Illness or injury can arrive on any day of any phase
The emergency that no phase plans for.
4 solutions built for it
Nurse lines and pediatric telehealth, Urgent care clinics, Emergency rooms and ambulances and Health insurance.
Some frictions refuse to belong to one age. Illness and injury arrive on any day; utilities, laundry, taxes, identity and legal trouble recur for a lifetime; the search for meaning and the need to fill empty hours are lifelong. They are filed once here rather than repeated eleven times, and they are among the largest markets in the map.
20 first-order frictions arise in this phase.
Its neighbourhood
Everything this entry connects to directly. Click any point to follow it.
The body
Lose the ability to work or care for oneself, at any age
One in four workers will be disabled before retirement.
Sleep a third of every day, badly
Insomnia and apnoea in every phase; the mattress and the pill.
3 solutions built for it
Sleep aids, melatonin, and sleep tracking, Mattresses and bedding and Sleep medicine and apnoea devices.
Compulsion outruns choice
Alcohol, opioids, nicotine, gambling, and screens; each phase has its version.
Anxiety and depression at every age
The most common illness and the least treated.
4 solutions built for it
Adolescent mental health services, Therapy and counselling, Psychiatric medication and Meditation and mental-wellness apps.
The home and its upkeep
The dwelling needs power, heat, water, and connection
Utility bills in every phase; the physical base of domestic life.
3 solutions built for it
Residential electricity, gas, and water service, Home broadband and mobile service and Home solar, batteries, and heat pumps.
Clothes and rooms get dirty every day
The oldest domestic labour, now split between machines, products, and paid hands.
3 solutions built for it
Cleaning and household services, Home appliances and Cleaning and laundry products.
Someone might break in
Fear of crime at home, and the products sold against it.
2 solutions built for it
Home security systems and cameras and Police and public safety.
Clothes wear out and fashions change
Every phase re-dresses the body.
3 solutions built for it
Fashion and sneaker brands, Adult apparel and footwear retail and Resale and secondhand marketplaces.
Money and the state
The state takes a share every year and must be told exactly what
Filing is a friction the tax code itself creates.
3 solutions built for it
Tax preparation software and services, Tax advisors and accountants and Tax authority services.
Pay, get paid, and send money to family
Payroll, bills, and remittances home.
3 solutions built for it
Digital-first banks, Stablecoins and digital wallets and Payments, transfers, and remittances.
A dispute, a contract, a court date
Law is expensive and everyone eventually needs some.
2 solutions built for it
Consumer legal services and legal insurance and Legal aid and public defenders.
Be robbed, defrauded, or attacked
Victimhood is a friction the market sells around.
4 solutions built for it
Identity theft and fraud protection services, Home security systems and cameras, Police and public safety and Victim services and compensation.
Prove who you are to every institution
Passports, licences, and now age verification online.
2 solutions built for it
Passports, IDs, and civil documents and Digital identity and verification.
Move countries
Immigration paperwork, remittances, and a new language for the biggest move a household makes.
3 solutions built for it
Payments, transfers, and remittances, Immigration lawyers and services and Language schools and apps.
Meaning, attention, and company
Why any of this
Religion, philosophy, and their commercial substitutes.
4 solutions built for it
Faith communities, Meditation and mental-wellness apps, Organised religion and Self-help, life coaching, and wellness.
Fill the hours that work and care do not
Entertainment is the largest use of discretionary time at every age.
5 solutions built for it
Video games, Music streaming and fandom, Streaming video and television, Professional sports and leagues and Books and publishing.
Know what is happening
News as a public good the market undersupplies.
2 solutions built for it
Social media and News media.
Stay connected to people who are elsewhere
Family and friends scattered by every phase's moves.
3 solutions built for it
Home broadband and mobile service, Smartphones and Messaging and video-calling apps.
Every solution above collects data
Created by the digital versions of everything: the self as a dataset.