In college, I began to notice a pattern that stayed with me: many elderly individuals were being moved into nursing homes not because they needed intensive medical care, but because they lacked everyday support at home. Conversations with caregivers and families revealed a quiet frustration—there were few options that allowed older adults to remain independent without sacrificing safety or dignity.

Motivated by this gap, my team and I conducted informal field research for an entrepreneurship course, speaking with seniors, family members, and care coordinators. What we found was striking: while technology has transformed nearly every aspect of daily life, the elderly care sector has lagged behind, still relying on outdated, one-size-fits-all solutions. There was a clear need for a more flexible, modern, and human-centered approach. I set out to create a system that supported aging in place rather than defaulting to premature institutionalization.

That insight became the foundation for HomeLink, a venture I began developing during my senior year. The project ultimately won our class’s end-of-year venture capital funding award, validating both the problem we identified and our proposed solution. After graduating, I continued building HomeLink beyond the classroom.

Rather than reinventing the wheel, HomeLink is built on the idea of coordination and accessibility. We leverage existing smart-home controls and sensors, along with community-based care resources that already exist, and centralize them into a single, intuitive system designed specifically for elderly users. By bringing these tools together in one place, HomeLink functions as a user-friendly, one-stop platform that simplifies daily living while preserving independence.

Rather than replacing human care, our goal is to enhance it. We are creating a personalized support system that respects autonomy, preserves dignity, and responds to the emotional as well as physical needs of aging adults. What began as a class project became a long-term commitment: to rethink how we care for the elderly, and to design systems that allow people to age with independence, comfort, and respect.