Saraathi
The National Crisis

India's mental health emergency
is hiding in plain sight

197M
Citizens in distress
Lancet Psychiatry
85%
Never reach any care
WHO · Eco Survey 2024
170K
Lives lost every year
NCRB 2023

India needs a preventive care layer
— before it becomes clinical.

About Us
Saraathi

Where your pain meets someone
who survived it

Saraathi is a peer-powered preventive mental wellness platform — an anonymous, AI-assisted community where people in emotional distress connect with real individuals who have lived through similar experiences. Not a chatbot. Not a therapist. A human who walked your path.

Our Vision

A world where no Indian faces their worst moment alone.

We envision an India where emotional distress is met with immediate human connection — where anyone, anywhere, in any language, can find someone who truly understands.

Our Mission

Build India's preventive care layer for mental health.

Bridge the gap between wellness apps and clinical care using AI-powered peer matching, complete anonymity, and a self-sustaining community — free, 24/7, built in Hindi and scaling to 11 Indian languages.

🤝
Peer-Powered
🔒
Anonymous
🧠
AI-Matched
🆓
Free to Start
🌐
Hindi-First
⏰
24/7 Always On
The Gap

Where does preventive care fit today?

85% of those in distress never reach any care. WHO · Economic Survey 2024

🧘
Wellness
Meditation apps, yoga,
journaling, spirituality
Infrastructure exists
›
⚠️
Preventive Care
Too heavy for apps. Not yet clinical.
Deep pain, no diagnosis, no support.
No infrastructure exists
›
🏥
Clinical
Therapists, psychiatrists,
AI chatbots, Tele-MANAS
Infrastructure exists

Without this layer, distress escalates to crisis —
costing India $1.03 trillion by 2030. Lancet Commission 2018

Market Challenges

Why 197 million people still suffer in silence

Six systemic barriers keep India's mental health crisis unsolved — each one is a wall. Saraathi breaks through all six.

🤫
Stigma
Admitting mental distress is social suicide — especially in joint families, rural India, and conservative communities
Saraathi: Complete anonymity. Zero identity required.
💸
Cost Barrier
Therapy costs ₹500–5,000/session. A daily wage worker earns ₹300–500. Mental health is a luxury most can't afford.
Saraathi: Free forever. Earn credits by helping others.
🏥
Supply Crisis
0.3 psychiatrists per 1 lakh population. WHO recommends 3. India has a 10x professional deficit.
Saraathi: Peers are the supply. Community scales itself.
🗣️
Language Wall
Most mental health apps are English-first. Only 10% of Indians are fluent in English. 90% are locked out.
Saraathi: Hindi-first. Scaling to 11 Indian languages.
📍
Urban Concentration
70% of mental health professionals sit in metros. 65% of India lives in rural areas with virtually zero access.
Saraathi: Web app — works on any browser, any phone.
⚠️
No Preventive Layer
Wellness apps are too light. Therapists are too late. There is zero infrastructure for the space in between.
Saraathi: Built for exactly this gap.

Sources: WHO · NIMHANS · Lancet Psychiatry · Census 2011 · NCRB 2023 · Economic Survey 2024

Founder

33 years of caregiving.
A decade of building at scale.

Why This Exists

Born into a nuclear family. Father with Bipolar Disorder — undiagnosed for years. No money for proper care. Getting medicines was a luxury. The whole family became caregivers.

After years of effort, father stabilized. We thought the worst was over. Then my younger brother was diagnosed with Schizophrenia. Two critical mental illnesses. My mother and I — full-time caregivers again.

We are there for them.
But who is there for us?

We can't afford therapy. Maybe we don't need it — just someone who understands. That space doesn't exist. So I'm building it.

