To increase its presence in children’s psychological needs, AI-focused mental health startup LISSUN acquired US-based digital mental health provider Being Cares Inc. The business did not, however, provide the deal’s financial details.
According to LISSUN, the acquisition will enable it to broaden its offerings to address child-centric issues such as learning disabilities, autism, ADHD, and speech difficulties, among others. Through this acquisition, the healthtech business based in Gurugram has acquired the intellectual property rights to Being Care’s complete workforce and its technologies.
AI-Driven Care: What LISSUN Plans with Being Cares’ Technology?
Varun Gandhi and Abhishek Sharma, the founders of Being Care, have both joined LISSUN as chief technology officer and chief product officer, respectively. According to LISSUN’s founder Tarun Gupta, the company is developing a system that uses Bing’s AI and LISSUN’s clinical knowledge to address families’ worries from the first indications, provide digital assistance, and smoothly switch to in-person care when necessary.
Sunshine Division Set for Major Expansion
Sunshine is a special division of LISSUN that deals with children’s mental health issues. In the next two to four years, the business also hopes to increase the number of Sunshine centres from the existing 20 to 200. LISSUN was established in 2021 by Gupta and Krishna Veer Singh with the goal of addressing current mental health concerns by providing professional advice, treatments, and all-inclusive solutions for mental and emotional wellness.
The business established an internal clinical team and hired therapists as full-time staff members. It states that it has worked with over 350 B2B partners and over 75,000 clients. According to LISSUN, it has collaborated with businesses like Uber, Zerodha, and Unacademy to improve mental health in the workplace.
Being Cares, a mental health mapping business, on the other hand, assists users in mapping their physiological issues and offers remedies such as journaling sessions powered by AI, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and fast analysis services.
Growing Tech Nexus in India’s Mental Health Sector
People have begun to prioritise their mental health in addition to their physical health as they navigate a fast-paced society. Once restricted to prescription drugs and physical therapy sessions, the market is increasingly expanding into tech-based alternatives. In India, a number of up-and-coming firms are offering tech-based solutions for mental health.
For example, Siddhant Bhargava, Shalmali Kadu, and Mitansh Khurana launched the firm InnerGize, which makes the claim that it uses technology to treat mental health conditions. The company uses a state-of-the-art technique called Neuroacoustic Vagal Modulation, which stimulates the vagus nerve—the body’s natural relaxation switch—gently.
It promises to provide a wearable gadget that helps lower stress, anxiety, and other health problems by sending soothing signals to the brain’s relaxation regions. The business just raised INR 4.5 Cr in investment. In a similar vein, the wearable device Arc, developed by Bengaluru-based startup Mave Health, provides non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) as a treatment for depression.
Sometimes you are left wondering about the aspects that impact your productivity and mental well-being at your workplace. According to recent statistics portrayed by Microsoft study, about 58% of the leaders and 47% of the employees today in India report that they are drained out at work.
So, how do the world’s leading giants discover the right balance between life and work? Employee well-being now encompasses mental health and overall growth, emphasizing flexibility in where, when, and how employees work.
Irrespective of the size of the company having an awareness that employee well-being is the basic building block of a company and a sound and strong policy in order will enhance productivity while aiding the employees to develop the best habits and routines in the longer run.
Today, we will discuss a couple of healthcare startups supporting their employees’ mental well-being through their effective tech-based solutions!
Considering these tough times where we live today, taking good care of your health is significant. In the corporate realm, it tends to become the additional responsibility of the employers to ensure the employees’ proper well-being.
With the growing costs of health care, even employees are searching for corporate wellness programs that help fight the battle between health hazards and leading a fitter life. A couple of workplace wellness providers offer emotional, physical, and mental health solutions. The leading ones are enlisted below after thorough research:
Several firms offer optional wellness activities for employees to get past their workplace for a while and perform exercises and other workouts to stay fit. The primary notion behind participating is not related to any physical activities but enhancing the productivity and engagement of the employees.
CircleCare is a US-based firm offering a robust platform and the necessary tools to motivate employees to maintain healthier lifestyles through rewards and positive reinforcements. The active participants are challenging one another or even competing in teams facilitating an enhanced level of activities in building a team.
Visit Health
Startup Name
Visit Health
Year Founded
2016
Founders
Chetan Anand, Vaibhav Singh, Anurag Prasad and Shashvat Tripathi
Visit Health – Healthcare Startups Helping Workplaces
It is a healthcare startup that allows individuals to connect with doctors on the move while traveling at work. It aids the users with answering health-related queries being your healthcare assistant and a telehealth domain connecting to the healthcare specialists.
It runs an app where the users can easily chat with their doctors or even request visits with consultant specialists while connecting over video and audio calls from the comfort of their homes and offices.
Visit Health even claims to be a completely integrated, 360-degree main platform related to healthcare. It can aid the company in designing primary care, including the medieval services before the wellness and hospitalization solutions for the employees and their dependents.
The app uses a holistic approach to smart data, engaging and guiding the users throughout their well-being journey around the four main pillars of a mental wellness program: physical, financial, legal, and emotional.
The studies note that employees are adversely affected by poor sleep health and fatigue, eventually impacting their performance. Restful sleep can impact the mental and physical performance and productivity of employees.
Some employers are highly keen on the qualitative rest of the workers. Through the sleep programs held by the companies, employees can significantly enhance their wellness, irrespective of whether they are suffering from any type of disease or dealing with sleep disorders.
Resonea is a US-based firm creating an online sleep-enhancement program and an app specifically designed to offer information, tools, and strategies to help in better sleep, a better lifestyle, and enhanced productivity. Furthermore, the firm even offers smartphone-based home testing to detect sleep apnea called “Drowzle”.
The Pip
Startup Name
The Pip
Year Founded
2021
Founders
Kathy Kaluhiokalani
The Pip – Healthcare Startups Helping Workplaces
Wellness not only implies taking care of the body but also positively affects the mind. The mobile platforms and applications offer employees support for the challenges that involve depression, stress, and anxiety disorders. The users are then awarded periodically to set wellness goals and their accomplishments.
