RICHA SINGH
Despite the need for intervention, mental health remains a taboo. However, a disruption in offline mental health services has accelerated the demand for services online not just by individuals but also by corporates looking at their employees’ wellbeing.
YourDOST, an emotional wellbeing platform, has made rapid advances in this space with its multi-pronged approach towards various problems.
The death of a classmate by suicide led Richa Singh, an IIT-Guwahati alumna and a few of her friends, to start YourDOST, an online mental and emotional wellbeing platform, in 2014.
Hailing from a typical middle class family, Richa Singh grew up in an environment where entrepreneurship is neither practised, nor encouraged. Both her parents have government jobs and they believe 'business is too risky'. They always believed in the simple mantra – go to a good college, earn well and have a settled life. However, life had different plans for Richa.
After completing graduation in the field of Usability Engineering, Human Computer Interaction and Interaction Design at IIT Guwahati, Richa has worked with various organisations such as Product Manager at Webfluenz, MuSigma and o9 Solutions.
In late 2014, Richa got together with Puneet Manuja, IIM-B alumnus and Prakhar Verma, a computer science graduate from BMSCE, Bangalore to start YourDOST - a company that revolves around bringing emotional wellness solutions to users who can seek support from psychologists and other experts while staying completely anonymous. In November 2015, her company raised Rs.2.5 Crore in an angel funding round, a sum that she and her co-founders are investing in marketing and expansion initiatives.