Posted on Tuesday, 03.20.07
Website business serves boomers abroad
By JIM WYSS
When the three cousins behind the Web portal Boomerscape.com conjured up the idea, their focus was on the growing wave of baby boomers planning to retire abroad in hot spots such as Belize, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic -- where beaches and pension checks stretch further.
The site promised to be packed full of information for retirees, from Panamanian tax breaks, to doctors in Buenos Aires, to real estate listings in Antigua.
The idea was good enough for Boomerscape to win second prize in the Business Plan Challenge last year. But one year later, the trio -- Scott Avirett, Steven Sikes and Eric Anderson -- think they've come up with something better.
Instead of focusing solely on retirees, why not broaden the scope?
"The retirement segment is one thing, but then there is the whole overseas lifestyle segment, " said Avirett, who is spearheading the effort from his home in Fort Lauderdale. "We are creating a website for boomers going abroad whether it's for a visit or for a lifetime."
By some counts, there are 75 million boomers in the United States making the slow march toward retirement. According to market research commissioned by Boomerscape, 70 percent say they would like to spend most of their time traveling.
When the beta version of the site launches later this year, it hopes to become the go-to spot for both segments.
SEEKING TRAVEL INFO
The company has been compiling most of the content aimed at retirees and is in talks with guidebook companies that will provide much of the information aimed at travelers.
The shifting focus isn't so much a departure from their business plan as an evolution, said Anderson, a Boomerscape partner based in Washington, D.C.
"Nobody wakes up one morning and says I'm going to Honduras today to retire, " he explained. Instead, it's usually a gradual process that can take years and often includes several trips to the country. So it is important for the company to start making contact with those customers early on.
The strategy has the added benefits that it will pull in more eyeballs and advertisers, said Avirett.
The company will be facing stiff competition. There are other organizations already targeting the ex-pat retirement community -- namely, International Living, which has its editorial offices in Ireland and representatives in many of the same markets Boomerscape is gunning for.
But the Boomerscapers (none near retirement age themselves) hope to win fans by giving the site a Web 2.0 atmosphere -- where visitors will also feel they are part of an online community. The site will eventually host photo contests, and retirees will be encouraged to submit essays and tips about living abroad.
ACTIVE RETIREMENT
Whether someone is looking for a tennis partner in Tegucigalpa during a weekend trip or an opportunity to volunteer long-term at an orphanage in San Jose, the site hopes to provide the resources and contacts that underpin the changing face of retirement, said Avirett.
"A lot of people [retiring today] won't be happy packing up divots on the golf course in Palm Beach, " he said. "We're embarking on an anti-retirement revolution, and Boomerscape wants to be at the forefront." Illustration:
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