SPEAKER_01 0:09

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Retirement Navigator. I am your host, Kwame Kware. Today I have um an amazing group of people that I want to introduce you to. But before that, let me talk to you about something that I've discovered recently. I get introduced to a lot of products, and one of the most exciting products that I have come to discover recently is called Snug. It is a tool, a safety tool that helps people that live alone. And for my audience, I know that one-third of older adults actually live alone. And for seniors 75 and older, almost 50% are living alone. And those numbers tell me that you know there is an opportunity to talk about safety. How do you live alone and also make sure that if something happens that your loved ones know and to respond very quickly? And so today I'm going to talk to you about Snug, uh, a tool that is free but also the easiest to use. And once I explain it to you, you're going to understand why I am trying to get this in everybody's hands that I know. And so I am here today with Jen Van Vlack, who is the inspiration behind this whole tool. And she's going to tell you her incredible story of how she got involved in this. And then I have uh Preet Anand, who is the CEO and co-founder of this product, and he's going to share with us later down how this SNART tool works and how it can help you live alone and also cover the safety aspect to make sure that your loved one knows every time what is happening to you. So, Jen and Preet, welcome to today's video.

SPEAKER_03 1:57

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Thanks. So, Jen, we're gonna start with you. You are the inspiration behind this product, and I feel like stories are best told when they are told by the person actually who lived it. So tell us how you got involved with Snug.

SPEAKER_03 2:10

Okay. Um, I live in the villages, Florida. I'm retired, uh registered nurse, and I live alone. And I didn't think too much about what would happen if I didn't wake up. I didn't think about it until I got hit in the head. Ten years ago, I got hit in the head playing pickleball because you move to the villages, you start playing pickleball. Anyway, um, I got hit in the head, and that night I had a seizure. And I I woke up with my tongue chewed up, and I like I said, I'm a nurse and I knew I'd had a seizure, and I got to thinking about what's gonna happen if I don't wake up. I can't just push a button if I didn't wake up. So I envisioned an app. I just want an app. I'm very techie, I love my phone, I love my my Apple Watch. I envisioned an app. I just want to turn on my phone every morning on my nightstand and tap a button that says I'm okay. And if I don't tap it, then I'm not okay. And my message goes out to my family and friends. Well, I had contacted um Preet, I had contacted a company about an Apple Watch app. I love to give people ideas, and so I had contacted Preet and he emailed me back and said, I'd like to talk to you about how seniors use technology. So we set up a call. I'll never forget, I know right where I was in the house when he called. And so while we talked about the Apple Watch app, I told him about what I I wanted. I want to just be able to turn on my phone and hit a button.

SPEAKER_02 3:36

Right.

SPEAKER_03 3:36

He loved it. He loved it. And within a week, we had a prototype. I went to the Apple User Group here in the villages and presented it to get volunteers to help pilot it. And um, and then I also went to I have a walk, I have a walking club, the walking villagers that I started. And I went out to them and some other friends that I've also walked and did other things with, and we had a pilot group, and I mean, within a week we had the Snug app. We actually named it Snug. Snug is a bug in a rug, I guess. But um it was in it was just incredible. It was, you know, and and yes, it was a good idea, but the fact that Preet and his team listened and developed it, that is amazing to me, especially from an old woman. I mean, you know, a lot of people have good ideas and nothing ever happened.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

So no, this this so the thing that jumps out at me immediately is about, you know, the things that we don't think about when we live alone. You know, I'm sure you never really thought that you would be finding yourself in that situation. So, can you talk a little bit about what that moment was like and what what it got you thinking about the idea of living alone and what you need to do to make sure that if something happens that somebody, you know, at least knows or to check up on you, um, what did that do for you?

SPEAKER_03 5:03

Well, um, I've been alone for a while, and when I work before I retired, you know, someone's gonna find me by Monday if I don't show up for work. But um, and I I just didn't think about it so much. I just was so active and healthy, and I didn't think about it until this this event happened.

