YourDOST enables a reliable, convenient and personalized solution to a better emotional and mental wellbeing

Chandigarh (India), 4th November, 2015 – YourDOST, a technology start-up aiming to establish a unique platform for mental well being and emotional support, has completed its first round of Angel funding. The venture which has been operational since December 2014 through the web portal (www.yourdost.com), offers complete support to people looking to discuss any kind of emotional issues by providing them instant online access to experts along with the much required anonymity. YourDOST is also available to people on mobile now with the launch of its mobile app on android platform (bit.ly/YDandroid) and available for free download from Android Play Store.


Commenting on the venture, Richa Singh, Co-Founder & CEO, YourDOST.com, said "With YourDOST we aim to create awareness and reduce the stigma associated with mental wellness in our society. We all face problems, stress, and anxiety at some point in our life but mostly we are not willing to talk about these fearing social implications, being judged and for the fear of being judged. We are confident that technology combined with empathy and right kind of experts will go a long way in helping people going through a various emotional and mental challenges and equipping them to better deal with it."


Bootstrapped for initial period of its operations, YourDOST has raised close to USD 400,000 (Rs. 2.5 crores) in Angel round to fund its marketing and expansion needs. Owing to the uniqueness of the idea, the start-up has been able to attract established entrepreneurs and professionals like Phanindra Sama (Redbus Founder), Aprameya Radhakrishna (TaxiForSure Founder), Aneesh Reddy (Capillary Founder) and many more into its investor portfolio.


Started by Richa Singh, an IIT-Guhawati alumunus in partnership with Puneet Manuja, IIM-B alumunus and Prakhar Verma, a computer science graduate from BMSCE, Bangalore, in last 10 months of its operations, YourDOST has received tremendous response from the market with close to 70,000 users so far and the number growing at about 40% month on month. With 10,000 registered users currently, a team of 75+ experts service around 300 one to one interactions on a daily basis.


Adding further, Richa said "We are delighted with the response received from the users so far. We have received very good traction from the users by word of mouth and it is very encouraging for a young team like us. With the first round of funding in place and having such experienced people on board with us as investors and mentors, we are certain that YourDOST will benefit immensely from their association and guidance"


YourDOST – addressing the need gap:

Access and awareness towards mental and emotional wellbeing is very restricted in India and comes with several taboos associated with it. Here are some facts highlighting this challenge:

· According to government estimates, 1 in 5 people in India need counselling, either psychological or psychiatric

· For an estimated 70 million+ people living with psychosocial problems and disabilities, there are less than 50 government mental health establishments.

· According to a report by WHO in 2011, 1 out of 7 people in India i.e. 15% of Indian population was suffering from depression in 2015, this has seen an alarming rise with 20% of Indian population being depressed today.

· 50% of corporate India is suffering from chronic stress. In fact as per a survey by ASSOCHAM earlier this year, highlights that the rate of emotional problems such as anxiety and depression has increased by 45-50% among corporate employees in the last eight years.

· According to medical experts, 4 in 5 people suffering from severe mental ailment in India choose not to treat it which causes early death by at least 15-20 years as compared to mentally healthy people

Dealing with societal pressure, pressure to perform and excel at work, family and marital issues, stress of studies, constant lifestyle comparison with the peer group due to over exposure to social media and several other factors have led to severe disturbances in our emotional stability. While the stress is on a constant rise, discussing it openly or dealing with it medically is still a taboo in our country.

This huge need gap and Richa Singh's personal experience of a friend losing her life at IIT due to placement pressure led to birth of YourDOST to provide people with convenient yet anonymous access to experts consisting of life coaches, psychologists and other experienced individuals. Through this online platform which is available as a free service both through web portal and mobile app, users can choose to get into a live chat, find answers over email or book an appointment with the expert of their choice.

YourDOST team strongly believes that awareness at this stage is key; people need to know and acknowledge the importance of mental wellness, then comes the next step of seeking help.





About YourDOST.com:


YourDOST is one of its kind online emotional wellness platform to get support from experts consisting of life coaches, psychologists and other experienced individuals. Launched in December 2014, YourDOST is available to people via its web platform (www.yourdost.com) and also on mobile through its recently launched mobile app on android platform (bit.ly/YDandroid). YourDOST allows instant access to users to a team of 75+ experts and share their problems through an online interface be it a live chat or email query or even book one on one interaction with the expert of their choice. The key aspect of this venture is that people are kept completely anonymous throughout the platform.

YourDOST aims to reduce the stigma attached to seeking help for mental wellness in our country and with the use of technology wants to make expert help widely and instantly available to people looking for emotional and mental wellbeing.

Originally Source : Perfect Relations