NATIONAL, 10th JUNE, 2022 (GPN): Jumping Minds is a Deep Tech mental health app powered by an engaged community, smart AI bot, and self-care tools. The app was recently named among the Best Android apps of 2021 for India by Google. The app is said to provide an ‘anonymous safe’ space to anyone facing mental stress and is designed to make them feel better. “We are on a mission to spread one billion-plus smiles by making mental health easy, accessible, and fun, as we believe that ‘Feeling Better’ is every individual’s basic need,” tells Ariba Khan, founder and CEO, Jumping Minds, to GPN (Global Prime News) in an exclusive interview.

An IIT Roorkee and IIM Bangalore alumni, Ariba has been closely associated with the healthtech industry for the past eight years and aims to build India’s largest mental health community. In an email interaction, she spoke about the Jumping Minds app, its mission and more.

• Wha inspired you to start Jumping Minds? What was the thought behind developing the platform?

Ans. Globally, over 1 Bn individuals are reportedly impacted with mental health challenges, India being the majority contributor. Seeing the stress levels rise to unprecedented levels, particularly during the pandemic, urged Ariba to build jumpingMinds, a first of its kind smart safe space to feel better instantly – easy, accessible, and fun. 

• What is the Company’s vision and mission along with the Core Values and Corporate goals of Jumping Minds?

Ans. jumpingMinds is your go-to safe space to express your emotions and simply talk it out. Our mission is to spread 1Bn+ smiles and to be there for anyone feeling low or going through stressful situations and help them feel better. The company’s vision is to build India’s largest mental health community by making mental health easy and accessible for all. 

•  How do you think is the platform impacting the lives of its users?

Ans. 1 in 4 Indians is going through stress and anxiety challenges, which has increased significantly during and post covid-19 pandemic. To tackle the rising stress levels, we launched the Jumping Minds mobile app in 2021 as a user-friendly 24*7 go-to-feel better platform. With a community of 200k+ members and 6 million minutes+ conversations in a year’s time, the app has created a tremendous positive impact. Having said that, we have some key initiatives in the pipeline, based on advanced user analytics, to create long-term value while offering a premium experience to the users.

• How is Jumping Minds a break-free platform in the Indian market? 

Ans. What differentiates us is that, unlike most players who are going to therapy first, Jumping Minds adopts a user-first approach to make wellness easy, accessible, and fun along with a heavy focus on advanced technologies including AI/ML and Big Data, to provide a safe, non-judgment and delightful experience to our users within seconds. We believe that to sustainably solve issues related to the Mental Health & Wellness industry, any solution will have to address the two key industry pain points – low user retention and scaling challenges, given the low supply of Mental Health professionals (~0.75 Psychiatrists per 100,000 population).

Jumping Minds community approach or ‘The Friends Therapy’ combined with Deep Technology not only solves for user retention by making the entire experience relatable and effortless but also ensures end-to-end security and scalability while providing a delightful experience to users within minutes. 70%+ users feel better after a single conversation on the Jumping Minds app.

• AI is the new age blessing for various businesses, do you agree with this and how do you think its revolutionizing the mental healthcare sector?

Ans. AI in the mental health eco-system could be a game-changer. Using this technology, professionals could sieve through patient charts that include their behaviour, pattern, history, or any such insightful data that can help them make better decisions. Despite the fact that Mental Health still carries a lot of stigmas around it, and many people struggle to share their thoughts, and express their emotions or feelings directly, Mental Health chatbots offer an opportunity for those who are too inhibited and encourage them to take the first step towards self-care. 

• What does the future look like for Jumping Minds in the coming 2 years?

Ans. The Mental Health industry is a blue ocean in making with huge untapped potential and is poised to grow rapidly particularly in the APAC region, primarily India. Furthermore, as Wellness & Happiness becomes the new non-negotiable for the younger population, the 18-45 years age segment is expected to grow the fastest. With increased government boost to increase awareness, it’s crucial to make Mental Health & Wellness easy and accessible for everyone. 

Jumping Minds’ vision is to be the Largest Community-led Global Mental Health & Wellness Ecosystem and to spread over #OneBillionSmiles! And I am glad to say that in just a year, Jumping Minds has been able to create a tremendous positive impact in the country by touching 60 Mn+ lives and spreading over 15 Mn+ smiles. Going forward, we plan to grow the Jumping Minds community aggressively and expand internationally primarily to the US market facilitated by a smarter and safer deep tech platform. The focus on Mental Health in Union Budget 2022 is a welcoming move and aligns with our approach as well as our growth plans.Ends