At that point, we realized that India lacks a quick central emergency response system, such as 911 in the USA. This would play a major role later in our offerings. Then, right before the COVID-19 pandemic, we lost my grandmother to an aggressive form of breast cancer. While of course, there was a tremendous emotional loss, a realization came to light regarding the logistical challenges that occur with old age, especially if their children are not with them.” Said Simran Sharma, Co-Founder and Lead Product Manager, Yodda Elder Care.

After seeing the potential of the idea her father had, which was providing a source of support to the elders, Simran had a change of heart and decided to help her father to improve the quality of life for senior citizens.

Simran Sharma added, “As a doctor, that would have been my calling, but I am grateful that I was able to achieve it here. Furthermore, while there is no shortage of doctors, there is certainly a shortage of companies like Yodda. In order to make my education fit the realm of work at Yodda, I ended up modifying my degree to include courses in geriatrics and product management.”

These incidents gave rise to solutions like, Yodda Care and Yodda EnablePlus. Yodda Care became an end-to-end managed service platform, primarily catered to senior citizens, whereas Yodda EnablePlus is a community-based, first-response emergency management system, for women, children, young adults, and of course, elders. “We have been mindful to keep the software extremely user-friendly to ensure that those who are not comfortable with technology are able to use the platform seamlessly.” Simran added.

As the co-founder of Yodda, Simran manages the internal affairs of the business, such as product strategy, operations, and technology, while her father looks after external activities such as sales, marketing, and fundraising. But from time to time, both focus on the complimentary aspects of the business together. “My father has been a professional CEO for many years and has done three other startups previously. I am extremely blessed to have his guidance and support in my first entrepreneurial venture. We also make a great team because we think alike. The only problem with this is that work never seems to end”.

The journey from nearly joining medical school to becoming an entrepreneur was never a smooth journey for Simran. Working with typically older colleagues was a new challenge where people often assumed that she was in the role because of her father. Talking about the challenges faced, Simran added, “To be completely honest, it is often initially a challenge as the people whom I work with, inside and outside of Yodda, are typically older than me. This sometimes results in people undermining my capabilities and can create hurdles in being taken seriously on my own merit. However, once a strong working relationship has been established and others understand that I am knowledgeable in the space, committed to what I do, and open to learning and feedback, these challenges quickly fade away.”