Behind the Scenes at Senior Living 100: Startup Pitch Session

At Senior Living 100, the stakes were high and the room was packed for one of the most anticipated sessions of the conference: the Startup Pitch Session, a fast-paced pitch event where six handpicked startups presented breakthrough solutions built for senior living operators. I was lucky enough to represent AgeTech NYC as one of 4 judges for the session. Read on to learn more about some of the up-and-coming entrepreneurs building for senior living!

— Sarah Richard

P.S. - If you’re an AgeTech founder, investor, or operator based in the NYC area, please consider joining us at our next event, FirstGen Founders Powering the Care Economy 

🏆 Frontlines of Innovation: Startups Pitch to Senior Living’s Top Leaders

I was joined by industry vets Jim Coughlin (CEO, Northbridge Companies); Chris Nall (CTO, Atria Senior Living); and Zoe Zabor (Director, Primetime Partners). 

This year’s participants tackled everything from emotional wellness to credentialing and family-centered care. Here’s a quick look at the six presenting companies:

• Meela (Josh Sach) – A conversational AI companion designed to combat loneliness in older adults, already showing strong engagement and emotional health outcomes.
  

• ZNest (Bennett Kim) – An AI-powered hiring and credentialing automation platform purpose-built for senior living, saving hours per hire and reducing applicant drop-off.
  

• Total Life (Neelam Brar) – A nationwide Medicare-covered mental health service offering virtual counseling, lifestyle medicine and wellness programs tailored for aging adults.
  

• Vistim Labs (James Hamet) – Cognitive and neurodegenerative disease monitoring software bringing PET-scan-like insight to assisted living and memory care—without the cost or invasiveness.
  

• Primary Record (Jean Ross, RN) – A care coordination and onboarding platform streamlining transitions, communication, and external service management.
  

• Plan of Correction 365 (Matt Just) – Software that auto-generates plans of correction with AI, reducing risk and saving time.

After thoughtful deliberation, two clear winners emerged:

🎤 Audience Choice Award: Meela
The room responded emotionally to Meela’s focus on loneliness—a deeply human challenge facing nearly every senior living community. With 90-day engagement retention rates above 50% and touching testimonials, Meela won over operators who know firsthand how hard it is to address emotional wellness at scale.

🧠 Judges’ Pick: ZNest
The judges recognized ZNest’s practical, immediate impact on one of the industry's thorniest problems: hiring and compliance. Their AI platform impressed with its ability to navigate credential checks, automate onboarding, and ensure regulatory accuracy—all without increasing staff burden.

Both startups stood out not just for their innovation, but for their deep understanding of the operational realities of senior living. And the good news? We’re just getting started.

👀 Coming Up Next

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sitting down with the founders of winners Meela and ZNest to unpack:

• What inspired their startup

• How they measure outcomes

• What traction they’ve gained so far

• What’s next on their roadmap

If you’re an operator looking for practical solutions—or a founder navigating the AgeTech landscape—these interviews will be packed with insights, candid lessons, and real-world use cases.

Stay tuned. The future of senior living is being built right now.