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With Gloria’s sister-in-law celebrating her 100th birthday, the cast starts to think about what their own futures hold. Elise is thinking about her legacy as she pitches her company like her life depends on it at a big and potentially lucrative competition for entrepreneurs. Buzz realizes he needs to stop putting off formalizing his end-of-life directives, though he — and his family — have a hard time confronting the idea of death.

Transcript

[00:00:06] Buzz: My name is Buzz.

[00:00:07] Gloria: I’m Gloria.

[00:00:08] Henri: My name is Henri.

[00:00:09] Elise: My name is Elise and I’m 60 years old.

[00:00:11] Henri: I am 62.

[00:00:13] Gloria: I’m 71.

[00:00:14] Buzz: 71 years old.

[00:00:16] Gloria: A few months ago, a documentary crew started following us around recording our every move,

[00:00:21] Elise: navigating everything from family,

[00:00:23] Gloria: relationships,

[00:00:24] Buzz: work, and more.

[00:00:25] Gloria: There was always a story worth telling,

[00:00:27] Buzz: and that’s what you’re about to hear.

[00:00:29] Henri: You’ll witness moments along.

[00:00:31] CAST: And you’ll get into our heads. This is being golden.

[00:00:35] Buzz: This is being golden.

[00:00:38] Henri: Previously on being golden.

[00:00:41] Elise: My name is Elise. I am the founder of a Vision Wellness company called Near Sight.

[00:00:46] Gloria: Are you and your son real close?

[00:00:48] Elise: We are. We only, We only have each other.

[00:23:33] Elise: How did you enjoy the pageant?

[00:23:39] Gloria: Well, it was very, very interesting.

[00:23:46] Elise: Oh, okay.

[00:00:51] Gloria: I think she was really anxious to stop talking to me at that particular moment.

[00:00:56] Elise: I just thought she was being rude and judgmental.

[00:00:58] Buzz: There’s a little bit of baggage [00:01:00] I’m bringing with me to LA and that’s the fact that I had a heart attack.

I against the better judgment of my doctors, said that I tried to go for a run.

[00:01:11] Henri: What?

[00:01:12] Buzz: This was a wakeup call to say if I don’t wanna just drop dead, find something else to do,

[00:01:17] Gloria: I’m not doing anything.

[00:01:18] Linda: Did you go to the Y Today?

[00:01:19] Gloria: That’s my sister Linda. She lives two doors down from me. She’s married to Helen and they’ve been married for almost 45 years.

Helen is celebrating her. Birthday and two weeks.

[00:01:45] Gloria: Linda?

[00:01:42] Linda: Yeah.

[00:01:43] Gloria: Is Helen okay.

[00:01:45] Linda: Helen’s in the bedroom resting. She uh, Had some chest pains.

[00:01:52] Gloria: I ran over to my sister Linda because the paramedics were outside. I wanted to see if they were there to see. Helen. [00:02:00] I’m a little more concerned than usual because this would be the second time that the paramedics have been called in the last couple of months,

[00:02:08] Linda: and they checked her out.

Did the EKG and the paramedic. Thought that Helen looked fine. She’s just gonna take it easy, and we’re very happy. , we’re not going to the hospital.

[00:02:22] Gloria: Was Helen scared, Was she?

[00:02:24] Linda: She didn’t, no, She didn’t seem as scared this time as

[00:02:28] Gloria: It’s wonderful to see how well Linda cares for Helen, she’s so well versed in these type of situations and emergencies.

She was a geriatric consultant. She had a home for women with Alzheimer’s for many years, and she knows exactly what to.

Helen’s a very lucky gal.

How, how do you feel now when you go through it more often?

[00:02:55] Linda: I really try to maintain that calm, because if I’m not calm, [00:03:00] I think Helen’s blood pressure would go up even more.

But yes, it is scary. You know, as Helen is so close to being a hundred and I see her in the last month slowing. on a daily basis. And yes, it, it’s difficult, but you know, for many years I’ve tried to prepare myself for it, uh, and to not have Helen in my life. But I also thought many years ago that when Helen die, I don’t want to be greedy because I know that so many people have lost loved ones and at very early ages, and I’ve had Helen for 40, almost 45 years.

[00:03:52] Gloria: Well, and I know she, you know, we joke around about how she just can’t wait to [00:04:00] get to a hundred.

[00:04:00] Linda: She, she said it last week, I wanna get to a hundred and. She’s gonna do it.

[00:04:08] Gloria: Just keep me in the loop. Okay?

[00:04:10] Linda: I’ll keep you in the loop. Thank you for everything. You always are my rock when it comes to Alvin.

[00:04:17] Gloria: Love you.

[00:04:18] Linda: Love you.

[00:04:35] Elise: Hi, Gloria. Nice to see you again.

[00:04:33] Gloria: To see you. Elise,

[00:04:34] Henri: how you doing b?

