How the search for parents' senior living inspired local entrepreneur

For Greg Hearn, the desire to help families find appropriate assisted living and memory care situations was born out of personal experience.

“It was the experience of finding assisted living for my mom and my dad the first time and then, after my mom passed, for my dad a second time — across multiple states,” he told the AJC. “It was one of those problems whereas we were going through it both times, we had a lot of learning. We did things differently the second time than we did the first time.”

Hearn is seeking to cut some of that learning process down to size with his new, Atlanta-based startup Petunia, a platform that allows concerned parties to come into concert during the search for assisted living for loved ones. With a desire to stay ensconced in the automotive industry where most of his career experience lies, Hearn said he “successfully ignored” the pull to try something in aging for a while, but he eventually couldn’t resist researching senior living.

“There are a lot of really big, important problems to solve in the longevity or aging space, but this was one that I felt really passionate about based on my experience with it and was able to find a part of the many problems where I felt like I could make an impact,” Hearn said. “And that’s on that discovery and decision-making piece for families that are already making the decision that assisted living is needed for a loved one.”

After speaking with dozens of families, Hearn felt ready to proceed, and the platform launched in December.

Credit: Courtesy

Credit: Courtesy

After Google

The platform often caters to sandwich-generation caregivers and family members facing a daunting process of sifting through choices that abound, especially in metro areas like Atlanta. The stop in that process, Hearn explained, is often Google.

“After that Google search is where Petunia picks up, and we help drive your family to the point of the decision,” he said. “In that way, we’re not like a referral site, and we’re not trying to outdo Google … We all know how to Google ‘assisted living near me.’ It’s that point right afterwards where you go, ‘Now what?’”

Stakeholders and key functions

The buiness-to-consumer platform is designed to provide structure and guidance for stakeholders — usually family members — who want to be involved in the decision-making process. The SAAS-style pricing comes in a $9 per week or $29 per month, Hearn said, and its “region agnostic” bent makes it attractive for users nationwide.

“Typically, there’s one person who’s really driving the process. They’re the ones that are going to all the community tours gathering the information, but they’d like to bounce it off their brother, sister, cousin, aunt or uncle,” he said.

The platform allows for a few key functions. Users can set a goal like finding the best memory care for a relative by a certain date. They can log actions they’ve taken — maybe contacting communities and scheduling tours. They can also upload “artifacts,” Hearn said, such as photos from tours. Others involved in the decision can see all of these things in one place.

Another unique feature is a shielded, throwaway email issued to platform participants, which they can use to contact prospective facilities. Communities often collect emails during tours and add them to their marketing funnels, Hearn pointed out, so Petunia users can avoid clogging their personal inboxes this way.

Future expansion

Ultimately, Hearn said, the goal for Petunia is to move out of the strictly B2C space and offer the platform membership as part of employer benefit packages alongside options like financial wellness services and pet insurance. The current structure serves as a learning tool.

“We’re using the B2C channel to really accelerate our understanding of the value of what we’ve built and kind of drive product market fit in a way that we can more quickly build the customer proof points we need to make it to those channels,” he said.

Saving families time, money and effort so they can focus on their day-to-day lives and avoid the emotional whirlpool that senior community selection can be is the overarching vision. The platform currently has a handful of users, and the company is currently accepting feedback on enhancing the experience.

Along with the company’s mission to help users pare down an often overwhelming process come deeper layers, which the company name represents. Petunias often mean friendship, which can be a theme for those entering assisted living.

“You’re moving in partly because you probably value the community, the social aspect,” he said.

And the name is a throwback in Hearn’s own life.

“My maternal grandmother also had Alzheimer’s, and later on in her journey, she used to remember Porky Pig,” he said. “Porky Pig had a girlfriend named Petunia Pig, and it used to just make her laugh, and so it just seemed like the right thing as we’re coming full circle on this stuff.”

Find out more about Petunia at usepetunia.com.