This document introduces Symbio, a service model that facilitates a mutually beneficial exchange of services between seniors and other community members. Seniors can offer services like storytelling, tutoring, gardening, or professional knowledge, while also receiving services that help them stay social, active, and financially stable. The service aims to support successful aging by matching people through an online platform and mobile app. Key aspects of the model include raising awareness through community leaders, organizations, and word-of-mouth, as well as creating service matches and fostering connections that benefit both seniors and the community.

1. a mutually beneficial, sustainable value exchange
service model to support successful aging
INTRODUCING
symbio

2. symbio
Mutualismorreciprocalaltruism
isasymbioticrelationshipbetween
individualsofdifferentspecies
wherebothindividualsbenefit.

3. symbio
INHERENTSENIORVALUES
presence
time
knowledge

4. symbio
SENIORNEEDS
besocial
conservemoney
exercise

5. symbio
Physicalactivitycouldchangeaging’sarc.
“Ifwewanttolivealongtimebut
alsokeepourmemories,ourbasic
selves,intact,keepmoving.”
~ NewYorkTimes

6. symbio
babysittingmuseumtours
games
dogwalking petsitting gardening biblestudy
tutoring storiesteachlanguageteachmusicprofessional
knowledge
yogaclasses transportation
plumbing staying
connected
artsupplies
landscaping
walkinggroups
exerciseclass
hairdresser
techtutorfinancial
counseling
beautify
(nails,etc.)
SENIORSCANOFFER
PROVIDERSCANOFFER
inexchangefor

7. symbio
THESENIORPERSONAS
cheryl bill jane
She’s the easiest to pull into a service model.
As someone with her financial background
and ability to manage activities, she would
be ideal for a swap of services. If she took
part in the running/managing aspect of this
business, she could partake in the the activity
services portion as well. At least in my opin-
ion, this would be a volunteer situation. If she
manages the financial activities, or at least
comes on board as a consultant for the ser-
vice, then she can join in two physical activi-
ties a week without paying any kind of fee.
Given he’s stoic and doesn’t appear to be
much of a “joiner”, I would shelve any ma-
jor activities where he has do some major
group event. If it were a walking club, as
I think was suggested at one point, then
he could do that. I think given his activity
level, this is something where we should
keep him gardening or hold the walking
activities at park n rec.
Cultural activities would be mentally stim-
ulated and get her out of the facility. If
this is the service model where someone
purchases a shoe, outfit, what-have-you,
then the proceeds would a good oppor-
tunity to provide Jane (and others) with
the chance to attend events. Museums,
concerts, anything where she’s stimulated
with music, history, or art will keep her
entertained and provide her with a social
setting. If this can tie into an interactive
program, where she’s challenged to tie
what’s she gained from the event to some
kind of elearning program, then she would
have all the more opportunity to maintain
or increase her cognitive function.

8. symbio
THEPROVIDERPERSONAS
adam lucia eva
Graduating in a few years, Adam is eager to learn
more about what he will have to face in the pro-
fessional world. He could use some insight into
the professional practice of the two different
career options he contemplating between. He
would be interested in talking with an experi-
enced professional who’s been in the world of
finance and has a wealth of information to share
from their lifelong career experience. He is willing
and able to render services like technology tutor-
ing or landscaping. He is also willing to provide
transportation in the used car he bought with the
savings from his part-time job at the university
bookstore. He could also use help with the french
language class he is taking this semester. He was
looking for a language buddy who would con-
verse with him to make sure his pronunciations
and sentence formations are right.
With no immediate family nearby, Lucia finds it
very difficult to find caretakers at the last mo-
ment when she has a client at her hairdressing
salon. In exchange for babysitting services
that she needs, she is willing to do their hair
or nails in the comforts of their home or be a
walking buddy (along with her child) in the
park as part of their daily dose of exercise. Be-
ing a young mother, financial budgeting is also
something that she could really use. Advice
from a retired personal finance professional
could go a long way in figuring out where she
could cut corners and efficiently save up for
that small house she has been wanting to buy
- hopefully in the near future.
Eva has a lot of time at hand since her chil-
dren have started going to school and become
independent. Since they are in their teenage
years, she knows she needs to give them their
space and at the same time be there for them
when they need her. This has given her more
time to indulge in activities that have always
interested her but didn’t have time to pursue.
She has always wanted to learn the guitar and
is prepared to invest in this without breaking
the family’s bank. She also wants to keep the
schedule flexible so if any of her children need
her, she can be there for them. She is prepared
to offer her companionship in exercise class
(which she has been meaning to do anyway),
walking, provide to/fro transportation in her
minivan (which can be made wheelchair ac-
cessible) or even be a technology tutor. Muse-
um tours is another service she would definite-
ly be interested in, especially if it was being
offered by a scholar/student/retired professor
in the respective field.

