Thread by @SunjayP

1/14, a musing: My 14-year-old self, remembering India in a treacherous time, multi-generational households, and #FinTech. Salute for listening.

2/14: My uncle on my Dad's side is in his 80's and fighting Covid in India. I've been reading Beyond Good by @psb_dc and @leimer. Some things have been stuck in my mind: our world's need for the wisdom of our elders and our senior citizens' need for social support.

3/14: Flashback: When my 88-year old Grandfather (Bauji: honorific for Grandpa) visited us in Charlotte, NC in 1986 he came for a medical visit: cataract surgery. I remember feeling pretty scared for him, but more so for my Dad.

4/14: My Dad had (and has) immense reverence for his Dad. To this day, I marvel and am awed by the respect my father showed his father.

5/14: I remember visits to India where I was encouraged by my Dad to escort Bauji and my grandma to various places, to ensure they had a helping hand, didn't fall, felt safe.

6/14: I remember the feel of my blind grandmother's wet hand as she grasped mine and I escorted her back from the bathroom on one of our visits to Delhi.

7/14: Bauji and his family survived the partition of India, landing finally in Delhi by way of Ludhiana and, 20 years later, found a way to afford a boat ticket to the UK for my Dad to pursue his studies in the US. My Dad did the rest (another story).

8/14: The surgery went well and my grandfather was staying with us indefinitely because Dad wanted to make sure he was well cared for with access to the best possible medicine.

9/14: In the late 1980s, this "stuck out" of the mainstream - a senior citizen living with and being cared for by their adult child and his children. It was and is still largely the status quo in India.

10/14: Back to 2021+: so, FinTech ... 3 data points stick out from @psb_dc and @leimer 's Beyond Good.

- 1 in 3 gig economy workers are Baby Boomers
- 20% of American households are multi-generational
- By 2030 70% of 8-year olds will have at least 1 living great-grandparent (!)

11/14: Throw in these facts: we're living longer, healthcare is increasingly expensive, 45% of Boomers have zero saved, and Millenials are considered the "poorest generation" and we've got some real work to do collectively -across "families" and society.

12/14: The opportunity to bring help, succor, comfort (value) around money is both boundless - and hot damn urgent.

13/14: So then, the lasting impact of the FinTech explosion we're seeing *ought* to be that we democratize money management that's *fully* on your side. For individuals, households - and so then - communities.

14/14: Lastly, importantly, the people building the tech ought to empathize with and deeply understand the people most in need. Algos and UX don't write themselves, but they have a mind of their own once they're in production. Let's go ...