The Pip is an Irish startup that allows people to visualize and manage stress levels. The startup system comprises an application that aims to de-stress, learn and re-focus to manage stress in a better way and a distinctive device with Bluetooth connection to detect if the individual is relaxed and focused and even stressed.
The data points are influencing the effectiveness and scoring progress under this session. The app then starts responding to the transforming stress levels using visual and audio feedback.
Buffer
Startup Name
Buffer
Year Founded
2010
Founders
Joel Gascoigne
Buffer – Healthcare Startups Helping Workplaces
Buffer is a firm that supports its employees in disclosing their emotions. They strongly believe in encouraging people and their authenticity to make themselves complete during work, and it means sharing the highs while supporting individuals in their lows.
Joel Gascoigne, the CEO, openly shares that he had faced darker days and even tweeted regarding the times he had spoken to the therapist, which is a way to deal with the overwhelming senses. The firm is offering access to online therapists for the remote workforce and subscription fees to the health and wellness app, “Joyable.”
There are resources such as Slack being used to discuss and share mental health resources. There is a greater emphasis on preventative means, including the introduction of “Unsick Day.” It is mainly the day which is dedicated to preventative care.
NextJump
Startup Name
NextJump
Year Founded
1994
Founders
Charlie Kim
NextJump – Healthcare Startups Helping Workplaces
NextJump is an e-commerce company that strongly believes that their instances go ahead in proving that small companies should never become a hurdle to aiding employees’ mental and health well-being.
In reality, wellness and health are one of the main basic principles of the business. Help gets offered under every attribute of fitness and health, including energy management, mental health, and nutrition. It aids the adequate breaks as the potential way for re-energizing and aiding people to work potentially well while returning to it.
It offers healthier snacks. These employees offer an entire range of physical activities to get involved in and are encouraged to participate for about twenty minutes a couple of times a week. The emotional and psychological coaching programs are also offered with greater emphasis on being the best you can be.
Wellable
Startup Name
Wellable
Year Founded
2013
Founders
Nick Patel
Wellable – Healthcare Startups Helping Workplaces
Wellable is the most comprehensive wellness provider empowering companies of every size to create engaging employee well-being programs.
Working with employers, properties, and health plans across the globe, wellness now has active users across 35 nations. Wellable even has associates supporting the physical and mental health of the employees while strengthening the company culture and enhancing the main workplace productivity levels.
Wellable now offers the most modular ecosystem of wellness services and technologies while allowing its clients to pick products that work the best for their companies. The main solutions included are multimedia educational content, an award-winning wellness program, and on-demand fitness and mindfulness classes. Wellable supplements its digital platform with onsite and virtual experiences.
Nova Benefits – Healthcare Startups Helping Workplaces
Nova Benefits is a Bengaluru-based company founded in 2020. It is a B2B tech-based platform helping companies to enhance employee well-being through wellness programs, daily fitness, health insurance, and mental health counseling programs.
The team members are offered a single platform for accessing their company-offered benefits. It is a startup that consists of direct insurance broking licenses through the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, allowing it to offer businesses a combination of coverage and insurers.
The client’s onboarded Nova team includes CoinDCX, Snapdeal, Zenoti, and Yulu. Nova rose to around $10 million under a Series A funding round led by the SIG or Susquehanna International Group, Titan Capital, Better Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Multiply Ventures in September 2021. These assisted in expanding their customer success teams, product management, engineering in building a massive stack of wellness offerings on the platform, and sales.
eKincare
Startup Name
eKincare
Year Founded
2014
Founders
Kiran Kalakuntla, Srikanth Samudrala
eKincare – Healthcare Startups Helping Workplaces
Corporate wellness and health programs mainly focus on supporting their employees in staying healthier, monitoring their health conditions, and preventing chronic conditions and potential diseases while reducing overall healthcare costs. It mainly includes fitness programs, health screenings, and preventative care.
eKincare is an India-based company built on a robust platform powered by Artificial Intelligence with real-time health analysis. The platform offers their employers data regarding the well-being of the workers, actionable insights, and potential risks. Additionally, the system offers health-tech services, including e-pharmacy, online health checkup bookings, telemedicine, and more.
The vision of these startups is to create a preventive, predictive, and highly personalized healthcare journey for the professionals to aid them in adopting a healthier lifestyle and empower the companies with technology and relevant data for reducing the overall health-related risks for their employees across the platform.
eKincare has raised $15 million under Series B funding in the March 2022 round led by the Sabre Partners, Eight Roads, HealthQuad, Endiya Partners, and Siana Capital for accelerating the growth through branding and marketing along with the addition of products.
Final Takeaway
Although we believe data is the primary key to creating deeper insights, it is easily overwhelmed. Our primary ambition lies in creating the most comprehensive overview and offering actionable innovative intelligence for the partnership, investment targets, and PoC or the Proof of Concept.
We understand that a majority of conditions and diseases drive healthcare costs to unsustainable levels, which are the ones that come out due to negative lifestyle habits. Consequently, the only solution is to take care of the employees while supporting them with the resources empowering them with self-assessments, and developing healthier habits with time.
The availability of science-based and preventative mental health assessments is a ray of good hope for conscientious employees. These are the primary tools playing a huge role in creating organizations and teams that are healthier and highly resilient while offering them a greater competitive edge in times of uncertainty during the aftermath of this pandemic.
FAQs
What are the Top Health And Wellness Companies?
Here are some of the top Health And Wellness Companies:
CircleCare
Visit Health
Resonea
The Pip
Promiser
Buffer
NextJump
Wellable
Nova Benefits
eKincare
How to support staff wellbeing in the workplace?
To support staff wellbeing, provide mental health resources, encourage work-life balance, offer regular feedback, and create an inclusive, positive work environment. Recognize achievements and promote open communication for a supportive culture.
