🤖 AI Summary
Overview
This episode explores how demographic shifts, such as an aging population and shrinking workforce, are reshaping economies and industries. It highlights three stories: a 50-year-old entrepreneur navigating the challenges of starting a business, a pilot advocating for menopause policies in the workplace, and a healthcare company leveraging automation to address labor shortages.
Notable Quotes
- I don’t ever want to be in that position where something outside impacts my whole family.
– Stephen Ewell, on the motivation to start his skincare business.
- We are what they might consider micro businesses... but we’re invisible.
– Stephen Ewell, on the lack of support for senior entrepreneurs.
- Drones have always been on my mind for the very wrong reason—delivering bombs instead of blood.
– Hamad Jeilani, on repurposing technology for healthcare innovation.
🧴 Starting Over at 50: The Journey of a Senior Entrepreneur
- Stephen Ewell, founder of Datsit Skincare, started his business at 50 after losing freelance graphic design work during the pandemic.
- His journey began with homemade skincare products for his children, which evolved into a business after encouragement from his family.
- Ewell faced steep learning curves, including business planning and scaling, but credits programs like Startup for Seniors
for his growth.
- Despite financial challenges, he’s built a loyal customer base and is now seeking funding to scale.
✈️ Advocating for Women’s Health in the Workplace
- Suzanne Morgan, a British Airways pilot, has been instrumental in pushing for workplace policies addressing menopause.
- She created a support network for women pilots and successfully lobbied for changes, including adjustments to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) policies and uniform updates.
- Morgan emphasizes the importance of workplace guidelines for all life stages, from maternity to menopause, to retain women in the workforce.
- British Airways now recruits women up to age 55, reflecting a shift toward valuing life experience in second careers.
🤖 Automation in Healthcare: Addressing Labor Shortages
- Hamad Jeilani, co-founder of Apian, is using automation to tackle inefficiencies in healthcare logistics.
- Apian employs drones and robot dogs to transport medical samples, reducing delivery times from 35 minutes to 2 minutes.
- The company aims to automate entire healthcare logistics chains, from diagnostics to medical device delivery, to address the growing demands of an aging population.
- Jeilani envisions a future where automation minimizes human involvement in repetitive tasks, allowing healthcare systems to scale efficiently.
📉 The Economic Reality of Aging Populations
- The UK’s population aged 85+ is expected to double by 2045, while the workforce aged 20-34 is projected to decline.
- This demographic shift is driving innovation in industries like healthcare and creating opportunities for older workers to re-enter or pivot within the workforce.
- Both Ewell and Morgan highlight the economic and personal value of pursuing meaningful work later in life, despite systemic challenges.
🚀 The Future of Work and Technology
- Apian’s vision includes fully automated healthcare logistics within the next three years, leveraging drones, robotic process automation, and AI.
- The company’s approach underscores the necessity of technological solutions to sustain economic growth amid labor shortages.
- Jeilani’s work reflects a broader trend of using automation to address societal challenges, from healthcare to workforce productivity.
AI-generated content may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon as a sole source of truth.
📋 Episode Description
The number of people 85 years and older is expected to double in the U.K. over the next couple of decades. Apian, a London-based health care logistics company that partners with the National Health Service, thinks automation can help. We visit Apian to understand how automated robots could ease the burden of caring for an aging population. Also in this episode: A pilot pushes for menopause policies at British Airways, and an entrepreneur launches a skincare business at 50.
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