Emotional wellness platform YourDOST raises Rs 2.5 crore in angel funding

Bangalore/Hyderabad: YourDOST, an emotional wellness platform, has raised $400,000 (Rs 2.5 crore) in angel funding for marketing and expansion. The venture which aims to create awareness and reduce the stigma associated with mental wellness in society, has been operational since December 2014 through the web portal ( www.yourdost.com). The company has also launched a mobile app. [caption id=“attachment_2496696” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Logo[/caption] 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), says Richa Singh, Co-Founder and CEO, YourDOST.com. Started by Singh, an IIT-Guhawati alumnus in partnership with Puneet Manuja, IIM-B alumunus and Prakhar Verma, a computer science graduate from BMSCE, Bangalore, the start-up in operation in the last 10 months of its operations has 10,000 registered users so far. The statistics released by government and other agencies regarding psychological cases is alarming. According to government estimates, one in five people in India need counselling, either psychological or psychiatric. For an estimated 70 million+ people living with psycho-social problems and disabilities, there are less than 50 government mental health establishments. As per a survey by Assocham earlier this year, the rate of emotional problems such as anxiety and depression has increased by 45-50 percent among corporate employees in the last eight years. YourDost is growing at 40 percent month on month, Singh said, adding the company aim’s to create awareness and reduce the stigma associated with mental wellness in society. “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.” 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. 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.