Rebuilding ALTO for cross-generational connection
ALTO is the cross-generational social activities community behind ALTO.cool: a platform that connects seniors with companions for shared experiences—from conversations and card games to walks, museum visits, and learning basic IT skills. The mission is to unite people across generations through meaningful activities and to help reduce loneliness, with safety built in: every companion is vetted before joining the app.
TMZ Software partnered with ALTO to rebuild the product from the ground up. The previous experience was a single iOS application that did not reliably serve users or the business. We delivered a new Flutter app, a Laravel backend, and a redesigned marketing website on Wix, with UX, visual design, and engineering led end-to-end by our team.
Challenges
The legacy app was iOS-only, unstable, and hard to evolve. Seniors and companions needed a dependable way to discover each other, book meetings (online or in person), and manage availability and trust—without the product getting in the way. ALTO also needed a clear public story: who the platform is for, how matching works, and how vouchers and safety fit together.
Solution
We replaced the old codebase with a cross-platform Flutter client backed by a Laravel API and services layer, so features could ship consistently and the stack could scale with the community. For the marketing and content side, we rebuilt the Wix site to align with the new brand and product narrative—sections for seniors and companions, “how it works,” donations, and the #BrightBond initiative, which invites everyone to take part in cross-generational connection beyond the app.
On the product side, the flow mirrors what ALTO describes publicly: download, register, sign in, match, and go. Seniors can find companions who share their interests; companions set availability, go through verification (including ID and background checks), and can volunteer or set their own rates where the model allows. The site also highlights vouchers so family members can gift meaningful moments to senior loved ones.
Impact
ALTO can now iterate on one modern mobile codebase, a coherent backend, and a maintainable Wix presence—so the team can focus on community growth, partnerships, and programs like #BrightBond instead of fighting platform limitations.
What ALTO offers:
- For seniors: Matching with companions by interests and proximity, scheduling, and choice of video or in-person meetings; emphasis on safety (e.g. verified companions, booking confirmations, feedback after sessions). Seniors also speaks to relatives: being present for early online meetings to build trust.
- For companions: A structured onboarding path (documents, schedule, profile, activities), clear do’s and don’ts (companionship and social support, not medical care), and tools to manage how they work with seniors. See Companions for the full companion journey.
Public contact for the project remains info@alto.cool. We’re proud to have helped ALTO move from a broken single-app legacy to a Flutter, Laravel, and Wix stack that matches their mission.