[00:04:35] Buzz: I’m good, Andre. How are you?

[00:04:37] Henri: I am

[00:04:38] Buzz: Miss Gloria

[00:04:40] Gloria: throwing a little picnic today with Buzz Elise. Andre

[00:04:43] Buzz: , how’s your new place?

[00:04:45] Henri: Oh my goodness.

[00:04:46] Gloria: I didn’t know you got a new place. Where is it? No.

[00:04:49] Henri: Oh my gosh, yes. I’ve been there five days today. I got my.

Little garden area has got a pomegranate tree and a sweet line tree.

[00:04:58] Gloria: Excellent.

[00:04:59] Elise: What a [00:05:00] blessing.

[00:05:00] Gloria: So, uh, we had a little scare, did tell Bit and she woke up and was having chest pains. You know, her hundred birthday party is in two weeks.

[00:05:11] Henri: Right, Right.

[00:05:12] Gloria: So, but Linda knows all the stuff to do. She took her blood pressure; she gave her one of those pills you put under your

[00:05:18] Buzz: Nitroglycerin.

[00:05:19] Gloria: Nira.

And uh, it was just a bit of a scare and. It made me revisit my, uh, end of life stuff like, uh, Dean Hart do not resuscitate and power of attorney for healthcare. One reason I was adamant about setting this up is I don’t want my son to be the person. To make those decisions.

[00:05:42] Elise: Yeah. My dad, he gave me what his wishes are for end of life.

He just said, Hey sweetie, these are my wishes. I’m like, Okay. Then I just tucked it away.

[00:05:51] Gloria: We have to plan for life. We have to plan for death.

[00:05:55] Buzz: I haven’t, I haven’t put, um, Any of that stuff down yet? I’m not, [00:06:00] I’m not that prepared.

[00:06:01] Henri: You, you haven’t started?

[00:06:03] Buzz: Not really. I mean, no, I am nowhere, to be honest. I have, I haven’t filled out any of this.

[00:06:12] Henri: I’m really shocked that Buzz doesn’t have it together or he doesn’t have any of the paperwork done that he should. I mean, given his age, his children, his recent heart attack, I would think that he would be more together than he.

Right now,

[00:06:29] Gloria: I think what happens to people is if it’s not in writing,

[00:06:35] Henri: Yeah, yeah.

They won’t do it.

[00:06:36] Gloria: It’s too hard for them to do that stuff.

[00:06:39] Henri: And what dad says to you and somebody else is like totally different. I agree. Gloria, on the hardest day of your loved one’s life, you do not want them making the decisions.

[00:06:50] Buzz: I am. I’ve been dragging my feet. It was the reality of filling it out and saying I’m gonna die at some point.

and I need things to be in order and it’s like, [00:07:00] I’m not gonna die .

[00:07:03] Henri: Okay. It’s that So that More denial kind

[00:07:06] Buzz: more, Yeah, more, more of that.

[00:07:08] Gloria: If you need help getting started. My sister is a gerontologist and she’s very familiar with all of the paperwork that seniors should have. Filled out, you know, she can answer any questions you might have.

[00:07:22] Buzz: Sometimes on things like this, I’m not the greatest. I do tend to procrastinate.

[00:07:26] Henri: Get on it.

[00:07:46] Gloria: Can you tell I’ve been painting all I have.

[00:07:45] Elise: Do you know about your art till the day?

[00:07:47] Gloria: Yeah.

[00:07:47] Elise: Do you have a picture of it? I’d love to see it.

That’s beautiful.

[00:07:52] Gloria: Thank you.

Gloria. Here I’m meeting with. Today for coffee, Lisa, and our very [00:08:00] different people. I think our philosophy on life is very different. We’ve, we’ve struggled a bit in conversations, but I, I think we’ve come a long way.

What’s going on with you?

[00:08:14] Elise: Well, we went on a river cruise.

[00:08:17] Gloria: Have fun. Just you and your son.

[00:08:19] Elise: Mm.

[00:08:20] Gloria: Hopefully I’ll be able to start traveling a little more soon.

[00:08:24] Elise: Oh, are, do you have some plans?

[00:08:25] Gloria: No, not yet.

Mm-hmm. ,

my sister and I, um, have always talked about taking a long trip together, so, so we’ll see. Well, I’m glad you got some time with your son.

Are you on a work break right now or

[00:08:39] Elise: it never stops? .

[00:08:42] Gloria: I was very interested in your medical background. I think that’s fascinating. I’d love to know that side.

[00:08:49] Elise: I bought, uh, two . Optometric practices. Uh, I love, love taking care of patients, and my patients were my professional family. And that was for [00:09:00] how long you did that?

30, 33 years.

[00:09:02] Gloria: Okay.

[00:09:03] Elise: I stepped out of clinical practice completely this year,

[00:09:06] Gloria: Right,

[00:09:06] Elise: So that I could concentrate on launching near site, which is my vision, Wellness.