9. symbio
babysitting techtutor
IT’SASYMBIOMATCH!
inexchangefor
lucia’ssoncanoffer:
luciagetsbabysittingfor
freeonalowsalary lucia’ssonsocializeswith
anothergeneration
sonteachestech that
comesnaturallytohim
billcanoffer:
billgetsmoving:activities
withayoungteen
billsocializeswithboth
luciaandherson
billlearnstech/grows
neurons/staysconnected

10. symbio
USERJOURNEYMAP
aware
Community Leadership: Key figures within community help spread message of new service.
Local Organizations: Churches, retirement communities, political organizations, etc. advocate for
service by telling their patrons and members.
Local Publications: Advertisements in local publications such as newspapers, newsletters and flyers
help draw attention.
TV Interstitials: Ads during local programming can help drive traffic and recognition of service.
Word of Mouth: Early adopters can help spread the service via their friends and personal networks.

11. symbio
USERJOURNEYMAP
aware
Community Leadership: Key figures
within community help spread
message of new service.
Local Organizations: Churches,
retirement communities, political
organizations, etc. advocate for
service by telling their patrons and
members.
Local Publications: Advertisements
in local publications such as
newspapers, newsletters and flyers
help draw attention.
TV Interstitials: Ads during local
programming can help drive traffic
and recognition of service.
Word of Mouth: Early adopters can
help spread the service via their
friends and personal networks.
join
Google Search: User that has heard about the service conducts a search to find out
more and ends up at the website.
Direct Web Traffic: User recalls the website and visits directly.
Application Store: User goes to their mobile app store to search and find the
service’s related application to download and join.
In Person Sign Up: Possible physical locations offer place to sign up. Sign up drives
can be conducted at high traffic senior events (e.g. Bingo night, church, etc...)

12. symbio
USERJOURNEYMAP
aware
Community Leadership: Key figures
within community help spread
message of new service.
Local Organizations: Churches,
retirement communities, political
organizations, etc. advocate for
service by telling their patrons and
members.
Local Publications: Advertisements
in local publications such as
newspapers, newsletters and flyers
help draw attention.
TV Interstitials: Ads during local
programming can help drive traffic
and recognition of service.
Word of Mouth: Early adopters can
help spread the service via their
friends and personal networks.
join
Google Search: User that has heard
about the service conducts a search
to find out more and ends up at the
website.
Direct Web Traffic: User recalls the
website and visits directly.
Application Store: User goes to
their mobile app store to search and
find the service’s related application
to download and join.
In Person Sign Up: Possible physical
locations offer place to sign up.
Sign up drives can be conducted at
high traffic senior events (e.g. Bingo
night, church, etc...)
use
Posting Services: User creates their list of services they can
offer the community for others to view.
Finding Services: User hunts down services that they’re
interested in receiving.
Creating the Match: User gets paired with someone that
needs what they have in return.
Service is Performed: User performs their service and has
their service performed in return.