How do you engage employees in wellbeing?
Engage employees in well-being by offering wellness programs, flexible work options, and a supportive culture that promotes work-life balance.
In the fast-paced and ever-evolving landscape of startups, where innovation meets ambition, lies a silent struggle often overlooked – the mental health of entrepreneurs.
At StartupTalky, we’re diving into a crucial yet often overlooked issue: the mental health hurdles faced by startup founders. The relentless pressure to succeed, coupled with long hours and constant uncertainty, can take a significant toll on the well-being of founders striving to make their mark in the industry.
In February, Nithin Kamath, the co-founder of India’s largest stock brokerage firm, Zerodha, spoke about suffering a stroke, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing health amidst the pressures of entrepreneurship.
According to a recent study, nearly 49% of CEOs face mental health issues, with burnout, stress, and anxiety being common experiences.
Sandeep Ghule, co-founder of Credilio, emphasizes the need for preventive measures, stating, “A thorough preventive health check that goes beyond regular tests is a must.” He advocates for healthy eating habits, regular exercise, and stress-reducing practices like yoga and meditation to mitigate the risks associated with the high-pressure startup environment.
Ghule has been a product & marketing professional for over 20 years. He has built and marketed technology-enabled cards, wallets, and digital payment products at ICICI Bank, HSBC, TranServ (as a co-founder), and at Indiabulls Consumer Finance.
Zerodha’s Nithin Kamath Suffered A Stroke | What Are The Warning Signs? | ‘BEFAST’ Technique
Ritu J Goyal Harish, founder of Ease India Travel, sheds light on the personal sacrifices often made in pursuit of entrepreneurial success.
Despite the demands of her startup, Ritu carves out time for activities that rejuvenate her, whether it’s hiking in the hills of Pune or simply spending quality time with loved ones. For her, maintaining a healthy balance is not negotiable – it’s essential for long-term success and well-being.
My business involves a lot of traveling, staying out of home, and disrupting my routine. It entails sleeping in various cramped spaces without proper beds and compromising on food and other comforts. Naturally, all these factors can take a toll on one’s mental well-being. So, the primary strategy I adopted was to align with my body clock. I discovered that I need to sleep between 7:30 and 8:30 pm. Missing this window would mean I couldn’t fall asleep until 01:00 at night. Hence, I prioritized early bedtime, which consequently led to early mornings. Waking up by 4:00 am allows me ample time for meditation, deep thinking, and journal writing. These practices are instrumental in maintaining my mental health and resilience amidst the challenges, I face, says Ritu Goyal, who is currently reinventing herself as a travelpreneur and helps organize quirky, unusual, exciting and fun trips.
Ease India Travel promises great travel experiences to destinations, which are not popular yet on the internet.
The recent health scare of Nithin Kamath, founder of Zerodha, has underscored the high-pressure nature of the startup world. Kamath suffered a stroke, a stark reminder of the physical toll that stress and overwork can exact on individuals.
His experience serves as a wake-up call for entrepreneurs to prioritize their well-being and seek a balance between ambition and self-care.
Sushant Roy, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Business Officer at Alyve Health, advocates for proactive wellness initiatives to combat the challenges of startup culture. “Stress management activities such as yoga, listening to your favorite music, and spending time with loved ones are some immediate steps to prevent long-term health issues,” he suggests.
By fostering a culture of holistic health within their organizations, founders can mitigate the risks of burnout and promote overall well-being.
“The rapid development on the technological front has blurred the line between personal and professional zones and we are connected to our professional commitments 24×7. It is important to strive for professional success but at the same time, we need to focus on our overall health to enhance productivity and remain healthy in the long term,” Roy, who is the co-founder of a company dealing in the health, wellness, and fitness industry.
In the face of uncertainty and adversity, entrepreneurs like Shubham Rawal, CEO of StockPe, embrace stress as an inherent part of the entrepreneurial journey. “If you are a founder/CEO, then you are married to stress,” he remarks. Rawal emphasizes the importance of strategic decision-making and resilience in navigating the challenges of startup life, acknowledging that mistakes are inevitable but essential for growth.
“We all strive to maintain a balance, but it’s rarely a perfect 50-50 split; it’s often more like 90-10 or 70-30. I’ve carved out a dedicated 2-hour slot on my calendar for gyming, a practice I’ve been incorporating on and off since 2018. I make a conscious effort not to schedule any meetings during this time, and I’m transparent with my team about how important it is for me. They appreciate my honesty and understanding,” says head of StockPe.
StockPe is the first platform to gamify stock education in India. The app allows learning from mistakes and refining strategies before one dives into the real stock market trade.
“Being aware of your mental health is crucial, and I’ve been vocal about this aspect. Sometimes, I even advise mental health companies. I can sense my creativity and questioning skills getting drained, and that’s when I take time to either go for a walk, take a few hours off, or hit the gym. When I feel like I’m burning out, I tend to go for a long drive with good songs. I enjoy driving, and engaging in activities you love apart from work can uplift your mood significantly, ” said Rawal, who aims at providing financial education to new-age investors like college students, freshers in a fun way.
Ria Rustagi, the visionary founder of Neuphony, echoes the sentiments of prioritizing mental health in the startup ecosystem. She feels regular exercise, mindfulness practices like meditation, and open communication with the team ensure a healthy work-life balance through setting boundaries and taking breaks when needed.
“These practices help me stay focused, resilient, and effective in my role,” says Rustagi, CEO and Co-Founder of Neuphony. Neuphony is India’s first and only brain wearable device that helps monitor brain activity and converts data into user-understandable formats such as stress, focus, and distraction levels.
“Just like Nithin, many of us are founders, including me, or corporate people with hectic work hours, leading busy lives and juggling multiple responsibilities. It’s essential to prioritize self-care amidst the hustle. Ultimately, this is a wake-up call for all of us to know when it’s the need to shift a gear down!,” Rustagi, who received funding in Shark Tank India Season 2, wrote on a professional networking website LinkedIn.