SPEAKER_02 5:21

Right.

SPEAKER_03 5:21

But but we have friends and a lot of people I know they text each other every day or they they try to if I uh they put they if you don't pick your your uh paper up from from you know, well I don't get the paper, you know, not everybody gets the paper, but they come up with all these other ideas, right? And none of those work would work for me. Right. And I I um like I said, you can't push a button if you didn't wake up. Yeah, and uh so I just wanted a way, if you don't do something, yeah, then yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:52

No, that makes sense, and so then it brings me to the other other products that are out there. We are bombarded every time with live, you know, alerts type products, but it requires you to push a button, you know what I mean, if the situation happened, but situations that are happening when you know you're sleeping or something happens suddenly, you know, there a lot of us we are home, right? We're home alone, living alone. Something happens. It seems to me that snug is designed to help uh make sure that if you don't take an action in the morning, which is pressing the button and saying I'm okay, that somebody is aware of that. So can you walk us through how that process works? Who who is notified, when are they notified, how soon can they get there?

SPEAKER_03 6:43

Okay, we have we have a free, absolutely free product, but we also have a paid version. So I'm gonna talk about both of them.

SPEAKER_02 6:49

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 6:50

And it is not, you do not have to check in in the morning if you don't want to. If you want to check in at night, uh we have people who want to check in at night, they check in at nine o'clock or 9.30 at night. Okay. We also have the availability um to pay a little, to pay a little $17.99 a year if you want to have three check-ins. I I'm actually working for Snug now, doing customer service. So I do the support tickets. A lot of people out there that are watching this have probably gotten an email from me from Jane. But anyway, um, I've had a farmer say, I'm out in the field, I need to check in three times a day. I you know, I something could happen. I could have a heat stroke or whatever. So you don't have to check in the morning. For me, I want to check in every morning that I something didn't happen during the night. But um, so for the free version, you or for either one, you download the app and you decide what time you want to use you want to check in, and it's totally up to you. You check in when you want to check in. And you also decide who your emergency contacts are and you set it up. And then if you don't check in, you say out, let's say you want to check in at nine o'clock. Now you can check in before then. You don't have to wait till nine. If you want, if you wake up at six and you've got to catch a flight, you can check in and be done. But um, whenever your time, your check-in time comes, if you do not check in 10 minutes later for the free version, a text goes out to all of your emergency contacts that Shandon, check in. Will you please check on her? We don't wait. I've had people write in and say, I want an hour. Well, no, it might be life or death. Let's let's just we 10 minutes, it goes out.

SPEAKER_02 8:22

Right.

SPEAKER_03 8:22

So with the dispatch plan, you it's it's similar except that you actually get a phone call. So you you set it up and you set up your emergency contacts. And if you don't check in by 10 after, your phone the dispatcher calls you and asks you if you're okay. If you answer and say, I'm fine, I'm so sorry, I forgot to check in, then you're good. But if you don't answer, then the dispatcher calls, starts calling your emergency contacts one at a time until someone says, Oh my gosh, I will go check on Jan. Oh, she's on vacation, she forgot to put her on vacation mode or whatever. Right. If no one will verify that you're okay or that they'll check on you, then a dispatcher sends the um emergency services in your area. So it's in different different parts of the country. It might be police, it might be an EMS, it might be um the fire department to check on you. They actually come and do a wellness check.

SPEAKER_01 9:15

No, the thing I like about what you just said is that one, I don't have to get a new equipment. You know, I don't have it's the phone that I currently have is there, it is it it's right there. I can get started right away. I don't need to replace any batteries, there's no equipment, there's no setup. Um, and I feel like that is very attractive to a lot of people because it's just another thing that they don't have to worry about in terms of equipment or device or something. So I like the fact that this is built into the phone, right? And and so Preet, I'm gonna come to you. Um there are a lot of services out there that try to you know um solve this problem of people living alone and and trying to have an alert system. Snug obviously was designed specifically with something in mind to make it easier to be able to really notify people. How do you in your you know, as the CEO, how do you differentiate yourself from everything else that is in the market and and from a the fact that a lot of it is free? Um what should people know about signing up for this and how easy it is to get started right away? Like right now, if somebody's watching this video and they're like, Oh, I want to try this, like how many buttons do I have to click to be able to get this started on my phone? And how soon can my alerts begin? How soon can I begin to check in? Walk me through that.

