How She Built $30M Startup With AI For Mental Health
Empathetic AI bot with 500 million conversations
Hi! It’s Kate here today for the official first time, so welcome me! 👋
A couple of weeks ago I was tallying up my annual budget, and I noticed that I spent almost $10k on counseling sessions. And it's no joke: on average, a session with a therapist costs about $250 in the U.S. Add experience and reputation to that amount and you get the full $500 per hour. Not bad, huh?
Frankly, that amount of money shocked me. After all, with that $10,000 I could buy a new car or go on a cool, almost luxurious vacation with my family. I don't have any serious mental problems, and I wondered what I could replace such a wallet-destroying counseling session with.
And sure enough, after 5 minutes of searching, I came across Wyse, a mental health AI startup by Jo Aggarwal with 5 million users in 90 countries. And surprisingly, unlike many chatbots, Wyse’s effectiveness has been proven in more than 15 clinical studies.
And believe me, I have an enlightening story to tell.
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From a Simple Indian Girl to an Award-Winning Entrepreneur
Jo Aggarwal is the brains behind Wysa. She was raised in a traditional Indian family. Jo’s got a tech background from IIT Delhi, but her journey to creating this mental health app is deeply personal. She:
- Faced stress and burnout herself;
- Cared for her bipolar father-in-law;
- Was deeply in love with technology and mobile apps.
This made her understand how important mental health awareness is and gave her unique insights into the field.
She was the founding director for Technology & Innovation at a UN-backed foundation, where her work on mobile employability after the Arab Spring helped connect over a million young people to skills and jobs. She also worked as the Managing Director at Pearson Learning Solutions and CEO at Touchkin. She earned some prestigious awards (e.g. the Stevie Silver Award and the Global Telecom Business Innovation Award) along the way.
A large part of the world lives in places where there’s 1 psychiatrist for every 250,000 people. So you need some kind of model where you can get unlimited support. - she said.
But here’s the kicker: she realized the power of tech she loved so much could help with mental health and co-founded Wysa in 2015. Even before AI became hype.
And why are we even talking about this?
Success, Expansion, and AI
Wysa has been a wild success since its launch in 2015. It raised $30.5 million in funding—enough to buy a small island! The biggest chunk came in July 2022, when they bagged $20 million to expand the AI chatbot with other mental health services.
I will guide you through Jo's inspiring journey from a shy Indian girl to an award-winning entrepreneur and speak and show how to repeat the success (at least to try) with AI tools.
Wysa isn’t just about big bucks. It’s effective as well. Studies show it’s great at helping with anxiety, depression, and chronic pain.
It’s so good that both the FDA and the NHS have given it a thumbs-up. The FDA granted it a special Breakthrough Device designation, proving it’s as helpful as chatting with a real therapist. The NHS has also integrated Wysa into its healthcare services, recognizing its value in mental health support.
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At the core of Wysa's success is its AI-driven chatbotand other AI features. I tried it and what I saw:
At 2 AM, feeling down, I open the Wysa app. My AI buddy greets me with, “Hey, how are you feeling today?” I start typing, and Wysa responds with such empathy that I forget it’s a bot.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Beyond chatting, Wysa’s AI offers Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) techniques, guiding me through mindfulness exercises like a real therapist.
Personalized AI Interventions
Wysa’s AI tailors its support to my needs analyzing my data. The more I interact, the better it gets at suggesting personalized exercises and tips, whether I need a quick mood booster or a deep dive into my feelings.
AI Tracking My Progress
The AI tracks and analyzes my emotional well-being over time, helping me see progress and celebrate small victories.
Crisis Detection
Wysa’s AI can detect potential crises from chat interactions reacting on specific trigger words and phrases (based on ML and databases) and provides necessary support or alerts designated services.
Looks like it's worth trying, right?
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Why She Was Destined to Succeed
Jo is not a coder, she’s a visioner.