[00:09:18] Elise: We’re getting ready. Our Kickstarter or crowdfunding campaign.

[00:09:22] Gloria: Oh, you’ve gotta raise money.

[00:09:24] Elise: And that’s a lot. It’s just tough.

[00:09:27] Gloria: That’s hard.

I’m sure it’s really a big piece of Yeah.

The most difficult thing.

[00:09:32] Elise: Yeah. And then, uh, this Wednesday is the pitch of my life, so that I’ve gotta be ready.

[00:09:40] Gloria: So do you find it’s more difficult to start up a company at this age?

[00:09:46] Elise: It really is a lot and we’re ramping up now.

Sometimes it’s overwhelming. I’m not gonna lie to you. Society in general is dismissive of older people, and I’m seeing it more now that I’m outside [00:10:00] of the office because as a doctor I was still considered a young doctor. But there’s so much work that goes into starting a new company. So I think it’s an advantage when you’re older because you have a larger network, more resources, but it’s challenging at any, any.

[00:10:18] Gloria: Do you think you’ll ever slow down? Do you think you’re gonna retire any time soon?

[00:10:23] Elise: This is, This is a culmination of my life’s work as an optometrist to use what I’ve learned for all those years, and this means a lot to me. And doing something with it now instead of retiring

[00:10:35] Gloria: . I, I think it’s great. I think it’s very exciting.

[00:10:39] Elise: Yeah.

[00:10:40] Gloria: I don’t think retirement is for everyone. Mm-hmm. .

[00:10:44] Elise: Yeah, so you know that that’s really important to me is leaving that legacy.

I do recognize that I need to get to a place where I need to find more balance, but. At an age when most people [00:11:00] expect us to retire, I’m not letting age limit me. I wanna make an impact.

Cuz otherwise, if you retire without using everything that you’ve learned, it’s just like, it’s wasted. But if it lives on through something you’ve invented or a mindset that you’ve created, you know, that’s the whole reason I was in pageantry is to show people that, uh, you know, you, you continue this at any age and I hope.

Don’t see us by an age, but life experience and knowledge.

[00:11:54] Grace: Hi dad.

[00:11:49] Buzz: Hey Grace. How are you honey?

[00:11:51] Grace: I’m good. I was working on my cookbook today. I’m starting to like write down all the recipes and um, you know, for ones before me, I’m gonna do [00:12:00] grandma’s special K bars.

[00:12:01] Buzz: Yep.

I’m on the phone with my baby daughter, Grace, and she is a country music artist and she’s always got a bit of a side hustle going on in a lot of ways.

She takes after me. She, uh, is very much like me and, um, I talk to her almost every day.

[00:12:16] Grace: I had. I was sitting there typing out the recipe and I was like, Wait, I had this idea, but I had some butterscotch chips and some chocolate chips, so I put some in a little, in my little ninja blender.

[00:12:26] Buzz: Whoa.

[00:12:27] Grace: But I think it’ll, it’ll be good.

[00:12:29] Buzz: Grace is probably the most open minded of all of my children, and so I thought it’s probably best I start with her to talk about this end of life paperwork. I’m just not quite sure how to approach. My kids with this issue as important as it may be.

Hey, I didn’t wanna take a whole lot of your time, but I just wanted to talk to you about something and I don’t, I think we talked about it briefly before, but the timing wasn’t really good.

But I know that I was pushed by actually my doctors back in Chicago and then, um, by [00:13:00] my internist here in Los Angeles, uh, to fill out some paperwork that’s all part of getting older about. Things that I would like after I die , or, you know,

[00:13:15] Grace: I don’t like talking about it

[00:13:17] Buzz: . Well, I know, but there’s a bunch of paperwork I’m, I want to get filled out and I think it’s important that I have these papers, at least in order.

[00:13:28] Grace: Mm-hmm. ,

[00:13:29] Buzz: It’s called a pulsed P O L S T form, which stands for. Physician orders for life sustaining treatment. And what that means is that I’m gonna be signing, uh, a document that basically says, do not resuscitate.

[00:13:53] Grace: Oh.

[00:13:54] Buzz: And what that means is that if I am ever in [00:14:00] a state where, , I am completely incapacitated and all they can do to keep my brain alive is plug me into a machine.

[00:14:09] Grace: Mm-hmm. ,

[00:14:10] Buzz: I don’t, I don’t want to do that.

[00:14:13] Grace: But like you’re saying, they wouldn’t resuscitate.

[00:14:16] Buzz: Correct? Correct.

[00:14:18] Grace: Or you know, I know. Or these are, I don’t wanna talk about, I don’t wanna talk about that right now. Dad, that’s not a good time to talk about this.

[00:14:26] Buzz: That’s it. We can change the subjects.

[00:14:28] Grace: I just finally got the music video back.

It looks so good.

[00:14:31] Buzz: Oh my gosh.