In startups, vulnerability is often perceived negatively, yet CEOs like Ria Rustagi demonstrate their power for positive change. Through open sharing of struggles, they cultivate trust and authenticity within their teams in Neuphony, fostering a supportive environment where everyone feels valued.
Dr. Prarthana Shah, an integrative health coach specializing in preventive cardiovascular medicine, shares her insights into the unique pressures faced by entrepreneurs and helps them take stock of their current life situation.
“72% of startup CEOs and founders struggle with mental health, from anxiety, burnouts and panic attacks. Their roles are challenging and often the journey of a founder is filled with challenges and uncertainty. They suffer from insomnia and stress. The stress takes a serious toll on their mental health. Blood pressure issues are also fairly common and if these founders don’t take charge of their health, they can also face challenges with obesity, diabetes etc.,” Prarthana, Founder of Buova, remarks. Buova is a health coaching practice, where Shah helps people globally become their happiest and healthiest versions.
She highlights that her sessions help CEOs first identify their why. “After that through motivational interviewing, I help them carve out time (whether it’s less or more) to do something to prioritize themselves. We work to incorporate activities that honor their specific health needs. Whether it’s exercising, eating healthier living more mindfully, or even working on their sleep, we identify areas of concern and work towards filling those gaps. Through coaching, I help them create a roadmap to navigate this fast-paced life and still take time out for themselves and their health.”
Executive Coach and Founder of Lucid Minds Coaching, Sridhar Laxman, emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and holistic well-being in the entrepreneurial journey. “Well-being is not a short vacation plan; it brings results when it is sustainable, ongoing, and treated with equal importance,” he advises.
Sridhar advocates for a balanced approach to success, where mental health is prioritized alongside professional achievements. “In startups, individuals handle multiple responsibilities with less expertise in each of them. The pace of work is fast as they are venturing into newer, unknown markets, and competition can come swiftly from anywhere in the world. The result, more often than not, is high levels of stress, which then manifest in different forms like sleep deprivation, disturbed sleep, inability to focus or concentrate, irritability, fatigue, lowered energy, frequent headaches, back pain, acidity, gut-related discomfort, anxiety, restlessness, palpitations and eventually burnout and more severe health challenges.”
Laxman helps CEOs by making a plan for the desired state and breaking it down into small, easy-to-do everyday steps. Add to that reorganizing lifestyle, work and rest hours, proper nutrition, and exercise. Lastly, knowing when to seek help, be it a counselor, therapist, or coach, so they don’t have to try to address it alone is also vital to their well-being.
Dr. Rahul Chandhok, Head Psychiatrist at Artemis Hospitals, sheds light on the typical stress-related symptoms and mental health challenges observed in startup CEOs.
“Anxiety, depression, insomnia, mood swings, and physical symptoms such as headaches and fatigue are common among startup CEOs,” Chandhok explains.
The relentless pressure to succeed, coupled with the fear of failure, can take a toll on their well-being. However, amidst the chaos, therapeutic interventions offer a glimmer of hope.
“Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness-based interventions, stress management techniques, and support groups have proven effective in addressing stress and promoting resilience among high-stress individuals,” Chandhok remarks.
But when do stress levels warrant urgent psychiatric attention? “Persistent suicidal thoughts, severe impairment in daily functioning, substance abuse, or psychotic symptoms require immediate intervention,” Chandhok emphasizes. These red flags signal the need for urgent psychiatric evaluation and support.
In response to the growing mental health crisis among startup founders, specialized support programs and resources have emerged. Founder-specific therapy, startup accelerators/incubators offering mental health support, peer support networks, and online resources tailored to entrepreneurs provide much-needed assistance.
Amidst the statistics and clinical insights, the stories of startup founders like Ria Rustagi and Prarthana Shah offer a poignant glimpse into the human side of the startup world.
The startup culture presents a unique set of challenges for entrepreneurs, often taking a toll on their mental health.
By prioritizing self-care, fostering open communication, and seeking support when needed, founders can navigate the turbulent waters of startup life while safeguarding their well-being.
It is imperative to address the stigma surrounding mental health and create a culture, where entrepreneurs feel empowered to prioritize their mental and emotional well-being.
As the startup landscape continues to evolve, mental health must remain at the forefront of discussions. With the right support and resources, founders can navigate the highs and lows of entrepreneurship while safeguarding their well-being.
FAQs
What is mental health?
Mental well-being is the state wherein individuals can effectively manage life’s challenges, harness their capabilities, excel in learning and productivity, and actively participate in their communities.
Which mental health issues are most common across the world?
The most common mental health issues are insomnia, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
What is the size of the global mental health market?
As per Yahoo Finance, the global mental health market was valued at USD 375.21 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach USD 532.86 billion in 2030.
StartupTalky presents Recap’23, a series of in-depth interviews where we engage with founders and industry leaders to explore their growth in 2023 and their predictions for the future.
The health and wellness industry prioritizes holistic well-being, encompassing physical, mental, and emotional health. From fitness and nutrition to mental wellness, it offers diverse solutions for a balanced lifestyle. Gyms, virtual platforms, and wellness retreats cater to individual health needs. With a growing emphasis on preventive healthcare and mindfulness, this industry plays a crucial role in fostering a healthier society.
In 2022, the worldwide health and wellness market reached a value of USD 5,243.3 billion. Projections indicate substantial growth, with expectations to surpass USD 8,945.3 billion by 2032, reflecting a robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5% from 2023 to 2032, according to Precedence Research. This expansion is driven by a heightened focus on preventive healthcare and an increasing awareness of holistic well-being.
In a recent Recap’23 interview, we at StartupTalky had the privilege of connecting with Mugdha Pradhan, Founder, and CEO of iThrive, to see how the brand operates in the health and wellness world. We looked at their plans and learned about iThrive’s special way of promoting well-being.
