Dementia Phone Company teleCalm Rings $100K MassChallenge Prize

DALLAS, Oct. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- teleCalm®, the leading phone service provider for seniors and caregivers living with dementia, won a $100,000 Diamond Award from MassChallenge Texas in Austin's 2019 accelerator program.

MassChallenge awards highlight top startups which are best positioned to grow and provide positive social impact. teleCalm was one of five equity-free award winners selected from 689 applicants. teleCalm will leverage this prize to advance its unique dementia-focused phone service which keeps seniors safely connected with family and friends, protects against elder fraud, and stops phone-related stress.

"teleCalm's phone service solves telephone problems increasingly faced by caregivers and seniors with dementia," says Tavis Schriefer, teleCalm's Co-Founder and CEO. "Customers tell us that teleCalm provides life-changing benefits as challenges of dementia surface and progress."

Growing Need
Over 8 million seniors live with dementia today, growing to over 10 million by 2025, often causing telephone problems from confusion. For example, inappropriate 911 calls strain EMS resources and cause fines to families. Over 70% of elder fraud involves telephones, leaving seniors with dementia especially vulnerable to financial loss. teleCalm's customer data shows that over 62% of attempted calls risk problems like these. Before teleCalm, phones were no longer an option for many seniors, further increasing senior isolation.

Impact
teleCalm addresses this need with service that lets seniors safely phone family and friends. With teleCalm, caregivers personalize phone service features according to individual disease progression, whether their loved-one lives at home, in an assisted living, or a memory care community.

"MassChallenge provided an awesome experience and has already helped us impact more families in need," said Schriefer. "This award expands our reach and fuels our passion to deliver dignity to seniors and caregivers and improve their quality of life." 

teleCalm serves customers across the United States through various distribution channels. The MassChallenge award will help teleCalm accelerate growth through a mix of awareness campaigns and service enhancements.

About teleCalm:
teleCalm® stops problem calls for seniors living with Alzheimer's and dementia, both at home and in senior living communities. teleCalm's patented phone service can be life-changing, empowering the family caregiver to stop late-night calls, repeated calls, 911 abuse, and protect seniors from deliberate and targeted fraud. teleCalm helps reduce senior isolation, keeping loved ones safely connected with family and friends. Learn more at teleCalmProtects.com.

About MassChallenge:
MassChallenge is a global network of zero-equity startup accelerators. Headquartered in the United States with locations in Boston, Israel, Mexico, Switzerland, Texas, and the UK, MassChallenge is committed to strengthening the global innovation ecosystem by supporting high-potential startups across all industries, from anywhere in the world. To date, more than 2,300 MassChallenge alumni have raised more than $5 billion in funding, generated more than $2.7 billion in revenue, and created more than 136,000 total jobs. Learn more about MassChallenge at MassChallenge.org.

Contact: 
Jill Schriefer, teleCalm, Inc.
[email protected]  888-701-0411

SOURCE teleCalm