SPEAKER_00 10:45

Sure. So, all right, if you're watching, set a timer, two minutes, go to the app Apple App Store or Google, search Snug Safety, hit the download button. It's a short, it's a small app, it's not 200 megabytes, it's I think 14. You're gonna see a download that should probably complete within 40 seconds, maybe quicker, probably quicker. And then you just put in your name, you select an emergency contact, uh, you pick your check-in time, um, and you decide which plan you're on, and then you're good to go. That's about it. Uh, you also actually need to verify your phone number. That way, Snug can message you in the event uh that uh you miss your check-in. We we send a lot of reminders so that way you don't have a lot of false alarms, and so your phone number is verified, so we can send you those reminders as well. And then right away you're good to go. So again, check the time. I think I'm under two minutes. Yeah, no, you are yeah, and then um it takes three seconds every morning. You open the app or put the press on those notifications and you press the big green check button, and that's it. You get your quote of the day and onward and upward.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

Right.

SPEAKER_00 11:51

And so how snug compares to other things is first of all, the most important thing is you pick a solution. If you don't want to pick Snug for whatever reason, email us and tell us why so that we can do better. But it's most important that you have a solution. If you have a friend that you check in with every day and you actually check on each other, terrific. We have people who play words with friends with each other, terrific. There's people who check each other's porch light, that's great. Snug is a great solution though, because it's so easy, it's very simple, and it's fun. The name is Snug, it's a beautiful blue snug thing, and it gives you a quote of the day that makes you think. Yeah, and that's why people stick with Snug longer than they even use their Netflix account. That's how long they stick with Snug. Right. So that's how we think about it. And in terms of differentiation uh versus other alternatives, again, that easy part is a key one. You know, the goal is to enjoy living your life, it's not to spend a ton of time on these safety products, it's to keep you safe so you can enjoy your life. So snag is easy, it takes only three seconds a day and it gives you lots of reminders. That's why I think it's the one that to try. Because again, as you can test, as you can see, it'll only take you two minutes to set up. Right.

SPEAKER_01 13:09

No, I I I like I like the fact that it is so easy to get started, less than two minutes you can get you know going. And the most important thing is that now you have a system that helps you um make sure that now you are checking in and that your loved ones know if something happens that you know, and sometimes it may be that you forget, but it's good to know that somebody's looking out for you to be able to say, Oh, you did not check in, what is going on? And that feeling that the the safety or insecurity of that alone, I think you know it's a no-brainer. One of the things that I I I want to talk about is there are a lot of people who um maybe watching this podcast, this video, and think, Oh, I am healthy, you know, I'm active, and and and you know, I got everything going on. I don't need this right now. And I know you have had experiences where people who did not think, you know, you know, something could happen, unfortunately found themselves in a position where this tool either saved their life or at least help people, uh loved ones know that something was going on that they they got any time. So, you know, between you know, I I Jen can start, but I want you guys to share with me some of these stories because this is how people begin to realize that we all need need this. I mean, you know, I don't need to be you know morbid about this, but somebody I know recently at 49, you know, something drastic happened to them, and everybody thought they were the fittest person. You know what I mean? So, you know, it's never too late to prepare for this. But I went to your website, I watched the videos, and there's some very powerful stories of people whose lives were literally saved by getting snaps. Can you talk a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_03 15:01