[00:14:32] Grace: I’ll send it to you.

[00:14:33] Buzz: Okay.

[00:14:33] Grace: Yeah, it looks cute.

[00:14:34] Buzz: All right, well, I’ll, now I’m just hanging when Grace gets upset about, um, talking about end of life situations. I, I, I get, it makes me sad. I just know what life is like without my mom and dad. All this end of life talk is just, man, it’s it.

I don’t want that thought to be in my mind that my life is gonna end. How much more [00:15:00] time do I have? I don’t know,

because I don’t wanna leave. You know? I’ll miss my kids and they’ll miss. So those thoughts are, I try, I, I just don’t want to, I don’t like going there ever. I don’t like going there, but it, but it’s there. I haven’t finished. I’m not done yet. God knows. I mean, I’ve tripped and stumbled my way through this life,

and I just haven’t gotten anywhere close to reaping the reward yet. And that’s what I’m shooting. Is to get that reward. And, uh, that’s, that’s, that’s the goal is to finish. Finish strong.[00:16:00]

[00:16:23] Elise: So remember I’ve got you signed up for two more golf tournaments, okay? So,

[00:16:21] David: yep.

[00:16:22] Elise: We’ll have to get some tee times at those courses to practice.

I’m taking my son David to his golf lesson. He loves to golf and we try to give him as many opportunities as possible to finesse the game.

Yeah, no, I’ve gotta get my funding for the reading phone case.

Had like a two hour meeting day about manufacturing. The final design edits.

[00:16:46] David: Are you going to stick to one brand of phone maker like Apple or are you gonna go to Samsung?

[00:16:53] Elise: No. We’ll make different ones just like the top three.

So I had David when I was 45. He’s my miracle [00:17:00] baby. The maternal urge didn’t really hit me until probably my late thirties.

My baby was the practice and my patients were an extension of my own family, but then I realized I wanted to have my own child. That’s when David came around, and so my two babies are my son David. And near sight.

[00:17:21] David: Well, I mean you, if you get big enough, I guess you could try and partner with yeah, that.

Because if you go into Apple Street, they have beets, headphones, and everything on the walls.

[00:17:30] Elise: Oh yeah. Yeah. We’ll definitely go into brick and mortar. As far as phone stores too.

Yeah. Not too many people start a whole company from scratch at this age, and less so women,

[00:17:47] David: You can drop me off here.

[00:17:48] Elise: I want. Go ahead, my love.

[00:17:51] David: How about your, when’s our teen time?

[00:17:53] Elise: Um, in about 10 minutes. So you, you gotta hustle buddy. Uh, I’ll meet you in there. Pay sweetheart. Cause I need [00:18:00] to find parking lot.

The main benefit of being an older mother is that you’ve already done the work on yourself. I love being involved in my son’s life and we create memories together because in the scheme of life, I have a very short time with him, so I’m enjoying every second that I can.

I’m conscientious that David watches every move and that I’m a role model for him, and that’s what I’m hoping David sees that you can do anything and not be scared of it.

[00:18:44] Gloria: Hi.

[00:18:38] Buzz: Hey Gloria.

[00:18:39] Gloria: How are you?

[00:18:40] Buzz: I’m good. How are you today?

[00:18:41] Gloria: I’m good. Coming on night.

[00:18:42] Buzz: Nice.

Nice day.

[00:18:44] Gloria: Know it is. We should be on a bike ride. That’s right. Linda, this is Buzz. Hey, is my sister? Linda.

[00:18:51] Buzz: Linda, how are you? I get a hug, right?

[00:18:52] Linda: Oh, I suppose. Okay. ,

[00:18:55] Buzz: I’ve taken up Gloria’s recommendation to meet with Linda to talk about this end of [00:19:00] life paperwork.

Ever since my call with Grace, um, I really have felt like I, I needed some handholding through this end. Paperwork process, and I’m just grateful that Linda’s got the time now she’s, uh, setting up a birthday party for Helen, so I’m gonna lead you guys to it.

[00:19:17] Linda: You’re okay. So,

[00:19:18] Buzz: okay, so I started to go over this

[00:19:21] Linda: mm-hmm.

[00:19:22] Buzz: actually made another copy so that I can Very good pencil and some answers, and then fill it out correctly.

[00:19:28] Linda: Let me see.

[00:19:29] Buzz: So we’ve got the medical power of attorney and a pulse. Yeah,

there are a lot of forms that need to be filled out. Many of them appear to be somewhat simple, but some of them, like the pulse form is very daunting to me.

It asks so many questions about, do you want to be put on a ventilator? Do you want to be resuscitated? It’s a lot.

Okay, so gimme a little bit of clarity on the different situations on why I need to have all this. An [00:20:00] example might be

[00:20:01] Linda: if you were in an auto accident and you were not able to make any medical decisions for yourself, you’re unconscious.