Heena Agarwal
Founder & Solo Builder
$300M+
Client revenue driven at the intersection of finance and healthcare technology
Cross-Domain Expertise
Analytics Product AI / ML Healthcare Finance Global Markets
Track Record
✓Built data engines from scratch
✓Launched products across global markets
✓Thrives in early-stage, zero-to-one builds
✓Solo-built Saraathi — full-stack, live

Healthcare domain depth + AI fluency + zero-to-one execution = uniquely positioned to build India's preventive mental health infrastructure

The Solution

The space between "I'm fine" and "I need help"

A peer-powered preventive mental wellness platform.
Anonymous. Free to start. Available 24/7. Hindi-first, scaling to 11 languages.

1
Join Anonymously
No name. No phone. No email. Open the browser and you're in.
Mumbai_Firefly_42
2
Share Your Story
Write what you carry. AI enhances it. Read stories from people like you.
Silence breaks here
3
Get Matched
AI reads emotional context and lived experience to find a real peer — in under 60 seconds.
Real human, not a bot
4
Heal Together
Both sides grow. Seeker finds support. Listener finds purpose. The cycle sustains itself.
Two-way healing

From distress to conversation in under 2 minutes — with zero barriers.

What Powers Saraathi

Four engines. One healing system.

🤝
AI Peer Matching
Proprietary 4-dimension algorithm scores emotional overlap, shared struggles, real-time availability, and communication style.
<60s match ₹0/match
📖
Story Platform
Anonymous story sharing with AI-powered emotional tagging. Reading someone else's truth breaks the isolation that keeps people stuck.
AI-enhanced 7 categories
🚨
SOS & Crisis Resources
One-tap access to verified helplines (Tele-MANAS, iCall, Vandrevala), hospitals, and self-help tools — breathing exercises, grounding, brain dump.
Always available Verified helplines
🔄
Two-Way Healing
Seeker gets support. Listener gains purpose. Karma credits reward helping — the community funds its own growth. Self-sustaining by design.
Credits economy Self-sustaining
Why Saraathi

Not just different. Structurally impossible to replicate.

Every feature creates a flywheel that strengthens the next. Competitors can copy one. They can't copy the system.

🔄
Users Are the Supply
Every healed user becomes a listener. The community creates its own support capacity. No therapist hiring. Supply scales with demand.
💛
Both Sides Heal
Not one-directional like a helpline or chatbot. The seeker gets support. The listener gains purpose and agency. Two-way healing is the core architecture.
🔒
True Zero Barrier
No sign-up. No identity. No payment. No download. Open a browser and start healing. Designed for the person on their worst night.
🇮🇳
Built for Bharat, Not Just India
Hindi-first. Scaling to 11 Indian languages. Web app on any browser. Understands family dynamics, cultural stigma, and regional context. Built from ground up for Indian reality.
⚡
AI That Costs ₹0 at Scale
Matching runs on SQL + JS scoring — no LLM call per match. Story enrichment uses a free-tier provider cascade. Designed for 1M users without burning cash.
🛡️
Safety Net, Not Just Support
Crisis detection monitors every conversation. Two distressed people are never paired. Healing stage gates prevent harmful matches. Safety is architecture, not a feature.

More users → more stories → better matching → more healing → more listeners → more users ↻

The Evidence

This isn't a hypothesis.
The science is settled.

Global research, WHO guidance, and India's own data all point to the same conclusion — peer support works, it saves lives, and it costs a fraction of clinical care.

