This Hyderabad-based mental well-being startup caters exclusively to students

This groundbreaking startup aims to address the significant gap in the mental health ecosystem, focusing solely on students

Hyderabad: Having witnessed numerous students succumbing to stress and depression, Tharun Sai Erukulla, a Btech graduate from NIT Agartala and hails from Hyderabad, launched a mental well-being startup called Find Hope in 2020, catering exclusively to students.

This groundbreaking startup aims to address the significant gap in the mental health ecosystem, focusing solely on students and offering unique services.

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“Initially, with the help of my friends from prestigious institutes like IITs and NITs, we established peer support platforms, reaching out to 5000 users and conducting over 10,000 sessions.

We observed a consistent influx of 400-500 student users daily, which made us realize the magnitude of the issue and compelled us to take action,” Tharun told Telangana Today.

“After a brief hiatus, we developed a technology-driven platform that prioritizes student well-being. Find Hope incorporates a chatbot exclusively for students, available 24/7, enabling them to engage in conversations as much as they need. In case of emergencies, the chatbot promptly connects users with helpline numbers for immediate assistance,” he said.

“Find Hope is not only the first mental health startup in India to introduce a chatbot but also the only one funded by the Government of India through the Start-up India Seed Fund Scheme (SISF). This unique distinction amplifies our commitment to addressing mental health challenges among students,” he said.

“There were two female students from Jammu and Kashmir. Despite the adversities they faced, they cleared the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) with the assistance of peer support from our platform. Following the release of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) results last year, numerous students who did not pass the exam sought help on our platform, and our counselors guided them towards alternative opportunities,” he said, adding that to provide professional guidance and expertise, they had Pragya Lodha, a clinical psychologist serving as an advisor for the startup, along with Parth Sharma, a full-time counseling psychologist.

Amritesh Anand is a tech lead and Suraj Reddy for Operations and Sanjana creates designs for the chatbot.

“Our utmost priority lies in safeguarding user privacy, and we strictly adhere to not sharing any user details without their explicit consent,” he said, adding that they were working to make our chatbot available in local languages.

The startup was funded by SRIX , Aleap We Hub and Uttunga Ventures.