StartupTalky: What inspired the establishment of iThrive, and how has its vision evolved over time?
Mugdha Pradhan: After I healed and radically transformed my own health, other people began to consult me for their health problems. I realised I wanted to scale this further and wanted to create a system that could easily help people heal themselves without going through the struggle that I did. Luckily, One of my former clients at the time decided to fund this vision of mine, and that is how iThrive was born.
Over time, our capacity has increased, and now our vision is to eventually, through our various services and practices, make the whole world free of disease and suffering.
StartupTalky: Could you share insights into the range of health concerns iThrive addresses and any notable successes in managing chronic ailments within your clientele?
Mugdha Pradhan: Since our inception in 2019, we have helped over 3000 clients reverse over 174 different health conditions. We started out with mostly cases of weight loss and diabetes and eventually expanded to more and more areas as our knowledge and expertise grew. Our clientele ranges from as young as 2-year-olds right up to 75-year-olds.
We’ve healed many cases of IBS, IBD, hypertension, metabolic disorders, thyroid and hormonal issues, skin issues like psoriasis, etc.
StartupTalky: In the pursuit of creating healthier communities, what strategies does iThrive employ?
Mugdha Pradhan: We do everything in our power to realise our vision of creating healthier, happier, lifestyle-disease-free communities around the world every single day. We know we don’t have the resources to heal every single person on the planet ourselves. That is why we started the academy to train and certify functional nutritionists. Critics remark that it is detrimental to our business because we are creating our own competition- but it actually serves our vision.
We also do all that we can to make free educational content and media available to create awareness and get the right knowledge about health to the masses. Once you enroll in our program, you get life-long support by getting added to our “Thrive Tribe” community, where you receive regular updates and can get your queries answered.
StartupTalky: How does iThrive stay informed about the latest advancements and best practices in the health and wellness industry?
Mugdha Pradhan: The research department within iThrive Academy and Research Centre updates our treatment protocols and course curriculum on a regular basis. The team keeps itself informed through various resources like published papers, podcasts, and articles put out by leading functional medicine practitioners globally. We have a designated chief knowledge officer who keeps researching and contributing to our knowledge base and treatment protocols.
StartupTalky: What unique approaches or methodologies does iThrive use to promote overall well-being and address individual health needs?
Mugdha Pradhan: We have an extensive blood panel that is done as part of our “root cause analysis” procedure, covering a broad range of biomarkers and using specialised interpretation protocols that provide a thorough baseline understanding of the individual’s health. Apart from this, we may use further advanced diagnostics based on the individual’s case.
We use all the data and the client’s personal preferences to formulate a highly bio-individual treatment plan. Although our practice is based on functional medicine, we incorporate the best parts of multiple other modalities and therapies like circadian rhythm optimization, Ayurveda, sound healing, etc.
StartupTalky: Could you provide examples of success stories or testimonials from individuals who have experienced positive transformations through iThrive’s programs or services?
Mugdha Pradhan: As mentioned above, we’ve helped over 3000 individuals reverse their health conditions. You can find testimonials on our social media pages as well as on our website.
StartupTalky: What are the important tools and software you use to run iThrive smoothly?
Mugdha Pradhan: We use Google Workspace for most of our documentation and communication. Our projects and marketing teams make use of a wide variety of new and upcoming tools, and they’re always changing. These include well-known tools like Zoho for CRM, Tally and Jotforms for form automation, Pabbly for automation, Figma and Webflow for web development, and many more.
StartupTalky: How does iThrive personalize health programs to cater to the diverse needs and concerns of individuals?
Mugdha Pradhan: As mentioned above, our root cause analysis blood testing, along with further advanced tests, helps amass a large amount of data on each client. This, along with the personal preferences of the client, such as diet and lifestyle preferences, is used to craft a tailored program carefully for them.
StartupTalky: In what ways does iThrive plan to expand its impact and reach more communities globally in the future?
Mugdha Pradhan: We’ve rolled out targeted marketing campaigns for overseas audiences in some major countries like the USA, the Middle East, Australia, and Canada. We’ve tied up with labs in some of these countries so that clients can get their tests done easily. We have a major partnership with Rupa Health in the USA, the biggest platform for premium diagnostics in the country. We’re in the process of getting US FDA approval for our supplements as well. We’re working to become more active in biohacking and alternative healthcare communities throughout the world.
StartupTalky: What key lessons has your team learned in your journey, and how do these lessons inform your future strategies and initiatives?
Mugdha Pradhan: We have learned that, as a premium healthcare brand, we can’t compromise on quality in any way when it comes to our products and services. Our supplements use the highest quality ingredients available and are devoid of cheap fillers and harmful additives found in most other brands. We’ve constantly refined our services to make them better, and it’s an ongoing process that will probably always be on. We’ve learned to be open-minded when it comes to our approach and beliefs around healthcare because we’ve been wrong about certain things we were doing, and we’ve rectified them.
We’ve also learned to make better hiring decisions as we’ve realized shoddy and mediocre work at any step can hamper the quality of the final product.
StartupTalky: What growth and innovation opportunities does iThrive see in the health and wellness sector in the coming years?
Mugdha Pradhan: The wellness sector is one of the most booming industries in the world, estimated to be currently worth 4.2 Billion USD globally. With the constant increase in industrialization, our modern urban environment continues to become more and more unfavorable for health. The burden of chronic diseases continues to mount globally. Conventional medicine is corrupted and very inept at countering chronic disease, only offering pharma drugs to suppress symptoms. People are starting to become aware of this, and interest in wellness and preventive healthcare is rising. People are looking for good, evidence-based alternative healthcare options.
StartupTalky: One tip that you would like to share with individuals seeking to improve their health and well-being, drawing from iThrive’s expertise and experience?
