shine.ai

As per the primary market research conducted as well as secondary research, there are various factors which ultimately leads to depression and other mental health issues like Work Pressure, Fear of Rejection, Uncertain Goal, Fear of Judgement, Relationship Issues etc. Majority of the people facing these issues do not realise that the accumulation of small problems in their life are leading them to anxiety and stress and further to depression. 50% of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14 and 75% by age 24. The data clearly shows that the earlier we find ways to fight depression and encourage people to focus on positive aspects of their life, the better will be their mental health over their lifetime period.

Research shows that activities such as exercise, meditation, dance, music etc. could uplift one's mood and bring positive energy and zeal into their life.

Hence, we are coming up with a platform which brings a companion to your life to share your problems and concerns of your life such as those that could lead to anxiety and depression and help find natural solutions like meditation, games, dance, music, exercise etc. and connect with therapists and professionals wherever needed.

This solution is focused on individuals in the age group - 18-34 demographics as it is believed this age group has the maximum issues of mental health. Barriers to behavioural health care include lack of insurance coverage, stigma, mental health workforce shortage, and geographical maldistribution of providers. 

Creating more equitable access to quality mental health care for underserved communities requires increasing the pipeline of a more diverse workforce. Working professionals and international students experience different biases in their respective environments which are some of the reasons for mental health issues. They experience negative mental health outcomes due to social determinants such as economic, social, and physical environments. 

Although personal factors and family circumstances have an impact on mental health problems, research suggests that systemic racism and bias, as well as the resulting isolation, may have a greater influence on mental health than previously believed.

With shine.ai, everyone could get he opportunity to discuss their problems, they have a companion who could listen to their problems, and provide possible solutions and ways ensuring to bring positive vibes and thought processes into their life.

Deepanshi Bansal - CEO, MBA Student at Babson College with business acumen and years of consulting experience in the health science industry at Deloitte and Ernst and Young, along with expertise in AI/ML space and Android App development. She is always passionate about innovating and bringing new ideas to create an impact on society. She has been a survivor of depression and understands the problem.

Deepali Singhal - CTO, Software Developer at Microsoft, 4 Years of software development experience at Newgen, MobiKwik and Microsoft, Experience in API Integration, Web Development and Android App development.

Dr. Jaideep Bansal - Member of Board of Advisory, treating patients with depression and anxiety for over 30 years with clinical experience in Neurology with a degree of MBBS & MD and DM in Neurology.

In order to understand the needs of those we're serving, we are conducting active research by conducting surveys and interviewing individuals in the mentioned age bracket to understand what factors lead to mental health issues, and what natural things have helped them over the period. We are also trying to understand if they have thought to visit a therapist or if they avoid talking about it. The numbers and responses we have received are pretty interesting and sad at the same time. We are curating those responses and feedback to build our model. Further we are in continuous connect with experts in the mental health space and looking for ways of collaboration for content verification and paid model.

 The idea for this startup idea has been validated by the market research conducted and prototyping has been done which is now being made in the form of MVP to cater to beta users and share their experience. We are building the product right now which will be used to test the solution of the venture and see if the planned business model is something customers are interested in. We have also tied up with 2-3 therapists and consultants for expert session while we are working closely with them to bring limited programs including yoga and dance to cater to mental health concerns.

As selected we are at prototyping stage, we are not serving anyone but we are closely working with individuals related to mental health space to develop the working model of the platform.

The sole reason to apply to Solve is to make the best use of MIT Solve resources and find ways to partner with more mental health experts to build the best model possible to help a bigger audience covering large factors impacting mental health. This will also help interview more people suffering from this problem and talk about how this solution could help them and give them a ray of light to introduce positive vibes in their life.

1. Bringing natureal solution

2. Easy access using a mobile application platform

3. Making it accessible to all with a microphone feature in the chatbot.

We will focus on these areas over the period of the next 1-2 years:

1. More Collaborations with Experts

2. Building the value-added content and programs

3. Bringing the application into action to public

With this, we will come to market and continuously improve the product catering to the right audience. We will track the growth and get feedback from or users and improve our AI model accordingly. We will try to collaborate with institutions and organisations to introduce this platform to their users.

Number of satisfied individuals

Number of users using the chatbot

Number of users paying for consultations

Number of active users

Number of logins daily

Artificial Intelligence and Efficient Chatbot

Onboarding therapists and consultants from different marginalized groups.