Should I Build It Should I Build It
11 Jun 2025
Tech

an It helping service for senior having trouble on computer and ...

...smartphone

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Swamp

The market has seen several mediocre solutions that nobody loves. Unless you can offer something fundamentally different, you’ll likely struggle to stand out or make money.

Should You Build It?

Don't build it.

Your are here

Your idea for an IT help service for seniors joins a category where many have tried to provide solutions, but few have truly broken through. With 5 similar products already identified, the market isn't exactly untapped, suggesting moderate competition. Engagement, gauged by the average number of comments on similar products, is low, indicating that current solutions might not be fully addressing user needs or generating excitement. This doesn't necessarily mean the idea is without merit, but that the space is challenging. To succeed, you'll need a strategy that either dramatically improves upon existing solutions or targets a specific niche within the senior demographic that is currently underserved. Focus on understanding where current options fall short and what unique value proposition you can offer to stand out from the crowd.

Recommendations

  1. Begin with thorough market research to pinpoint precisely why existing IT support services for seniors haven't achieved widespread adoption or rave reviews. Understand the common pain points and unmet needs that seniors experience with technology assistance. Don't just assume you know the problems; validate them through surveys, interviews, and user testing with your target demographic.
  2. Instead of offering a broad, generalized service, identify a specific segment of the senior population with unique tech support requirements. For example, seniors with visual impairments, those who use specific devices like hearing aids or medical devices, or those who are particularly interested in a specific app or technology. Specialization allows you to tailor your services and marketing efforts for maximum impact, which can also help with initial customer acquisition.
  3. Rather than directly competing with existing IT help services, explore partnering with them or creating tools that augment their offerings. Consider building software or resources that these providers can use to enhance their service delivery and cater to a wider range of senior clients, making existing solutions more comprehensive.
  4. Before investing significant resources into your idea, evaluate related problems that may present more promising opportunities for innovation. Perhaps there's a greater need for user-friendly interfaces on devices designed for seniors, or for simplified cybersecurity solutions tailored to their specific vulnerabilities. This could lead to the development of more viable products.
  5. Given the number of existing solutions and the general sentiment around similar products, seriously consider whether your time and energy might be better spent pursuing a different, more promising business opportunity. Don't fall in love with the idea itself; be prepared to pivot or abandon it if the market doesn't support your vision.
  6. Based on the discussion in similar products, think deeply about how you will handle the diversity of accents and dialects among the elderly user base. Plan for a robust training program or AI adaptation strategy, to make sure that you can serve the broadest audience possible.
  7. Develop a clear plan on how to address the issues related to flaky internet connections that were reported by similar services. For example, offer asynchronous help via email/screenshot exchange, which can be consumed by the senior at their own pace, whenever the internet connection is restored. This could significantly increase the perceived value of your service and reduce frustration.

Questions

  1. What specific aspects of existing IT support services do seniors find most frustrating or difficult to use, and how can your solution overcome these challenges in a way that is both effective and easy to understand?
  2. How will you ensure the privacy and security of seniors' data and devices when providing IT support, and what specific measures will you implement to build trust and address concerns about potential scams or malware?
  3. What is your long-term vision for the business model, and how will you achieve sustainability and profitability while maintaining affordability and accessibility for seniors with limited incomes?

Your are here

Your idea for an IT help service for seniors joins a category where many have tried to provide solutions, but few have truly broken through. With 5 similar products already identified, the market isn't exactly untapped, suggesting moderate competition. Engagement, gauged by the average number of comments on similar products, is low, indicating that current solutions might not be fully addressing user needs or generating excitement. This doesn't necessarily mean the idea is without merit, but that the space is challenging. To succeed, you'll need a strategy that either dramatically improves upon existing solutions or targets a specific niche within the senior demographic that is currently underserved. Focus on understanding where current options fall short and what unique value proposition you can offer to stand out from the crowd.

Recommendations

  1. Begin with thorough market research to pinpoint precisely why existing IT support services for seniors haven't achieved widespread adoption or rave reviews. Understand the common pain points and unmet needs that seniors experience with technology assistance. Don't just assume you know the problems; validate them through surveys, interviews, and user testing with your target demographic.
  2. Instead of offering a broad, generalized service, identify a specific segment of the senior population with unique tech support requirements. For example, seniors with visual impairments, those who use specific devices like hearing aids or medical devices, or those who are particularly interested in a specific app or technology. Specialization allows you to tailor your services and marketing efforts for maximum impact, which can also help with initial customer acquisition.
  3. Rather than directly competing with existing IT help services, explore partnering with them or creating tools that augment their offerings. Consider building software or resources that these providers can use to enhance their service delivery and cater to a wider range of senior clients, making existing solutions more comprehensive.
  4. Before investing significant resources into your idea, evaluate related problems that may present more promising opportunities for innovation. Perhaps there's a greater need for user-friendly interfaces on devices designed for seniors, or for simplified cybersecurity solutions tailored to their specific vulnerabilities. This could lead to the development of more viable products.
  5. Given the number of existing solutions and the general sentiment around similar products, seriously consider whether your time and energy might be better spent pursuing a different, more promising business opportunity. Don't fall in love with the idea itself; be prepared to pivot or abandon it if the market doesn't support your vision.
  6. Based on the discussion in similar products, think deeply about how you will handle the diversity of accents and dialects among the elderly user base. Plan for a robust training program or AI adaptation strategy, to make sure that you can serve the broadest audience possible.
  7. Develop a clear plan on how to address the issues related to flaky internet connections that were reported by similar services. For example, offer asynchronous help via email/screenshot exchange, which can be consumed by the senior at their own pace, whenever the internet connection is restored. This could significantly increase the perceived value of your service and reduce frustration.