Learn about other entrepreneurs and creators who used AI:
Wysa fills a gap in mental health care, often referred to as the 'missing middle.' These are people who experience significant stress, anxiety, or early-stage depression but don't get enough help because their issues aren't severe enough for clinical intervention.
Wysa’s AI-driven chatbot provides them with the support they need, offers empathetic and effective mental health care that’s easily accessible, reduces stigma, and makes sure they aren't left out.
Isn’t It Another GhatGPT
It’s based on Open AI API, you got it right. But it’s trained specifically for mental health support with a focus on therapeutic interactions–-you don’t have to think about prompts and make up elaborate phrases to get what you want.
I also found some important points, and I think you should take them into consideration:
- the app costs money while chatbots like ChatGPT or pi.ai (very empathetic too) are absolutely free;
- it’s not certified to diagnose and prescribe meds;
- it can’t replace a doctor in case of serious mental issues;
- it can make FATAL mistakes as it deals with health and life.
I'm not super experienced in cybersecurity, so I'm frightened that my personal data may be stolen when the phone is hacked or pickpocketed. It's a safe place, so what if I shared some sensitive dark secrets?
Also, it seems that the product itself could be easily reverse-engineered.
So let's make something similar!
How to Repeat The Success
Or at least to try?
Follow this simple instruction, and AI Tools will help you:
- Find an idea that is really valuable and relatable. Honestly answer yourself the question: do other people need this? Does it fill ‘the missing middle’?
Jo was hooked on her idea and needed her product herself. And there was a huge demand and no alternatives.
Get even more insights from our recent post:
GummySearch, Exploding Topics, and SemRush AI: Do the market research with AI (and not only AI) opportunities.
GummySearch uses AI to analyze vast amounts of user-generated content on Reddit. The tool employs AI-driven analytics to uncover customer needs, evaluate market sentiment, and identify potential customers. It provides detailed insights into niche markets, product validation, and trending topics by systematically sifting through Reddit discussions. This helps users gain a deep understanding of their target audience, find content inspiration, and discover new sales leads.
Don’t forget about explodingtopic.com to be always aware of new and upcoming topics, products, and market shifts. It provides a high-level overview of current trends and projects future ones.
- Build MVP and validate your idea.
You must double-check not to waste money and resources. It's no trouble if you don't know how to write code, just like Jo.
bubble.io: AI full-stack no-code builder
With bubble.io you can create powerful apps without writing any code by leveraging its drag-and-drop editor and AI-powered tools, making app development accessible and efficient without a robust tech background.
Discover more AI Tools for Zero Code app building:
Feel inspired by the success stories of innovative founders? Share this post and let your network learn how they can bring their ideas to life using no-code AI solutions!
- Need money for scaling?
Now it’s time to sell your idea to investors.
chatslide.ai: Сreate persuasive Pitch Decks on the go
Chatslide.ai makes creating pitch decks easy with AI-powered design and content tools. Just give its chatbot your ideas or drag’n’drop files and pics you need to create a professional presentation.
- Make Up the Marketing Strategy
Even the most excellent product needs to be promoted for appreciation.
ProductHunt, Reddit, TikTok: Try these services for early user acquisition and getting the spotlight on your product.
Do the early-stage user discovery with a minimum or zero budget.
ProductHunt: Launch your product on ProductHunt to get noticed by early users and tech enthusiasts who upvote and review new products.
Reddit: Share your product in relevant subreddits to attract interested users and start discussions.
TikTok: Create fun and engaging videos on TikTok to reach a large audience quickly and encourage them to share your product.
- Enjoy your halo and count your money! 😂
Wrapping Up
Phew, what a long trip we've had!
I'm sure you got your dose of inspiration and some practical knowledge on how to realize your own idea without code using Artificial Intelligence.
Jo Aggarwal wasn't that prodigy who made Wyse alone without any experience and background, so choose something you have an idea about and find reliable partners. Keep AI on hand and don't forget about The Blue Ocean strategy.
Good Luck! 👋
This article was first published in the Creators AI newsletter. View the original edition.
