Monster.com founder in elder venture

Jeff Taylor, the Bay State entrepreneur who founded the popular job search website Monster.com, is preparing for his golden years -- and everyone else's too.

Taylor has raised $10 million in venture capital for a new project called Eons, designed to cater to the millions of Americans aged 50 or older. ''Eons' role is to see if we can shape a new era of power and fulfillment and value at every stage of life, starting at 50." said 47-year-old Taylor. ''I don't think there's very much offered out there in terms of being inspirational or challenging to these boomers and seniors with a lot more life to live."

General Catalyst Partners of Cambridge and Sequoia Capital of Menlo Park, Calif., teamed up to provide funding for Eons. David Fialkow, managing director of General Catalyst Partners, said that Eons will be well positioned to become a leading brand among a new generation of senior citizens.

''The market for 50-plus is growing at an unprecedented pace, with 77 million baby boomers who just started turning 60 in 2006," Fialkow said.

While General Catalyst, founded in 2000, is a relative newcomer to the venture market, Sequoia Capital has been a major venture capital company for three decades and provided early funding for such Internet titans as Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.

Taylor described Eons as a ''media company" but refused to provide details about what features and services it will offer. He wouldn't even confirm that Eons will be an Internet business when it launches in July. But a visit to Taylor's previous venture, Monster.com, suggested he was building a Web service. Eons has posted ads seeking to recruit a software engineer skilled in designing Internet applications, as well as a manager to run an online gaming area on the Eons site. Many Internet sites like Yahoo host such services. They feature simple, nonviolent ''casual games," like Bejeweled and Scrabble, which are popular with older adults.

As more members of the baby boom generation near retirement, experts foresee a surging number of older Internet users. According to Susannah Fox, associate director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project in Washington, DC, only about 25 percent of people over age 70 are online today. But that's up from 15 percent just five years ago. And Fox said the percentage will grow dramatically as boomers age.

A Pew survey finds that 83 percent of Americans between ages 30 and 49 use the Internet, nearly mirroring the rate found among those in their teens and 20s. For people between 50 and 64, the number edges down to 71 percent. Fox said that as this group gets older, they'll push up the rate of Internet use among older seniors, bringing it into line with that of younger people.

But experts say there's a shortage of Internet resources tailored to the needs and interests of older people. Fox noted that many sites ignore the physical problems of older users -- using small type that they may find difficult to read, for example. ''We're dealing with people who are very Internet-savvy but are losing their vision," said Fox. ''In five years, we're going to have an even bigger group in that demographic."

In addition, seniors need more sites that feature information of importance to them. ''This fairly well-to-do, post-World War II generation seems to be just starving for information and resources on how to maximize their health and their wealth," said Tom Perls, associate professor at the Boston University School of Medicine.

Perls noted that baby boomers are likely to live longer than earlier generations.

''My expectation is that most people should be able to live to their middle- to late-80s, most of it in very good health," he said.

To accomplish this, seniors need access to accurate health information, but Perls said that many websites foist deceptive and inaccurate information on older people. He said that there's an unmet need for Internet services that offer reliable information to seniors on the three key issues--medical care, financial planning, and social relationships.

Taylor is keeping mum on exactly what services Eons will offer. But he was clear on the company's goal -- helping people live useful and pleasant lives no matter their age.

Taylor scoffed at the traditional image of the retiree aimlessly puttering around the house until he dies.

''I hate this whole puttering thing," he said. ''I have way bigger plans for my life, and so does this whole generation."

Hiawatha Bray can be reached at bray@globe.com.