Peer Support Works — The Proof
426
studies confirm it
2024 systematic umbrella review of 35 reviews covering 426 primary studies — peer support shows significant positive effects on personal recovery, reduced anxiety, and reduced hospitalization.
BMC Medicine 2024 — Systematic Umbrella Review ↗
4,152
patients across 30 RCTs
Peer support associated with significant clinical and personal recovery outcomes. Depression reduction comparable to CBT in multiple trials. Safe, effective, and replicable at scale.
Cambridge — Psychological Medicine 2023 ↗
WHO explicitly recommends peer support
WHO's 2025 guidance calls for "urgent transformation" of mental health systems — recommending community-based peer support as a frontline intervention. Dedicated WHO technical package on peer support services published.
WHO — Peer Support Mental Health Services ↗
$4
return for every $1 invested
WHO economic analysis — peer support reduces hospitalization, ER visits, and readmission. Benefits substantially exceed program costs. 2025 EAP study confirms high social return on investment for digital peer support.
JMIR 2025 — Digital Peer Support ROI ↗
India Can't Wait — The Urgency
1,71,418
suicides in 2023
One every 3 minutes. Mental health-linked suicides rose 44% between 2018–2022. 3 in 5 victims were aged 18–45 — the demographic Saraathi serves.
NCRB 2023 — Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India ↗
60th
out of 84 nations
Indian young adults (18–34) rank 60th globally in mental well-being. MHQ score of 33 — squarely in the "Distressed or Struggling" category. The generation that needs Saraathi most.
Sapien Labs — Global Mind Report 2025 ↗
70–92%
never receive any care
The treatment gap. Up to 92% of Indians with mental health conditions get zero professional help. Not because they don't want it — because the system doesn't reach them.
PIB — Understanding Mental Health, India 2025 ↗
$1.5T
projected loss by 2030
Lancet Commission — India's economic burden from untreated mental health. 12 billion working days lost annually worldwide. Preventive intervention costs a fraction of crisis care.
Lancet Commission on Global Mental Health ↗

The proof exists. The crisis is now. The infrastructure is missing. Saraathi is that infrastructure.

Market Opportunity

$20.8 Billion market.
Zero India-native peer care infrastructure.

India's mental health sector growing 25% YoY post-COVID — with no preventive peer care platform built for India's 197 million.

Total Addressable Market
$20.8B
India's mental health sector —
clinical, digital, pharma, wellness
IMARC Group 2025 · 25% YoY growth
Serviceable Addressable Market
$3.2B
Digital mental health platforms —
197M in distress with smartphone access
Grand View Research · 659M smartphones (2026)
Serviceable Obtainable Market
$45M
Year 1 — 1.5M users, 4% Plus
conversion at ₹249/mo (B2C only)
Internal bottoms-up projection

No existing player combines: preventive + peer-powered + anonymous + free + India-native + 24/7

Sources: IMARC Group · Grand View Research · Lancet Psychiatry · IIFL Securities · Census 2011

Target & Positioning

Who we serve. How we win.

Three segments, one positioning: the preventive care layer between "I'll manage" and "I need a doctor."

Primary — B2C
18–35 year olds in distress
Students, early professionals, women in restrictive homes. Digitally native, Hindi/Hinglish speaking, smartphone-first. Rank 60th of 84 nations in youth mental well-being.
Students Working professionals Women in joint families Tier 2–3 cities
B2B — Institutional
Corporates & Universities
Employee wellness mandates growing. 80% of Indian workforce reports mental health issues. 13,000+ student suicides/year. Institutions need anonymous, scalable solutions.
IT/BPO firms Engineering colleges Medical institutes
B2G — Government
State & District Health Programmes
Upstream layer for Tele-MANAS. DMHP integration at district level. NIMHANS-2 expansion signals growing govt digital health infrastructure spend.
Tele-MANAS DMHP ABDM

Positioning: The preventive peer care platform that every Indian — and every institution serving Indians — needs but doesn't have.

Go-To-Market

Build first. Launch next. Scale after.

Saraathi is in active development. Three post-funding phases to national scale.

M 0–6
Build & Beta Launch
Complete platform. Beta launch on 5 campuses starting with BITS Pilani. Organic word-of-mouth in hostels, mess halls, WhatsApp groups. Zero paid acquisition.
10K beta users · 5 campuses B2C organic · Zero CAC
M 6–12
Consumer Growth Engine
Public launch. 50 campuses via student ambassadors. Anonymous stories go viral on Instagram/X. Healers become evangelists. Community flywheel kicks in — every healed user becomes a listener.
Target: 500K organic users Content-led viral growth
Y 2–3
National Scale — B2C + B2B + B2G
Scale from Hindi to 11 languages — each unlocks a new consumer market. B2C at scale via regional content + Saraathi Plus. B2B corporate wellness + university deals. B2G govt partnerships (DMHP, Tele-MANAS).
Target: 5M users (B2C-led) B2B + B2G as multipliers

Key insight: Every user who heals becomes a listener → organic supply growth with zero acquisition cost

Revenue Model

Freemium + credits + B2B

Three revenue streams. The community funds itself. Institutions pay for outcomes.