Or if you were in the hospital and something, uh, didn’t go quite, uh, as planned mm-hmm. , and they weren’t sure whether you were gonna make it or not, that’s a very good reason for you to have someone who knows your wishes. Another example. That while you’re, Well, you fill these out because someone who has been diagnosed with dementia, it would not hold up in court if they had already been diagnosed with dementia to sign papers.

Oh, because they’re not competent at the time.

[00:20:46] Buzz: Well, I understand all that. My hesitation on doing all this is more based on. Probably wanting, just not wanting to face the issue. Not wanting to face it and say, Gee, I don’t wanna talk about [00:21:00] dying. I don’t wanna talk about death. I brought up a couple times, uh, to my kids, they’re like, Dad, do we have to talk about this?

Do we have to talk about even, you know, since I had my health issues and uh, particularly had my heart attack, I have not really brought this up believing that I’ve still got all this mortality, you know?

[00:21:21] Linda: Well, I think, I think that’s, uh, you’re not alone in this. That’s

[00:21:25] Buzz: I’m sure. I’m sure I’m not.

[00:21:26] Linda: You go into the ER and people haven’t made those plans and probably a majority of people have not made those plans.

Right. I mean, I think the hardest part for me is asking Helen, uh, and we did this probably 10 years ago about a do not resuscitate. We had everything else in order. Oh, okay. It was time for me to ask her that question, and it wasn’t an easy question because, you know, just saying the words out loud made me weepy,

[00:21:56] Buzz: of course.

And I know that that’s how my kids have even react

[00:21:59] Linda: and it does. [00:22:00] Now, you know, in in our culture, we don’t talk about death is the last stage of life. , but it is, it’s the last stage as far as we know, and I think the older we get, the more we know that maybe it’s time for us to start thinking about it and talking about what, what our wishes are with our families.

You know, you can take a turn and never know that it’s coming and that if you’ve gotten things in order, it’ll just make everything. Less complicated for you and your family.

[00:22:32] Buzz: Yeah, you know, I’d really like to meet Helen.

[00:22:34] Linda: All right. We’ll make it up

[00:22:35] Buzz: . I just don’t want my death and the end of my life to be a burden on my family, and if this is one piece that makes it a little less painful and a little less arduous at the end to take care of their dad, then this is something that I need to do.

[00:22:56] Linda: It’s Buzz. He’s gonna talk to you about being a [00:23:00] hundred. Honey.

[00:23:00] Helen: Oh,

[00:23:01] Buzz: hi

[00:23:01] Helen: Buzz. Hi.

[00:23:02] Buzz: Nice to meet you, Helen. And you know, you’re kind of famous.

[00:23:05] Helen: Huh, I’m,

[00:23:06] Buzz: You’re kind of famous.

[00:23:07] Helen: How’d that happen?

[00:23:08] Buzz: Well, I don’t know. I’m just in the air. There’s all these, Everybody’s talking about Helen. So Helen, I gotta ask you, which I’m sure a lot of people have asked that question, but what’s your secret?

Or is there a secret?

[00:23:21] Helen: There is no secret. It just happened. .

[00:23:24] Buzz: Okay. That’s. And how long have you been in California?

[00:23:36] Helen: Since the war ended. Since 1945. Wow.

[00:23:49] Buzz: Tell us your first vote. Presidential.

[00:23:54] Helen: Yeah, it was Roosevelt.

[00:23:56] Buzz: That was the first president you got to vote for?

[00:23:58] Helen: Yes, sir.

[00:23:59] Buzz: [00:24:00] Wow. It’s impressive.

[00:24:01] Helen: I, I was impressed. I was thrilled.

[00:24:04] Buzz: How did you and Linda meet?

[00:24:08] Helen: I’m trying to remember.

[00:24:09] Linda: I was cleaning apartments and,

[00:24:11] Helen: Oh, I needed a cleaning woman and when she knocked on my door, I opened it to see this cute little wife.

[00:24:21] Buzz: There she was.

[00:24:22] Helen: And No, I thought you had a cute little thing.

And the rest is history. That’s right. 45 years, almost 45 years later.

[00:24:54] Helen: Yeah, we really did. And it’s still the same.

[00:24:59] Buzz: Still going [00:25:00] strong.

[00:25:00] Helen: Yep. She’s a marvel.

[00:25:03] Linda: What did you say, honey?

[00:25:04] Helen: I said you’re a Marvel.

[00:25:05] Linda: What did you say, honey?

[00:25:06] Helen: M a r V. Yeah. .

[00:25:11] Linda: You’re too kind. . I love you.

[00:25:14] Buzz: What I also wanted to, to tell you how grateful I am for Linda, she’s kind of kicked me in the butt to do something which is make arrangements and fill out some forms.

Forms like advance directives. You and I have done that many years ago.

[00:25:30] Helen: Yeah.

[00:25:30] Linda: And you know, part of it was because before we had rights as a same sex couple.