Mugdha Pradhan: Always get your bloodwork done regularly. Get the data evaluated by a reputable functional medicine practitioner from time to time. Or just learn to do it yourself. And don’t ignore small symptoms like headaches, fatigue, and digestive issues until they become worse and need serious treatment. Don’t wait for your health to break down fully before you start making changes. Take care of it.
StartupTalky extends its gratitude to Ms. Mugdha Pradhan for dedicating her valuable time and generously sharing her insights with all of us.
This article has been contributed by Mr. Ankit Malhotra, Founder, heyy,
The Indian mental health narrative has started to change from the “Hush-Hush” policy to a “Let’s Talk” approach, especially post-pandemic. While the need for mental health support had always been there, it took a pandemic to pedal push the accelerator towards realising this need to take care at a nation-wide level.
The deep seated “stigma” that plagues mental health in the Indian scenario is difficult to get uprooted by a single pandemic, thus, the impact this stigma still has on “adopting” mental health care support in the country cannot be overlooked.
Even though mental health needs are universal, there are no second thoughts about the fact that the pandemic has impacted the “working population” the most from the rest of the sections. 42% of employees remain stressed on a day-to-day basis and 1 out of 5 employees face a mental health issue at some point in their career trajectory. These figures have multiplied now due to changing lifestyles and evolving working scenarios. Juggling between offline-remote-hybrid work circumstances, have made life quite a struggle for both the employers and employees.
Startups in India are growing at a breakneck speed. By some estimates, we have 70,000+ startups in India employing more than a million employees. The average age of employees at startups is around 30 years. Means it employs some of the most ‘mental-health’ aware demographics in the country. For a startup to be successful long term, it is essential to understand the needs of this demographic at workplace and provide for it.
The push-pull of employee-employer needs
Staying engaged with employees
Frankly, its getting tough to understand how employee behavior is evolving over the last 2-3 years. Covid, global recession, war – are creating scenarios that are difficult to predict and put a HR-template on.
Inquire about employee’s wellbeing
In such a scenario, startups, due to their leaner and flatter structures, can stay more grounded and have their ears to the employee needs. Stay engaged with employees and inquire about their wellbeing more periodically. There would be numerous insights that will come out.
Stay in touch with national / international trends & stay flexible
Moonlighting, flexible work arrangements, hybrid work are some of the new age working structures that are gaining traction with employees. Stay informed and staying flexible will go a long way
Wellbeing policies
No question asked mental health leaves, period leaves for women, mandatory time off from work, are some key initiatives that are creating really positive outcomes. At heyy, we have extended some of these since our inception, with very positive feedback from employees.
Leaders stay vulnerable and open to feedback
Culture where vulnerability is accepted, mistakes are welcome, grow faster as companies and innovate faster too. Flipkart is an example.
But what about mental health support that needs intervention?
It would be wrong to assume that the above interventions are enough when it comes to mental health care of employees. 1/3rd of the day is spent in office, and it becomes employer responsibility to take care of their folks.
Get professional help
Mental health and wellbeing support comes in various shapes and forms. Best care is the one that is preventive and can solve for issues before they become severe. heyy, is such service in the preventive care space.
Ask the right questions, and no white-washing please
In a lot of cases, startups have extended mental health services through partnerships with insurance players. Ask if these are being adopted enough. Industry EAP / Digital care adoption rates are less than 1% for employees. This is not enough when more than 42% of employees are under stress. heyy, is pioneering industry leading adoptions with human-first care and more than 15% adoption by employees.
End of the day, employees have to demand better services too. Staying tight-lipped will not help. In our experience, most of the HRs / companies are not exploring better solutions because employees are not demanding them enough. Startups give that freedom of expression that large enterprises can’t, employees should use that effectively.
Several pain points of “stigma”, “awareness issues”, “scalability” being discussed and to an extent addressed using AI-Bot led platforms, EAP solutions or Self-Care Apps. Majorly the reason for not having “enough” credible mental health care platforms specifically in the workplace scenario is the absence of this “human connect”.
Humans have always been the social animals that they have and in no way can an AI or standalone self-care replace the human touch to address as sensitive a concern as mental health. Also, the new age Indian startups, while thinking on the lines of making solutions available, need to broaden their horizon and think more preventative rather than interventive when addressing the need for mental health. That will be the game-changer. Having a “human-first, preventive model” that proves effectiveness of care is how the adoption of mental health support bolstering with light speed! While the “need to take care” should come from within, especially with mental health, a more proactive-high touch approach is what is required to make taking “mental health support” easy for an individual. Keeping it human-first, simple, affordable, proactive, preventative, and easily accessible in our approach. It may take many more startups like heyy, to combat this national overload of mental health need and extend care at a community level.
Conclusion
Mental health support for employees has always been needed. Employees need to speak up and demand better services. In our experience, most of the HRs / companies are not exploring better solutions because employees are not demanding them enough. Startups give that freedom of expression that large enterprises can’t, employees should use that effectively.
“Mental health” is a term used to describe how one feels and acts in response to life’s challenges. Our mental health affects and decides how we deal with stress, interact with one another, and make decisions. And mental health has an impact on how people perceive themselves, their life, and those in their lives. Mental health, like physical health, is essential at all stages of life.
Our mental health affects all elements of our life, and preserving our children’s mental health is a natural part of our parental responsibility. Caring for our children, both emotionally and physically, is essential to their everyday existence and independence.
Several Innovation Analysts recently investigated innovative technology and upcoming firms focusing on healthcare solutions.
Venture financing for mental health has reached an all-time high in recent years. In 2020 alone, investors spent $1.5 billion on the business. There is no lack of applications and businesses developing novel methods to make mental health treatment more inexpensive, accessible, and user-friendly. Here are a handful of our favourite mental health startups to keep an eye on:
Lyra is a healthcare benefit given in addition to a company’s healthcare package, founded by David Ebersman, former CFO of Facebook, and Dena Bravata. Employees will be able to resist burnout, be present more frequently, and maintain better overall health if they have better access to mental health services. Lyra evaluates new members and tailors advice depending on symptoms, severity, and lifestyle.
