Mental illness is an open secret in India. A startup bags a million bucks to fight it

Photo credit: Tobias Wrzal

He’d been a jet-setter, a man who’d been on the board of directors of a reputed company for 10 years, a textbook case of what is considered success in India. Yet, when he finally put his feet up, life with his wife of 25 years turned into hell.

He felt suffocated with her, but divorce was not an option. They had two growing daughters. What was he to do?

Emotional wellness startup YourDost opened a tiny window. During counseling, he realized he and his wife had hardly spent two full years together. They’d lost touch – and both would have to work hard to restore it.

“At least 50 percent of corporate sector employees in India have mental health issues,” says co-founder and CEO Richa Singh, who stepped into this minefield one and a half years ago.

Her startup has helped over 350,000 people since then. “This is a huge market,” says Richa.

And guess who else shares that belief? Leading VC firm SAIF Partners, which has invested a good US$1 million in a pre-series A round of funding in the Bangalore-based startup.

“The anonymity and secrecy YourDost offers is well suited to address the issue of mental illness, which has stigma attached to it in India,” says Mridul Arora, principal with SAIF Partners.

Existing angel investors took this funding round to a total of US$1.2 million.

The darkness within

Be it the youngster dreaming of his own startup, the student waiting for a placement, the housewife, or the parent, a huge cross-section of people struggle to cope with the pressures of modern day living in India – and find themselves alone.

“Rising aspirations, changing lifestyles, being on your own, far from your family or the place where you grew up, all these factors add to the pressures,” says Richa.

YourDost CEO Richa Singh

So strong is the fear of being called “mad,” or “weak,” or “a loser” that people would rather sweep it under the carpet than talk about it. That’s what happened to Richa’s friend at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati back in 2008. Her shocking suicide was the primary trigger for YourDost.

Tip of the iceberg

The market for emotional wellness