[00:25:36] Helen: Mm-hmm.

[00:25:37] Linda: that. Yeah. You know, that if anything happened to you, That your children could come in and, uh, make your decisions for you. Mm-hmm. . So we protected ourselves early stages of our relationship.

[00:25:50] Helen: Yeah.

[00:25:51] Linda: And the more we talk about these things openly with our loved ones, our family and our friends, Yes, we did. You know, [00:26:00] the easier it becomes. So we’ve done that.

[00:26:03] Helen: Sure. And, and probably will again. I got used to the idea that I’m not gonna live forever.

[00:26:13] Buzz: We all think that. We’d like to think that.

[00:26:16] Helen: Like to think that, yeah, sure.

[00:26:21] Buzz: I would be so grateful to live to a hundred and I’ll do whatever I can to make it to that age because I would love nothing more than to be around a long. For my grandkids and my kids, but the more I push away these thoughts of dying and death, they never go away. They’re still there, and I just know that if I’m not ready to have these conversations, my kids won’t be ready to have these conversations.

So that is where I need to get to.[00:27:00]

[00:27:12] Elise: Okay, so you’re okay. I’m here. So you let’s over there. Let’s put our, Yeah, you gonna sit right behind me? Oh no. Here you can sit here.

This is Elise and I’m at the Women Founders Pitch Event. The top 10 female entrepreneurs in the country are here today, and together we’re going to present ours. To a packed room of investors, entrepreneurs, and judges to determine who they feel has the strongest chance to succeed as a startup company.

Thank you everybody for joining us today.

Woohoo. Winning tonight would be awesome because there is a cash prize plus the support of the c. There’s validation. The judges felt that you were the best company out there, which will help us get funded..

[00:27:55] announcer: I have the honor tonight of introducing our finalists.

Some of them are first time [00:28:00] entrepreneurs, which makes it even tougher.

[00:28:05] Contestant 1: Welcome to Fix Golden, the ultimate adaptive skincare for golden Hour blowing

[00:28:10] Contestant 2: CEO and Chief Snack Officer of […] Nation, and we are on a mission. Reimagine snacking.

[00:28:16] Contestant3: We created a next generation instant noodles, Chanel instant noodles.

[00:28:22] Contestant4: I invented the first fabric that offers a unique combination of cooling and beauty benefits in our patent.

[00:28:29] Elise: I honestly was in awe of the other founders. I kept saying, Wow. There’s a lot of brilliant female founders here, and even though it’s competitive, it’s also very supportive.

I’m Dr. Lee Brisco, the founder of Near Site, and I develop the world’s first vision enhancing phone case.

Bam. This is the most difficult part of any founder’s life.

We need money going to investors, friends and family at this stage, and asking them to believe in a company that [00:29:00] doesn’t exist. You need to show. Why your new invention is worth taking the risk for? Because a lot of startup companies, the majority of them don’t make it.

And that’s a growing market because we’re getting older and we’re more and more dependent on our cell phones. Multiply this by it, It’s hard cuz it’s, it’s a matter of getting people willing to take a leap of faith. With me.

Vision is something that most of us struggle with cause we’re online so much and we’re beating up our eyes.

Thank you

[00:29:33] announcer: we’re almost ready to announce the winners. This is a remarkable, amazing group, uh, of founders. So we’re so excited to. Share with you what we have decided.

[00:29:50] announcer 2: We hope that the grant proceeds can go towards, uh, supporting female founded businesses. I’m so excited to announce that the, uh, winner [00:30:00] of the check grant is BT Nation.

[00:30:04] Elise: Okay.

Yeah, that’s a huge. You know, and I’ve worked so hard, but if I get emotional, I can’t function

well. She deserves it.

[00:30:18] announcer: Oh, thank you so much for that.

[00:30:21] Elise: No matter how good your idea. All of us share the same struggles. You know, of course I would’ve liked to win, but I mean, it’s, it’s just a, it takes a lot of time to do this and it’s, it’s, you have a lot of, um, disappointments.

It’s hard, but you need to be a fighter. You have to have faith in yourself and the company. Um, I have complete faith that we’re going to make it.

[00:31:11] Elise: We developed solutions to vision problems that result from aging as well as our heavy dependence on digital devices. Oh, I’m practicing . No, no. They’re all open. Yeah, just take you. I’m here today cause I’ve heard patients. So I am about to walk into an investor meeting. My hope is that the investors will believe in me and my company as much as I do.

Mm-hmm. . So after 33 years, I sold my, sold my optometric pass. Cause I figured out solutions to these problems to put them in patients hands affordably.

[00:31:40] Unknown: They’re gonna do.

[00:31:41] Elise: Thank you. I’m Elise Brisco, by the way.

[00:31:44] Unknown: What’s your business

[00:31:45] Elise: near site? We’re a vision Wellness company.

[00:31:47] Unknown: Oh, I was just reading it on the, mm-hmm.

on the little pamphlet there.

