The story of GetSetUp: A race to empower and connect older adults

In early 2020, just before the world hit pause, two friends—Neil D’Souza and Lawrence Kosick—were pounding out the miles on a dusty trail during one of their regular ultra-distance runs. Between stretches of silence and sweat, a conversation unfolded that would change the trajectory of their lives—and eventually, the lives of millions of older adults.

The conversation began as many do between old friends in midlife: reflecting on aging, purpose, and the shifting terrain of life after 50. Both Neil and Lawrence were noticing the same thing—brilliant, skilled people in their networks were retiring... and struggling. Not financially, necessarily—but existentially. They had time, talent, and wisdom—but nowhere to put it. The traditional narrative of retirement wasn’t resonating.

What if we could build something that gave this generation a new chapter?
Not one rooted in dependency, but in contribution, curiosity, and connection?

💡 The Insight That Sparked GetSetUp

Neil, with a background in tech and education, had a hypothesis: if older adults were retiring with massive reservoirs of experience, and if the world was moving rapidly online, then surely there was a way to bridge the two.

At the same time, digital tools—from iPhones and telehealth apps to banking portals and Shopify—were becoming prerequisites for daily life. Yet these tools were not designed for older users, and certainly not taught to them. Self-service interfaces became self-defeating experiences for millions.

So what if we flipped the model?

What if retired teachers taught their peers how to navigate the digital world—with empathy, patience, and lived understanding?
What if we created a platform powered by older adults, for older adults?

👟 The Team Comes Together

Soon after those runs, Neil and Lawrence met Deval Delivala, a former senior leader at Uber, in yet another serendipitous moment. Deval didn’t just buy into the vision—he wrote the first check, backed the idea as an angel investor, and later joined as a third co-founder to lead GetSetUp’s India operations.

With that, the founding team was set—each bringing complementary strengths across education, technology, global ops, and partnerships, bound by a shared belief that aging needed a new story.

🦠 Then the Pandemic Hit

Just a few months into their journey, COVID-19 arrived. Suddenly, every senior center, YMCA, and in-person program vanished overnight.

But the need for connection didn’t.

Instead of stalling, GetSetUp surged. Agencies, health systems, and state governments reached out:
“Can you help older adults book vaccine appointments? Learn Zoom? Access telehealth?”

They could. And did. Fast.

Retired educators were onboarded as “Guides.” Learners joined their first virtual classes. Onboarding teams called learners to walk them through Zoom, step by step. The learning wasn’t just technical—it was deeply human.

From those first digital skills classes, GetSetUp expanded to:

• Fitness and wellness (yoga, tai chi, fall prevention)
• Mental health and community (grief support, journaling, group discussions)
• Financial literacy and entrepreneurship (budgeting, starting a business, avoiding scams)
• Cultural and enrichment programs in multiple languages and time zones

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Why Peer Learning Works

The secret sauce wasn’t just the content—it was the community.

When older adults learn from someone like them, it removes fear and builds trust. Peer Guides made learners feel safe, seen, and curious again. There was no rush. No shame. Just people helping people.

Lawrence—always the cultural architect—helped shape this learning experience into something warm, personal, and empowering. Neil’s product instincts made the platform scalable and intuitive. Deval’s operational strength enabled rapid global rollout, especially in multilingual, multi-access environments like India.

Together, they weren’t just building a learning platform. They were rebuilding confidence, capability, and community for an entire generation.

👵🏽👴🏽 The Most Personal Proof: Our Parents Are Learners

This journey isn’t abstract for the founders. All three co-founders—Neil, Lawrence, and Deval—have watched their own parents use GetSetUp.

They’ve seen them:

• Make new friends in their 70s and 80s
• Talk about their favorite instructors and classes
• Rediscover their confidence and reduce their loneliness

For all of us, this isn’t just a startup. It’s a personal mission. We’ve seen the impact in our own families.

And we’ve learned something profound: aging isn’t about decline—it’s about reinvention.

🌍 Where We Are Today

From those early runs and first Zoom classes, GetSetUp has now grown into:

• 20M+ learning sessions delivered
• 4,000+ curated classes across 4 continents
• 60+ Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plan partnerships
• 32+ U.S. state government collaborations
• Thousands of peer Guides and millions of learners worldwide

But we’re just getting started.

We’re now embedding AI-driven health literacy tools, launching digital employment accelerators for older adults, and creating the infrastructure for purposeful, connected, and independent aging at global scale.

🎯 The Vision Ahead

GetSetUp is a platform—but more than that, it’s a philosophy:
Older adults aren’t a problem to be solved. They’re a resource to be activated.

We believe in:

• Purpose over passive retirement
• Learning over loneliness
• Community over content
• Agency over ageism

We’re building a world where aging means growth—not retreat. Where every older adult has access to the tools, people, and purpose that help them thrive.

And we hope you’ll build it with us.

—
Neil D’Souza, Lawrence Kosick & Deval Delivala
Co-Founders, GetSetUp

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