Lyra offers evidence-based care that helps patients with all aspects of their mental health, from wellness and preventative care to the most severe disorders. Lyra’s revolutionary “Blended Care Therapy” combines video therapy sessions, one-on-one chat, and digital activities prescribed by the practitioner to help people in their daily life.
Based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy concepts, this immersive therapy paradigm with continuing support between sessions assists patients in improving more quickly.
Lyra’s curated network in the United States comprises over 5,000 coaches, therapists, and physicians, with an additional 85,000 professionals available globally through partnerships.
2. 7Cups
7Cups Homepage
People with mental illnesses or those who require ongoing therapy and monitoring are not the only ones who benefit from mental health services. Some of them are intended to assist in crucial situations or when a person feels lonely, unhappy, upset, frightened, or just needs emotional support for a variety of reasons, such as the present lockdown due to the Coronavirus epidemic.
In Your Corner, a firm established in the United States, developed the smartphone app 7Cups to give on-demand, real-time help from professional mental health counsellors and coaches. Individuals’ personal and professional growth is aided by counsellors and coaches who introduce them to meditation and breathwork practices.
Because of the service’s mobile nature, consultations are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In over 80 countries, free, anonymous, and confidential discussions with trained active listeners are provided. 7 Cups now has over 1,200 active listeners from over 80 countries, many of whom will listen for free. The website also has a support forum and over eight interactive treatments for common mental health issues.
3. Pear Therapeutics
Pear Therapeutics Homepage
Pear Therapeutics is a privately held eHealth firm that creates digital therapeutics to treat a wide range of serious disorders such as addiction, schizophrenia, pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and sleep. Pear’s formulation technology blends pharmaceutical preparations with user-friendly, adaptable, and scientifically verified software applications.
Pear’s proprietary strategy improves patient outcomes, delivers smarter engagement and tracking tools for physicians, and cost-effective solutions for payors. Pear Therapeutics, Inc. (“Pear”) has developed the first end-to-end platform for prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs), which are FDA-approved, clinician-prescribed, and payor-reimbursed software that cures critical disorders.
PDTs, like traditional pharmaceuticals, are created in a GMP-compliant environment, tested in randomized controlled trials to demonstrate safety and efficacy, assessed and approved by authorities such as the FDA, and administered under the supervision of a prescribing doctor.
PDTs, as opposed to traditional medications, are software programs meant to capture real-world data for use by prescribing doctors, payors, and health systems in population health management.
MoodPath is a leading depression checking application that mainly keeps the check on the mood swing of its users. MoodPath was introduced in the year 2016 by Felix Frauendorf and Mark Goehring. Just like its name, MoodPath works by keeping a tab on its users moods.
The application works as an electronic clinician. Multiple questions are asked by the application and the given results are then calculated for the conclusion. This information is then passed on to the therapist. Also, the application is created in a way that it can suggest exercises to the users to gain some control over their mood.
MoodPath also behaves like a social media platform in the matter of having short videos on its platform. There are multiple short videos updated on MoodPath. These videos are used to create awareness about mental health and are also used to treat patients with their data.
Overall, MoodPath is a behavioural application working in conjunction with the doctors to help them understand the life condition of its users and also provide them with a few small practices to gain some control over the self. MoodPath is known to have 14,000 to 20,000 daily active users with more than a million downloads.
5. Meru Health
Meru Mental Webpage
Founded in the year 2015, Meru Health is a US-originated health startup program. It was invented by Kristian Ranta, Albert Nazander, and Riku Lindholm as a digital program aiming to provide better mental health for those suffering from depression.
Meru health comes under the list of telemedicine applications but is more firm to induce long-lasting effects in its users. People suffering from depression can use Meru Health to find some calmness and long-lasting results that can help in dealing with depression.
Meru health works by the use of talk therapy and keeps a tab on important factors affecting mental health such as environment, etc. Along with talk therapy, Meru Health is also known to provide wearable devices like fitness bands. These devices help out Meru Health application to keep a record of other vital information such as heartbeats and stress responses.
6. Talkspace
Talkspace Webpage
Founded in 2012, a New York-based company Talkspace is known to provide therapy by the means of mobile and the internet. The company was started by Roni Frank and Oren Frank and is headquartered in New York City. Talkspace helps its users by the medium of teletherapy.
The application works with the most basic criteria of face timing the user with an available therapist. This eliminates the need of searching for a therapist and worrying about the appointment time.
Apart from contacting users and therapists to each other, Talkspace is also known to provide the services of health insurance making the journey much more compatible and fuss-free.
Talkspace works with the mission of providing therapies and psychiatry more affordable. Talkspace has more than a 1 million users count.
Founded in the year 2012, Calm is a software company known to introduce meditating products. It was founded by Michael Acton Smith. The prime focus of the Calm application is to provide meditation and sleep patterns.
Calm has successfully created its place in the audience and has achieved several awards for its effective concept. Calm works in the clearest pattern by asking the user about their goal while signing up to the platform. The goal can fall on the list of reducing anxiety, building self-esteem, getting proper sleep, reducing stress, and many more.
The application features several meditating exercises and calming audiovisuals. These can provide much-required help to the users when faced with anxiety or stress. Calm has more than 4 million users subscribed to its services.
8. Cerebral
Cerebral Webpage
Cerebral mental health startup was launched in 2020 in California by Ho Anh and Kyle Robertson. It is a telehealth product mainly focusing on comprehensive care and medication management online. Cerebral aims to provide better control over the online care and medication services for anxiety, depression, ADHD, etc.
Users can easily get help with their anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Users can also request prescriber visits, therapies, counselling, and also the door delivery of prescribed medicines. The process of using Cerebral is quite simple with the Sign in and following is given set of instructions by them.
9. SonderMind
SonderMind Webpage
SonderMind was developed in 2014 by Mark Frank, and Sean Boyd and works as a connecting medium between the users and clinicians. SonderMind can be used by both the user and a clinician working in their way.