[00:31:50] Elise: Awesome. Yeah, so I feel really good going into the pitch. I feel like I’m stronger as a founder, as a person. My presentation is stronger and [00:32:00] we’ve completely redone the pitch deck.

I’ve nothing to be. I’m just like, Excuse me. Mm-hmm. . Thank you. Appreciate it.

[00:32:37]Charlie: Hello?

[00:32:31] Buzz: Yeah.

[00:32:33] Charlie: Hey dad, what’s going on?

[00:32:34] Buzz: How are you?

[00:32:36] Charlie: I’m fine.

[00:32:36] Buzz: Good.

Hey, Grace.

[00:32:39] Grace: Hey Dad.

[00:32:40] Buzz: How are you honey?

[00:32:42] Grace: I’m good. How are you? I’m all right.

[00:32:43] Buzz: Hanging in there.

Cool. The sun is starting to come out here at the beach, so it’s a good day.

[00:32:49] Grace: Nice.

[00:32:50] Buzz: This is Buzz. I’ve gotten my paperwork together and there’s one last thing that I need to do and that is assign a medical power of attorney.

So I’m gonna jump on a call with [00:33:00] Charlie and Grace and go.

Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something that I finally got, um, got a handle on and I think I’ve got it all ready to go. Which are these, um, advanced directives. I need to assign like a power of attorney for medical.

[00:33:19] Grace: Okay?

[00:33:20] Buzz: I’m thinking Charlie.

[00:33:21] Charlie: Yeah, totally fine.

[00:33:22] Grace: Are you saying that Charlie’s smarter than me? ?

[00:33:26] Buzz: No, he,

[00:33:27] Grace: I’m just kidding.

I’m joking. I understand.

Yeah. So what else?

[00:33:31] Buzz: I’ll send a packet of all this to you guys. There’s a form called Power of Attorney Medical. There’s a form called Pulse, and then like a, then like a wishes form.

[00:33:41] Charlie: What are your specific wishes?

Yeah. As of right now?

[00:33:44] Buzz: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Okay. The, the, the, the pieces on here I think that will stand out are things that yes, I do want to be cremated. I’m not gonna actually have a burial. Spot anywhere because I’ll have the ashes, but maybe having like a bench, some of what of a [00:34:00] commemorative bench somewhere in Danville or something.

[00:34:02] Grace: Or we’ve been on runs or hikes together. You love seeing those?

[00:34:05] Buzz: Yeah.

[00:34:06] Charlie: Um, I was just gonna mix your ashes with our coffee, but that’s fine.

[00:34:09] Buzz: Yeah. Well , thanks Charlie. That’s pretty well Coffee is actually one of my favorite things, so that might not be a bad idea. coffee’s good. Um, I do have a small life insurance policy.

that will, that it’s mainly set up that it will take care of any funeral costs basically.

[00:34:30] Grace: I love you and I’m glad that you’re healthy and we can have these conversations.

[00:34:34] Buzz: Yes.

Now

yes.

[00:34:36] Grace: While you’re, you know, all conscious and everything. Yep.

[00:34:40] Charlie: I’m just glad that there’s a plan. I’m just glad that there’s, you know, that we know what to do or we will know what to do,

[00:34:46] Buzz: Correct.

[00:34:46] Charlie: Where to go and all that,

[00:34:48] Buzz: and I just wouldn’t wanna. Leave this world without having you guys at least have things in order that way, you know mm-hmm. ,

[00:34:56] Grace: you never know. Yeah. Might as well have all your ducks in a row and [00:35:00] be safe and, um, Yeah. I, I get it though.

[00:35:05] Buzz: Any questions about it at all?

[00:35:07] Charlie: No, I, I’ll look for the form and then I’ll, I mean, I may have questions after I, uh, After I look at the, the paperwork, but right now I don’t have any questions.

Okay. Sounds all pretty standard to me.

[00:35:20] Grace: Will there be a song request in this paperwork?

[00:35:23] Buzz: Uh, there’s, I have .

[00:35:28] Grace: You have to just tell me.

[00:35:29] Buzz: No, no. It’s funny cuz I’ve had, I basically now have a playlist for my.

[00:35:35] Grace: Oh. Really?

[00:35:35] Buzz: Yeah. I started to write down songs where it’s like, Oh, that would be a good song for my funeral.

[00:35:40] Buzz: Oh, that’d be a good, you know, like, um,

so this week has been, um, has been really hard. [00:36:00] Um, I’m glad I did the paperwork. But I don’t know if I will ever be able to really talk about death. I’ve got so much more to do. I just have so much more to accomplish in my life. Um, and I’m not there yet. And, uh, I mean, at 70 I do, I feel like I’ve got a whole lot of life left in me.

You know, I plan on being around for at least 20 more years at. 20 years I think. I’ll get there.