Questions

  1. What specific aspects of existing IT support services do seniors find most frustrating or difficult to use, and how can your solution overcome these challenges in a way that is both effective and easy to understand?
  2. How will you ensure the privacy and security of seniors' data and devices when providing IT support, and what specific measures will you implement to build trust and address concerns about potential scams or malware?
  3. What is your long-term vision for the business model, and how will you achieve sustainability and profitability while maintaining affordability and accessibility for seniors with limited incomes?

  • Confidence: Medium
    • Number of similar products: 5
  • Engagement: Low
    • Average number of comments: 3
  • Net use signal: 20.7%
    • Positive use signal: 20.7%
    • Negative use signal: 0.0%
  • Net buy signal: 0.0%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.0%
    • Negative buy signal: 0.0%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

Similar products

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helpmee.ai - Unlock tech independence for your parents with AI

24 May 2024 Artificial Intelligence Computers Virtual Assistants

Through patient, voice-enabled conversations and screen sharing, helpmee.ai guides seniors step-by-step through any computer problem.

Helpmee.ai is a voice and screen-sharing AI tool designed to help seniors with computer problems. Users express appreciation for the product's launch and concept, congratulating the team and intending to share it. Questions arise regarding AI's ability to handle diverse tech issues, accents, and dialects effectively. Users also inquire about the privacy and security measures in place to protect seniors.

Users expressed concerns regarding the intuitiveness of the interface for elderly users who may be less tech-savvy. There were also inquiries about the product's ability to accurately process and understand the diverse range of accents and dialects that may be present among the elderly user base.

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Go Go Quincy - Tech Help for Older Adults

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Hi everyone, my name’s Ryan and I’m working on GoGoQuincy (https://gogoquincy.com) to help seniors have a better, safer experience on the internet.We started three years ago, after my grandfather clicked on a phishing link for what he thought was a fraudulent charge on his credit card statement and put in his card info. It cost my family ~$3,000.This is surprisingly common — over 300,000 Americans were victims of phishing scams last year, and a huge amount of those victims are older adults.To safely use technology and to avoid scams, older adults typically rely on their children and grandchildren to help support them, as I’m sure many here on HN are familiar with.Older adults are way more comfortable calling a real person than sifting through help docs, or using fully automated software, but most companies steer their users away from real live phone support as much as possible. For people who aren’t as tech-savvy, it can be really hard to work through those site experiences and get help.Our mission is to provide that live help for any website, email, or general tech help that older adults need. When a senior enters their phone number on our site, we call them in around 30 seconds to assist.We’ve helped thousands of older adults already, and some of the most common reasons people call are to check if an email is trustworthy, for help navigating a website, or for assistance with setting up devices like printers. This even extends to shopping, ensuring a website is safe, and understanding telehealth options.We’re starting to work on building more software here, to automatically address the most common reasons people come to us for help that I mentioned above and get people even faster help, but ultimately we’ll always have the phone support — and make it super easy to call us — to handle the more complex cases.While I know this isn’t the typical Show HN with a huge focus on impressive software, I hope it still resonates, and I’d really love to hear any ideas, personal experiences, and feedback from the community.

The comments are overwhelmingly positive, praising the mission to help seniors with technology. Users appreciate the idea of remote tech support for parents and acknowledge the challenges of flaky internet and costly local services. There is also gratitude expressed for the acknowledgment of the service's impact.

Users have raised concerns about the product's potential to build a sustainable long-term business and have also reported issues with unreliable internet connectivity, making it difficult to debug.

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ONYPhone – Android Launcher for Older Adults

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Hi all,Hello from team SilverActivities, a Singapore-based company that develops digital activities and apps for older adults.We launched the ONY Phone Android launcher a few months ago. After engaging with many seniors and seeing them struggle with using modern tech interfaces, we decided to develop our version of the Android launcher for older adults. We found many such apps on the Play store, but they were all made when smartphones came out and looked sad and boring.A smartphone launcher designed for older adults does not need to be boring. We aim to present technology that empowers older adults to enjoy using their smartphones. We have created this app for older adults with a stylish and intuitive interface. So, if your elderly loved ones find the current Android phone's interface confusing and frustrating, the ONY app can help.We hope you will give it a try. We value your feedback and look forward to updating the apps with necessary and useful features.

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