The patients or users can take the help of SonderMind to get in touch with the available clinician. Whereas, for the practitioners, registration with SonderMinds can help them to get more patients for themselves.
Another great advantage given by SonderMinds to its registered practitioners is the guaranteed payment from their patients. Whereas, SonderMond also provide insurance service to its users for a better and easy process of maintaining mental health.
10. Sleepstation
Sleepstation Webpage
Sleepstation is a program created by Born Digital Health. Sleepstation mainly deals with insomnia and provides a better lifestyle for good mental health. Sleepstation was invented by sleep expert Dr Kirstie Anderson.
Sleepstation works by the principle of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and requires the personal specific information of its users such as sleep pattern and time, medical history and screening, etc.
Sleepstation takes the help of experts and combines the information given by users to promote their sleeping time and relieve them from insomnia. The Sleepstation works by combining psychological techniques along with traditional sleep techniques and experts’ advice and experiences to help the users.
Conclusion
Mental health is still subjected to be discussed openly. Yet, the number of people falling prey to mental health issues increases rapidly. To deal with these issues, many different measures have been applied. One of them is to take the help of technology. Several different startups have been introduced to the world. Some of the top mental health startups across the globe have been listed above.
FAQs
What is the size of the global mental health market?
The recorded size of the global mental health market in 2020 was valued at $383.31 million and is estimated to cross $537.97 million by 2030.
Which mental health issues are most common across the world?
The most common mental health issues are insomnia, anxiety, and Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Which are the leading mental health organizations across the world?
Some of the leading mental health organizations across the globe are Mental Health America, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, etc.
Are mental health startups the future of the healthcare industry?
As we all move towards the modernization era, things get changed from their traditional method. With this pace, we can assume health startups to be considered a new norm in the future world and revolutionize the future of the healthcare industry.
The article is contributed by Marut Bhardwaj – Country Head, Potential Project.
Compassion is the willingness to improve the lives of others around you.
Rather than merely providing the bare necessities to keep employees happy and productive so that the company can make more money, a compassionate leader wants to help them thrive. In addition to having a long-term vision, compassionate leadership requires wisdom in directing the organization towards a human way of working and taking necessary initiatives to guarantee employee well-being in the present moment.
Traditional business KPIs are no longer enough in an era of increasing healthcare awareness. India’s working-age population is rapidly approaching 500 million people. Each of these workers will expect that their employer will cover the majority of the costs of their own and their families’ medical care. What was formerly considered a nice-to-have perk by certain companies is now considered a must-have.
Since good healthcare is employees’ need, giving appropriate attention to employees’ physical and mental health, therefore, is a big part of compassionate leadership. Especially in this era, where yet another wave of the pandemic has clocked in, leaders have a critical role in helping their employees navigate the turbulence of COVID-19.
The importance of employee healthcare for organizations
Your employees’ health and well-being is not just helpful to them; it generates an efficient and productive working environment that benefits your organisation at large.
Health-related absenteeism and rising healthcare expenditures provide a persistent problem to companies. Employers in the United States, where health benefits are prevalent, pay $575 billion a year in health care expenditures due to poor employee health. Employee absenteeism, chronic ailments that limit production and workers’ compensation are all contributors to this expense.
To be clear, these absences are not solely a result of disease. Poor physical and mental health can lead to a host of problems, including high levels of stress and burnout, as well as a lack of motivation and enthusiasm on the part of employees. In 2019, the World Health Organization predicted that between 2012 and 2030, mental health disorders in India will cost the country a whopping $1.03 trillion in economic losses.
Thus, employee health and productivity are linked: Healthier minds and bodies lead to greater levels of optimism, originality, and drive. Care for your workers means:
Employees who feel cared for and valued
Increased motivation and fulfilment in the work place
What measures can leaders take to improve employee health
After the outbreak of the pandemic, many leaders have started including additional advantages at the workplace, such as primary healthcare, regular testing and wellness programmes. Leaders have realised that small changes can go a long way toward making the workplace a healthy and uplifting place to work. Here are some more measures they can employ in pursuit of the same goal:
Encouraging your staff to participate in health and wellness initiatives.
All facets of an employee’s health are considered in an integrated wellness programme, which can include PTO, focus workshops, yoga sessions. These programmes encompass physical, mental, as well as emotional health of the employees. Providing annual employee health screening tests to make your employees aware of underlying health issues and help them avoid larger health problems in the future is also a part of these initiatives.
Such initiatives can lead to an 80% enhancement in organisational performance if done correctly. Though these initiatives may appear more complex to integrate into the workplace, the expense of unhealthy personnel is ultimately a greater problem.
Build a culture of health
Encourage your employees to exercise on a regular basis. Motivate them to join jogging clubs, gain access to gyms and other facilities, or just make little daily decisions that benefit their health, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
Provide enough room for your employees to breathe and be present. Access to natural light, comfortable office seats, and ergonomic workstations all help to keep your staff engaged and healthy.
Leaders must create a work environment that promotes mental health through compassionate leadership, frequent breaks, one-on-one conversations, and other such measures.
Incorporate mindfulness into your wellness programmes
When it comes to a more comprehensive approach to your company’s employee health programme, mindfulness is a good place to begin.
Despite the fact that mindfulness isn’t difficult to develop or practise, it might be tough for novices to know where to begin. An ideal starting point is a company-sponsored course in mindfulness, meditation, or yoga.
It is possible to practise mindfulness in any setting, including a cubicle, a desk, or even a conference room. Leaders can also engage workers by including some mindfulness exercises into their next meeting or outing or directing them into some easy breathing exercises or yoga positions at the end or beginning of a meeting to help them focus.
Conclusion
It’s common for firms and organisations to be unsure of how to identify and cultivate a compassionate leadership style and workplace culture. By focusing on their employees’ most basic need – good health – they can kickstart the transformation to a compassionate workplace.