 

ELISE AUDIO DIARY

[00:36:41] Elise: This is Elise. I just got outta the investor meeting and I’m so excited because she said that she would give us a chat. It’s really nice when you are able to share your vision with someone else and they believe enough in you to be one of your early investors cuz they’re really taking. [00:37:00] On a brand new company.

Um, and this is a risk for me. I’m putting everything on the line. I sold my practice. I don’t have someone bankrolling me sometimes. I, I we’re about to run outta money. Uh, I think, Oh my gosh. But, um, everything that you’ve done up till now, both victories as well as. Is just opening the doors for more. This is going to be ongoing for us for a while as we grow and I have to pursue this.

I truly believe in what we’re doing. This is something that I’m leaving behind also. I just keep thinking it just, it’s a revolving door and we keep adding to this continuum of knowledge and building on what the previous generation has given us and making it better.

[00:37:57] party guest: Hey Gloria,[00:38:00]

[00:38:01] Gloria: Girls. Make your own drinks. There’s a variety over there. I just made one cuz I knew she wanted to Margarita. It’s not that I like her better than you guys or anything. Gloria here today is a very, very big day. It’s Helen’s hundredth birthday party and family from around the country are all here to celebrate.

[00:38:25] Linda: You wanna run away?

No. Helen keeps saying, Let’s just run away.

Too many people love you. You can’t do that.

[00:38:32] Helen: Well,

[00:38:33] Gloria: yes you can. Helen. When you’re a hundred, you can do whatever you want.

[00:38:37] Helen: Thank you for reminding me of that fact.

[00:38:39] Linda: You got a lot of love coming your way in the next few days. I know. It’s wonderful.

You got your kids coming, your grandkids, your great grandkids.

[00:38:47] Gloria: Seeing Helen turn 100 years old has been just magical.

[00:38:54] Linda: And Helen, this is your birthday song. Oh, thank you. My. [00:39:00] Peter Little girl. She looks just like you, the little girl.

[00:39:09] Gloria: You know, I’m trying to figure out how I feel about turning 100. If I could do it with the vitality and excitement that Helen has had in her life, it would be great.

So bad you broke his little hug. That make you feel the little is

. Okay. Helen, are you happy now? That was time.

[00:39:43] Helen: You’re, I’m delighted. Thank you. It’ll be as straight of together. It’s just wonderful. You Thank you.

[00:39:53] Gloria: 100 and holding. Helen took her hearing aids out right before she came [00:40:00] down.

[00:40:01] Helen: They’re in very tight and good, and I heard the old thing in Its wonderful.

See, Oh, Helen,

[00:40:08] Gloria: that’s why you’re so in love. .

[00:40:11] Linda: That’s love.

[00:40:11] Helen: Isn’t that amazing?

[00:40:13] Gloria: I know.

[00:40:16] Helen: I love this. . They’ve been so good to me. Happy. Cheers, everybody. Cheers.

[00:40:26] Gloria: When I was in my forties, if someone asked me the question, What do you think about being 70? I probably would’ve answered it with, I don’t know that I lived to be 70.

And to my surprise, here I am just as active and having as much fun as I’ve always had in my life. Hell, if I feel this way at a hundred, I’ll go to 101. And I’m doing things that I never dreamed I would do, You know, a podcast, whoever thought I’d do that. . I wasn’t [00:41:00] exactly sure what a podcast was, but now I know this has been quite the year for me, and I think that what I take away from this experience is that you never.

What’s gonna pop up in your life, and you never know what age that that kind of little magical thing will happen to you. I really hope listeners will walk away with a more nuanced way of thinking about what it means to be a senior. Seniors should not. The, the invisible population. I like the fact that we call it our golden years.

It is pretty appropriate because it can be the very best time of your life.

So, are we done ? Can I take my mic off?

[00:41:58] Producer: Yeah. Okay. Thank you [00:42:00] Gloria.

[00:42:00] Gloria: You’re gonna miss me, aren’t you?

I’ll come back for season two

BEING Golden is an audio reality original from Lemonada Media’s BEING studios. Executive Producers are Jessica Cordova Kramer, Stephanie Wittels and Kasey Barrett. Our co-executive producer is me. Sele Leota. Our segment producer is Mariah Gossett and our associate producer is Greta Stromquist. Liz Lipschultz is our Story producer, and Millee Taggart-Ratcliffe Is our Story consultant. Scott […] is our audio supervisor and field recordist. Additional field recording by Kurt […] and […]. Mix and sound Design by Ivan Kuraev and Bill […]. Our music is by Signature Tracks. Special thanks to Providence St. John’s Health Care Center and Rough Improv. You can find us online at Lemonada Media and connect with us across all social platforms. For a list of current sponsors and discount codes for this and all other Lemonada Media series. Visit lemonadamedia.com/sponsors. If you liked what you heard today, please tell your family and friends to listen and subscribe, rate and review us on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time, thanks for listening and thanks for BEING.