đ§ A Device that Unlocks the Potential of Your Brain
What if someone could peep inside your brain and help you become the best version of yourself? An Indian startup is working on just that. And we have a surprise for you at the end of this piece!
Letâs face it: mental health is still a taboo topic in our country.Â
The problem is real - and the pandemic has helped us realise the extent of this.
WHO estimates suggest that 10% of the Worldâs population, at any given time, suffers from a mental illness. And 25% of the Worldâs population will experience mental health problems at least once in their lifetime.
Yes, thatâs how big this problem is.Â
Thankfully, as we see in Shark Tank almost every day now, India is a land of solution builders: a land where entrepreneurship can solve most societal problems.
And one such high-tech, uber-cool social enterprise is Neuphony.
Whatâs Neuphony solving?
Good old meditation is the ultimate key to unlocking a healthy brain (and it is scientifically proven).Â
But mastering meditation is not an easy art. Everyone has their own way. What works for you, might not work for someone else. So, many people give up on the quest, before it even begins.
Remember those days when we knew how many steps were good for us, but did not have a way to measure it? In came smart-watches and health-tracking devices to help us give data and insights, and build good health habits.
Thatâs exactly what Neuphony is doing - creating a smart watch for the brain. The device will collect your âbrainâ data, track your brain activity, and give you insights via a mobile application. Real time, and personalised!
This is how the device will work:
While the device looks cool, and the idea looks ingenious, is there merit in this business? Is the market large enough? And most importantly - do they have the right team to build this? Letâs see.
Letâs Talk Business
Neuphony is the only brain wearable consumer device in India currently. It claims to provide the best of both worlds: quality of a research-grade device (hardware) and the ease of use for regular people. Just like a smartwatch. So far so good.
While this trend of a brain-wearable is yet to catch up in India, there are companies in the West like Muse that have sold 80,000 devices at ~$400 per device in the last 2 years, showing the potential that the product has the world over.
Neuphonyâs monetisation plan includes:
Sales of headbandsÂ
Subscription services for their mobile application which can be used with or without the hardware for meditation and mood tracking (think meditation apps like Calm, but that give highly personalised recommendations based on your brain activity)
When we talked to Ria, the co-founder and COO of Neuphony, she said they are also working on partnering with wellness centres to make this technology more accessible (B2B2C). Even if you donât own the hardware, you will simply be able to visit a wellness centre to track your brain activity and get insights!
Bhavya Madan, co-founder and CEO, is the engineering mind behind the hardware. Both - Ria and Bhavya were working in Germany, where they ideated and built this product. They are among those few who come back to the country, to make the lives of Indians better. The team also has experts from the field of neuroscience with a cumulative experience of 30+ years!
But all good ideas need blood, sweat, tears and⊠money :) And this is also a problem that Team Neuphony has cracked!
On its path to promoting emotional well-being and making mental health issues preventative, Neuphony has raised Rs.1.1 crores in a seed round from ah! Ventures Angel Platform, DERBI Foundation, IIM-A CIIE and others.Â
Wouldnât it be great to talk to this social entrepreneur, solving a real problem, directly? Yeah. We thought so.
Join us for an AMA this Sunday (30 January 2022) at 7 pm with Ria Rustagi, COO and co-founder at Neuphony, and get deeper insights into what Neuphony is doing and how big this untapped market is in India! And, maybe you can get a chance to invest in the company as well? Fingers crossed. See you on the other side.Â
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