It Started With a Simple Realization
Not everyone needs help. But almost everyone needs to be noticed.
That’s what Emil Abdulnasyrov saw happening across society: older adults weren’t always struggling in the ways that get headlines. They weren’t calling emergency hotlines or waving for help. But they were fading. Not from physical illness, but from the absence of attention. Of regular conversation. Of being asked “How are you?” and actually being listened to.
“One day, I had a long call with an older relative,” Emil recalls. “She didn’t need anything. She just wanted to talk. To feel part of the world again.”
That conversation stayed with him. It felt meaningful. And when it ended, Emil realized how rare that kind of space is for many people, especially in later life.
From that insight, NewCircle was born: a service offering daily emotional support and real companionship to adults who want to feel more connected. Not through automation. Not through scheduling apps. Through one real person, sending one real message, every day.
Why Emotional Support Still Gets Overlooked
For many aging adults, the biggest shifts are not external but emotional. Retirement, bereavement, or illness may be the trigger, but the deeper need is often unspoken: someone to share the day with. Someone to talk to, without pressure.
That kind of quiet, consistent attention is harder to come by than it should be.
“We assume people are okay just because they’re not asking for help,” Emil says. “But emotional absence isn’t always loud. It just slowly empties the day.”
NewCircle responds to that absence not with systems or structures, but with warm, human-scale presence.
A New Kind of Support System
At its core, NewCircle is built on a simple premise: human connection is health. Emotional wellbeing is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.
Each person who signs up is thoughtfully matched with a companion — someone trained not in therapy or coaching, but in presence and empathy. These are individuals who know how to listen, how to hold space, and how to gently show up in someone’s life with a kind word and a curious heart.
There are no group sessions. No forms to fill daily. No expectations beyond sincerity.
The connection unfolds through brief, one-on-one messages. A memory. A check-in. A question that remembers what was shared last week. And in those small messages, a relationship takes shape.
A Sense of Being Seen
The power of NewCircle isn’t in what’s said, it’s in how it’s said, and the fact that it’s said at all.
Imagine someone in their 70s or 80s receiving a message like:
“I thought of you this morning. You said the birds near your window start singing earlier in spring, were they out today?”
Or:
“Just checking in. I remember this week can feel heavy for you. I’m here if you want to talk.”
These aren’t scripted lines. They’re the kinds of things people say when they care. When they remember. When they’re paying attention.
“A message might not solve anything,” Emil says. “But it reminds you that you exist in someone else’s mind. That’s more powerful than people realize.”
Designed to Feel Human, Not Clinical
NewCircle is intentionally unhurried. Participants aren’t rushed. They respond when they feel like it. They can adjust the pace, request a new match, or just take a pause when needed.
Companions are not medical professionals. If a participant needs clinical support, NewCircle encourages them to seek professional care. What companions offer instead is something many people are missing: steady, non-judgmental, emotionally grounded connection.
“We’re not here to analyze people,” Emil says. “We’re here to respect them.”
A Long-Term Vision Built on Care
What Emil cares about is consistency.
“I didn’t want to build just a tech product,” he explains. “I wanted to build something that still feels warm ten years from now.”
That warmth, quiet, recurring, and personal, is what keeps people coming back to NewCircle. For some, it’s the only message they get all day. For others, it’s the beginning of a deeper connection.
And for Emil, it’s proof that one message really can change someone’s day or even their week.