13. symbio
USERJOURNEYMAP
aware
Community Leadership: Key figures
within community help spread
message of new service.
Local Organizations: Churches,
retirement communities, political
organizations, etc. advocate for
service by telling their patrons and
members.
Local Publications: Advertisements
in local publications such as
newspapers, newsletters and flyers
help draw attention.
TV Interstitials: Ads during local
programming can help drive traffic
and recognition of service.
Word of Mouth: Early adopters can
help spread the service via their
friends and personal networks.
join
Google Search: User that has heard
about the service conducts a search
to find out more and ends up at the
website.
Direct Web Traffic: User recalls the
website and visits directly.
Application Store: User goes to
their mobile app store to search and
find the service’s related application
to download and join.
In Person Sign Up: Possible physical
locations offer place to sign up.
Sign up drives can be conducted at
high traffic senior events (e.g. Bingo
night, church, etc...)
use
Posting Services: User creates their
list of services they can offer the
community for others to view.
Finding Services: User hunts down
services that they’re interested in
receiving.
Creating the Match: User gets paired
with someone that needs what they
have in return.
Service is Performed: User performs
their service and has their service
performed in return.
develop
Develop Fostering Community: The
expanded connections make the users
feel less lonely and more engaged in the
community.
Better Health Outcomes Users start living
longer, more fulfilling lives when they feel
more tied to the community.

14. symbio
USERJOURNEYMAP
aware
Community Leadership: Key figures
within community help spread
message of new service.
Local Organizations: Churches,
retirement communities, political
organizations, etc. advocate for
service by telling their patrons and
members.
Local Publications: Advertisements
in local publications such as
newspapers, newsletters and flyers
help draw attention.
TV Interstitials: Ads during local
programming can help drive traffic
and recognition of service.
Word of Mouth: Early adopters can
help spread the service via their
friends and personal networks.
join
Google Search: User that has heard
about the service conducts a search
to find out more and ends up at the
website.
Direct Web Traffic: User recalls the
website and visits directly.
Application Store: User goes to
their mobile app store to search and
find the service’s related application
to download and join.
In Person Sign Up: Possible physical
locations offer place to sign up.
Sign up drives can be conducted at
high traffic senior events (e.g. Bingo
night, church, etc...)
use
Posting Services: User creates their
list of services they can offer the
community for others to view.
Finding Services: User hunts down
services that they’re interested in
receiving.
Creating the Match: User gets paired
with someone that needs what they
have in return.
Service is Performed: User performs
their service and has their service
performed in return.
develop
Develop Fostering Community: The
expanded connections make the users
feel less lonely and more engaged in
the community.
Better Health Outcomes Users start
living longer, more fulfilling lives when
they feel more tied to the community.
leave
Rate Experience: Systems asks user
to rate their experience.
Rate Service Provider: System asked
user to rate the person and the work
they did.
Thank You: User is thanked for using
service and encouraged to again and
spreading the word.

15. symbioforthefuture
symbioathleticwear
Appeal to millennials & young adults
exercising in their prime to create a one-for-one model
benefiting people exercising into
their 90s and beyond.
Uses the Tom’s shoes One for One Model
(for every pair of shoes you buy, Tom’s helps a person in need)
Create a covetable line of workout clothing that galvanizes the social change loved by millennials.
If you buy a pair of yoga pants, money goes to providing yoga for seniors. If you buy these running shoes, a
bit of the profits goes toward developing a group walk for seniors in a particular location. If you buy dance
shoes, money goes to creating dance classes with music from each generation/decade. They will essentially
be setting up the programs they and their parents will need, long in advance.

16. symbioforthefuture
symbiopiggyback
Update the app/site to allow for
parallel services based on location
Uses geographical model to allow two services to happen simultaneously
is there a way to double up on service if someone is doing it anyway?
For example, if “Adam” is on his way to Target and he passes an assisted living center,
is there a way to notify him if “Bill” who lives there wants to go to Target too? Adam could pick up
Bill on his way, and drop him off on his way home.

17. thankyou