Startup Accelerator Spotlight: Mantel

When Mantel reached his fifties, he noticed issues in his life that he needed to address. He wasn't as healthy as he'd like to be, wasn't completely satisfied with his work, and wondered if he would outlive his retirement funds. He knew it was time to make a change and find out if there was a way to live a fuller life after 50.

Mid-life Pivot

After reassessing, he started exercising more and eating healthier. He also decided that a corporate career wasn't something he wanted to continue doing into his sixties and seventies. Mantel began to rethink his financial preparation for later life.

"Sure, I have 401K and retirement accounts, but those are static. Am I going to outlive that money? Am I going to have enough to support myself and my wife? If I'm going to work, I might as well make it something that I enjoy that also provides a steady stream of income, so I don't have to completely rely on my savings and social security."

Mantel talked to several of his friends and learned that they had similar feelings. He also began researching online for ways to live a healthier and more fulfilling life. What he found didn't quite meet his needs, and at that point, he realized this was an opportunity to build a platform to support others who desired to live more fulfilling lives as they age.

He founded Evolve@50+ to help people over 50, particularly professionals, build more fulfilling lives through learning to get healthier, work better, and grow wealthier. Evolve@50+ offers content, courses, and products to enable the 50+ to evolve in three areas: getting healthier, working better, and growing wealthier.

GetSetUp Classes and Support

Mantel has enjoyed the Startup Accelerator classes on marketing, branding, and Guide Kevin's advice to build something with a personal connection.

"One of the things that he talked about is our 'why?' Why are we doing what we're doing? I mean, sure, we could say it's about the money, but that's not enough to sustain a business you're building for the long term."

While he already has an established business, he knows there are areas where he can grow, including his website and social media and goal setting.

"The homework assignments helped me crystallize some of my messaging and structure some goals. I already have goals, but they're not as concrete as they probably should be. It actually forced me to write stuff down and say, 'Okay, this is what I want to do.'"

And what he wants to do is help people over 50 live their very best lives, they offer content, courses, and products to enable the 50+ to evolve in three areas:

Getting healthier is the first theme of evolving after 50, and it starts with a focus on what you can do to enhance your mental, emotional and physical performance. It includes tips around exercising, psychological self-care, and eating well.

Working better helps the 50+ explore working past the normal retirement age of 65? However, it's not about doing work to just get a paycheck and healthcare benefits - It's focused on helping the 50+ find or create meaningful and purposeful work.

Growing wealthier is the third piece of evolving after 50. It's the process of evaluating your current financial situation and, if necessary, changing your investments and developing skills to generate nee sources of income so you minimize reliance on savings and social security.

Growing His Business

Mantel believes that our 50s are the perfect time for personal reflection and renewal. He says that our life spans are getting longer, so it's likely that we'll live well into our 90s or longer. That means that we'll live more than 40 years more - so as older adults, we owe it to ourselves to live our lives to the fullest.

Mantel's journey exemplifies the benefits of lifelong learning, personal growth, and community support available through platforms like GetSetUp. This peer-to-peer media platform for active agers empowers individuals to discover new opportunities, enhance their well-being, and connect with a supportive community​​.