Absolutely. Um, I've had I've had so many. I I like I said, I'm doing um customer service, so I'm doing the support tickets, but I get so many tickets now. I get people writing in and say, my neighbor has always checked in, but she didn't check in this morning. I didn't know what to do. And I this is a free, a free app. And she said, I went across the street and I couldn't get in, so I called the police and they broke down the door and she was barely breathing. We never know. You don't have to be old, and you don't even have to be living alone. There are people, plenty of people, especially where I live, there's so many retirees. There are plenty of people whose loved one that lives with them could not call 911. They could not reach out. So it's not just for people to live alone, it's not just for old people. I've had people write in and say I have multiple sclerosis, I'm young, I don't know what I would do without snug because I know that I can check in every morning. We call it independence with a safety net. So it doesn't tie you down. It's it's easy, easy just to hit that button, but it doesn't tie you down, but you have that safety net.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

I like that.

SPEAKER_03 16:04

Um, and also for a single parent, someone, a young single parent with little kids that could not dial called 911. I mean, we've heard of incidents where dad had a heart attack, and the you know, it's just it's just so it's just for so many people.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

Right, right. And and and preet, I want you to share uh Mike's story. Um, because I was watching the video about Mike who um have diabetes, I think type 2 diabetes. Type 1, type 2. Type 1 diabetes, sorry. Um, can you can you share his story? Because I think it's a powerful reminder of how even when you have things like a CGM monitor, you know, you're asleep and you could you don't hear how SNUC comes in during those critical moments.

SPEAKER_00 16:50

So Mike uh Mike Rabjohn and and people can see watch his story on our YouTube channel. Uh he's a gentleman living in Southern California uh in his mid-60s, and he's been a type 1 diabetic most of his life. And unfortunately, uh he's now had a case that while he sleeps, sometimes his blood sugar will crash. And this happened one time, his blood sugar crashed, and his um CGM, even though it started pumping, wasn't going to be able to stabilize his sugar quickly enough. And so he ended up sleeping because he was effectively unconscious through what would be his normal snug check-in time in the morning. And so because he missed that, Snug alerted his neighbor, and his neighbor knew he was a type 1 diabetic. She came, she ran over, tried to knock on his door. Um, he was unresponsive, and so then paramedics were alerted, and paramedics came in, they knocked down his door, and they were able to help transport him to the ER where they could stabilize his blood sugar. And if that hadn't happened, um the ER physician thinks that Mike would have died. And so, you know, that's just part of the system that he had his neighbor who knew that for him, but he had set up Snug as this fail safe, and then he had to CGM2, and all those together is how Mike's life was able to be saved.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

Right. No, that's that's that's a powerful story. And then as Fritz said, if you go to the snob YouTube channel, you see the story of Mike telling his own story, and I think it's very, very powerful. Now, for everybody listening, one of the things that you know, um, you're trying to make a decision, okay, should I sign up for the free product? Should I sign up for the paid product? Can you speak to the the main difference in the two um and and why somebody will want to take the next step and do the paid product? What additional features do they get? I know Jen alluded to some of them in the beginning, but I want you to give us just a diff so that is clear in people's mind if they're trying to decide to take the next step, or you can sign up for the free, when do you make a decision to go to the next level?

SPEAKER_03 18:58

Okay. So it depends on, I think it depends on how healthy you are, but even though we we never know when we might have something happen, you know. But if you have active, you have people close by, your family or friends that will see their text messages and and be able to um check on you, then then the free plan is is is adequate. But a lot of us, our our son is vice president of a company and he's too busy to check on me, or my family lives too far away, or I've had some very sad batteries where people have said, I have no one. I have outlived, I've outlived my family and my friends. I had one woman say that I'm so thankful for the dispatch plan because I don't have to worry about relying on someone that doesn't know me.

SPEAKER_02 19:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:46

So it depends on um a lot we have people that say I'm gonna start with it the free plan, but they they would rather have someone call them every when they miss or check in. Depends on how reliable your family and friends are.

