Usually, people over 60 often aspire to fulfill long-standing desires such as taking a dream vacation, completing overdue home-improvement projects, helping their children get settled, or simply improving their daily lives!
Paris-based Skarlett works with the ambition to become the go-to brand and trusted partner for people over 60, by offering a comprehensive range of services, including real estate, insurance, financial support, and travel. Its first innovation is a simple, effective, and ultra-secure web platform that removes the obstacles and revamps these solutions, making them more useful than ever before.
Raises first investment
Now, Skarlett has picked up its first €4 million round of financing from renowned investors, including French VC Alven, Raise for Good, Motier Ventures, Farmers, and Xavier Niel of Kima Ventures.
This round comes as a testament to the confidence in the potential impact of this project. It will enable them to kick off the first stage of their project, which restores purchasing power to people aged 60 and over. The startup is aiming for sustained and rapid growth, initially driven by its web platform, which enables people over 60 to make their real estate assets liquid while continuing to live at home.
In addition, Skarlett pursues an ambitious recruitment plan as it aims to bring on board 60 talented individuals by the end of 2024.
“In France, there are 18 million people over 60. However, the 60+ are under-addressed consumers, to whom we attribute outdated clichés from another century, whereas they are ultra-connected and often more open-minded than some young people. This generation has completely changed, in terms of needs, attitudes, and management style. Skarlett wants to tackle, one by one, all the subjects of their daily life… with the objective of simplifying their lives!” commented Townley Le Guénédal, CEO of Skarlett.
For Margaux Gregoir, investor at Alven: “Beyond a solid financial model, we were impressed by Townley, Benjamin and Aurélien, and their ability to place themselves in the consumer’s point of view, deeply understanding their needs and concerns. Skarlett is the right entry point into a complex subject, and this trio brings together precisely the right expertise. By focusing on the 60+ age group, Skarlett also has a strong societal impact by promoting home care and offering financing solutions for retirement projects and expenses.”
Helps senior citizens reinvent their lives
Skarlett is the brainchild of seasoned entrepreneurs – Townley Le Guénédal (Innohealth), Aurélien Gouttefarde (Homeloop), and Benjamin Gaignault (Ornikar). It was founded with the mission to shatter age-old stereotypes about being 60 by helping them reinvent their life.
The platform provides sellers with an instant estimate of the capital they can secure through Skarlett in just a few clicks. It eliminates the interpersonal obstacles that often hinders the use of equity release solutions. This is achieved by relying solely on a network of institutional investors, with whom the seller will have no contact, completely depersonalizing the process.
Skarlett’s team of specialised advisors assists clients in choosing the solution that best fits their profile and life plan with its technological platform and estimation tools which draw upon multiple data sources. After a streamlined process that takes up to 3 months, Skarlett provides eligible individuals with direct access to up to 60% of their property’s value.
