Nih-funded Tech Startup Takes Aim At Senior Living Referral, Lead Aggregation 

A tech startup aims to disrupt the pay-per-lead aggregator space with the launch of a digital platform to help prospects navigate senior living options and provide more qualified leads to operators.

Olera, which in 2024 received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), recently launched the “beta program” of the company’s software and smartphone application platform. The supporting NIH grant funding is geared toward helping families identify senior care services and address affordability concerns, according to Olera CEO TJ Falohun. 

Through a subscription model, senior living providers can gain access to profiles of prospects and their families, while families and older adults seeking senior living services can identify care options and potential benefits — from Medicare to PACE services — they may not be aware of or currently use.

“One of our first realizations in the process was that gate keeping the connections based on paid networks is in direct contradiction to open platform connection and our goal to connect as many people as possible to find the senior care resources they need,” Falohun said.

In 2026, Olera is preparing to launch a caregiver pilot program with 25 families of older adults to refine the existing platform and receive feedback on how the platform functions in prospects accessing senior living options and connecting providers to prospects.

“I think one of the biggest problems is that pre-screening that lead aggregators do is just simply not robust enough,” Falohun said. “So if we can create a system that filters out the people who are not ready to buy yet, that’s one way that we can increase lead value.”

The company will bring multiple versions of the company’s application to bear this year to adapt rapidly to feedback from prospects and providers after the pilot is completed, Falohun and Co-Founder Logan DuBose, MD, told Senior Housing News.

By bringing more qualified leads to operators, Falohun and DuBose see an opportunity to change the landscape of senior living lead generation, one that is often “crowded” with unqualified or inactive prospects, leading to sales team burnout from operators.

The platform uses AI to build a “complete picture” of a senior living prospect’s profile before finding customized resources and senior living options in their local area, Falohun said, with AI-supported features assisting with “mundane tasks” while a prospect seeks out senior living services.

“We think that this gets the conversation going in terms of helping people understand the benefits that could potentially reduce the care costs, and even if we don’t have all the answers, we’re going to connect people to providers who have the answer,” Falohun said.

Olera’s entrance into the senior living referrals landscape comes amid a changing time for senior living aggregators, with companies like A Place For Mom (APFM) pivoting toward AI and answer engine optimization (AEO). Earlier this month, Caring.com acquired SilverAssist in a play to expand service offerings and shift toward an “operator-first” lead and referral model.

The duo also see an opportunity to connect providers with care workers, with the prospect of building a “hiring marketplace” within the platform on the horizon, DuBose said. That comes after having success with a pilot program that placed 40 Texas A&M University students with seven senior living operators for careers in senior care after having 800 applicants apply, DuBose said.

“We want to scale that and we want to work with other universities to scale this aspect of the platform,” DuBose said.

In the year ahead, Falohun and DuBose said Olera is focused on “velocity of product innovation,” meaning the ability to release multiple updates to the platform and support usability for providers and prospects. A larger pilot program of 200 individuals is scheduled “towards the end” of this year. 

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