SPEAKER_01 19:57

Right. Right. No, that's and and you want to add anything, Pret? I think that's right.

SPEAKER_00 20:04

Okay. And and I think reliable is um definitely a factor, but even I think responsive is the key one, just because you know being busy doesn't mean that you don't love somebody or you're not looking out for them. But it sometimes things happen at weird times. And having a little bit of slack in the system, having this other way uh of snug professional dispatchers who will first qualify if it's a false alarm, who will call repeatedly, and then if needed, be the one who's able to step in to arrange that, that that's helpful if if you don't have that slack in your life right now. And so that's I think that's a key way to to think about it. Yeah, and then the other one is if you need that uh that second or third check-in a day on top of that, right? Um, because for some people who are uh you know who are very active, someone who's fall prone, other factors like that, um, that that could be another reason as well. Right.

SPEAKER_01 21:04

Now, a lot of us, you know, there there are there's some people right now who are watching this video who already have something in place, you know what I mean? That is not snug, it does it, it requires you to take an action. Sure. Would you say that having snug as another you'd because snug is solving a different problem? And I want to I want to highlight that again because everything else on the market, you have to take some action, you know what I mean? And if you are not awake or able to, then that thing does not work, you know. You have to be able to take action in enough time so that you, you know, so this is another. So do you have people who are using both? What I mean is that using snug, but also have an assistance system, and they feel like this helps them feel like okay, I I have just in case I cannot do something myself, this also is a backup.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

Do you do you have people? I'll jump in on this one. So yes, the answer is yes. And Jan can definitely tell particular stories, but uh a lot of people will have an Apple Watch for fault detection, for example, right? Um, or being able to call for help. Right. But if they can't call for help, then they'll have Snug as well.

SPEAKER_02 22:16

Right.

SPEAKER_00 22:16

Um some people will use uh an alert necklace, um, for example. I you know, I personally feel very strongly that they shouldn't use life alert. Um Jan might not agree. But but um there's a lot of other options though. Right. There are a lot of other options, right? Um and uh and so yes, a lot of people use multiple pieces, you know, it's just the same way like in a car, right? Yeah, you have your seatbelt, but there's also airbags, there's multiple systems of safety, right? And so uh that yes, a lot of people use them in conjunction.

SPEAKER_01 22:49

Okay, so guys, um, I have I have one last question. Um, you know, I think that a lot of us think about these products and we think about it from a safety care perspective, and and it is the primary use of it, but there's also the fact of social interaction, right? A lot of people are alone, feel alone, they feel like nobody is you know checking out on them proactively. Um, and we can go by and you haven't had a human interaction with anybody, and you're healthy, you're you're going about your business, and that can also be a form, you know, take a toll on people. And I feel like a product like Snug where you have some you know that you're checking in in every day, and that it's a way somebody is looking out for you, and that if something is going on, that you people will be alerted, you know. I think that that is a part that is not talked about a lot, and and I'm in my opinion, that is a big factor also, and that you know, just knowing that you're pressing this button whatever time you set is a signal that hey, I am connected to other people, and that if something happens, I have support for me is a very, very powerful thing. So I want to give you guys the last word. Is there anything that you want to tell our audience about your experience um with snug um as final words for them to go out and take action right now regarding the tool? Jen, I want to start with you.

SPEAKER_03 24:26

I I do want to say that doing the support tickets, I get a lot of people that signed up. Well, they get an email a couple of days later, and how's it going? How do you like it? You know, and they'll reply, and people will say, Somebody cares. It means so much to me that I know there's someone out there that will check on me if I don't push that button.

SPEAKER_02 24:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:47

So it it so many people write in and say, I know that somebody cares.

SPEAKER_00 24:52

I like that. Yeah, we uh every day we hear from people who this helps me feel so much more secure. I know that if something happens to me, my pets will be looked after.

SPEAKER_03 25:01

That's a big factor, a real big factor.

SPEAKER_00 25:04

Let's talk about that. Let's talk about that. The better my you know, a lot of people for exactly what you're talking about, you know, they have um unfortunately the loneliness is a concern. A lot of people don't always have somebody they're interacting with every day. But but sometimes they have pets that are part of their, you know, part of their family, that are their companions, that they'll enjoy their day with, that they're cuddled with. And they worry that if something happens to them, who who's gonna know for their pet? You know, last year when Gene Hackman and his wife died, unfortunately their dog died too. It was because no one had known for weeks how starts. And so we see a lot of times people are just grateful that, hey, I feel good that someone will know if something happens to me, but even if even if they can't save me, they'll be able to look after my dog or my cat or my fish. Or bird, bird. We have a lot of bird people. And they're increasing.

SPEAKER_03 25:59

And they're in a cage and they need to be fed and they need to have water.

SPEAKER_00 26:03

Absolutely. Yeah, and so that's a that's a big part of also why people use snug, is not just for themselves, but their other loved ones in the in the house, whether they're young children, whether they're an uh older spouse who might be suffering with uh dementia, or whether they're a pet. They're all important people in that family that are part of their daily uh experiences is part of protecting them as well. Right. Um so I I think it's it's it's amazing how many people we're able to help so far. But we have so many more people that we want to help. Right. Um and again, if if you don't choose Snug, let us know why. But set up a system. It's an easy thing to do to look out for yourself and looked out for your loved ones. And we're so grateful that you've had us on so far.

SPEAKER_01 26:54

No, absolutely. Jen, I know you're gonna say something, so go ahead.

SPEAKER_03 26:57

I was just gonna say that um if you have the free plan, make sure that your contacts know what to do if something I mean, we are we all are gonna die, you know, but know what to do with know how to get into your house for one thing, but know what to do with your pets. But on the dispatch plan, we have a snug profile. Everyone has a snug profile. So you send us the code to get into your lockbox to get the key or whatever, but you also tell us what what about your pets, what you want done, who's the vet, who's gonna take them so that we have that information. So if we get to your house, the dispatcher sends EMS and you have to go to the hospital, they know who to tell what, so the pets can get taken care of.

SPEAKER_01 27:38

No, no, no. I'm glad you brought that up. I'm glad that's you know, and so what I've learned, I'm gonna I'm gonna sum up what I have learned today. You know, when I when I got introduced to this product, I felt like it was meeting a particular need where a lot of products on the market, you have to take action, press something, you know, in an emergency. But what if you don't, you know, you are not awake or able to do that? What who fills that gap? And I feel like that's the special place that Snug fills where if you miss that check-in, that action will be taken, right? And that your loved ones will be notified. It is free. There's a free plan that you can get on right now, two minutes as Preach showed us. You can get signed up in two minutes. Uh, we can hold him to that. And what I keep hearing consistently is that they said if you don't sign up for snag or if you ex if you go through it and you're having a particular experience, email them. You these are this, you know, you you have Jen here who is working with the customer support team also. So you you know that these are the people you'll be talking to about your experience, and they want to make this product the best product it can be. And in my opinion, I want to get this into as many hands as possible. And the reason why is that you don't have to set up, you don't have to buy any equipment, you already have a phone, that's where it's gonna go to. You know, the setup is easy. Um, and you know batteries, you're not changing any batteries. Where if the batteries dies, then you don't so there's so many reasons why this is a no-brainer. So, in conclusion, I want to make sure that hey, go download snug app, hold him to the two minutes and get it set up. And if you have any challenges with it, these are the people, and I like the fact that they are here right here. It is not some corporate office somewhere that you're thinking that oh, how am I gonna get the support? Jen is right here, and and everybody on the team can help you. So, guys, it was a pleasure having you on here, learning more about your story, um, and and how this all got started. And uh, guys, go download the snug up. Thank you for being here. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 29:48

Thank you, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 29:49

You're welcome.