Free Forever
₹0
Anonymous identity · Stories · Peer matching · SOS access · 500 welcome credits
Purpose: acquisition + community growth
Saraathi Plus
₹249/mo
Unlimited AI · Priority matching · 2x credits · Voice rooms · Advanced tools
Purpose: core recurring revenue
B2B / B2G
Custom
Corporate wellness · University wellness · Govt integrations · Analytics dashboards
Purpose: high-value contracts + scale
🔄 Self-Sustaining Credits
Earn by listening (20 credits) · Spend to connect · Post stories (10) · Daily login (2) · Community funds itself
💡 Why It Works
Free tier hooks users · Matching quality converts to Plus · B2B multiplies LTV · Credits reduce churn to near-zero
Scaling & Growth

The flywheel that scales itself.

Saraathi's architecture turns every user into a growth engine. Supply and demand grow in lockstep.

The Healing Flywheel
1
User in distress joins (zero barriers)
2
Shares story → gets matched with peer
3
Heals through conversation (both sides)
4
Becomes a listener → new supply created
↻
Tells others → organic growth, zero CAC
Growth Levers
🎓 Campus Ambassador Programme
1 ambassador per college. Earn karma + certificates. Target: 50 campuses in 6 months, 500 in 18 months.
📱 Stories as Content Engine
Anonymous stories → Instagram reels, X threads, YouTube shorts. Emotional content goes viral organically. Zero ad spend.
🤝 B2B as Distribution
1 corporate deal = 5,000–50,000 users overnight. University deal = 2,000–20,000 captive users per campus.
🌐 11 Languages = 11 Markets
Each language unlock opens a new demographic. Hindi alone = 600M speakers. Tamil, Telugu, Bengali each = 80M+ addressable users.
Financial Projections

₹20L grant to ₹75 Cr revenue by Year 3

All figures annualized. ₹20L grant covers M6 burn, EBITDA-positive by M12. B2B/B2G revenue not included — all upside.

Metric
Month 6
Beta
Month 12
Public Launch
Year 2
Growth
Year 3
National Scale
Registered Users 10,000 5,00,000 20,00,000 50,00,000
Plus Subscribers (conv %) 100 (1%) 10,000 (2%) 60,000 (3%) 2,50,000 (5%)
Revenue (annualized) ₹3L ₹3 Cr ₹18 Cr ₹75 Cr
COGS (cloud + AI + payments) ₹6L ₹1 Cr ₹3.6 Cr ₹7.8 Cr
Gross Margin Pre-revenue 67% 80% 90%
Team, Legal & Compliance (1–2 → 15+) ₹10L ₹72L ₹3.4 Cr ₹5.8 Cr
Marketing & Growth ₹7L ₹84L ₹3.6 Cr ₹18 Cr
EBITDA -₹20L ₹44L ₹7.4 Cr ₹43.4 Cr
EBITDA Margin -667% 15% 41% 58%
Why Margins Scale
M6 annualized EBITDA = -₹20L = exactly the grant · COGS = cloud + AI + payments · Peers = supply at ₹0/match · Infra/user drops with scale
Key Assumptions
All figures annualized (run-rate) · ₹20L grant = M6 annual loss exactly · 1–2 people M6, 2–4 M12, 10+ Y2, 15+ Y3 · EBITDA-positive M12
Upside Not Included
B2B corporate wellness · B2G govt contracts · University deals · Voice rooms · Data insights — each could add ₹5–20 Cr/yr
Where We Are

Frontend started. Backend + infrastructure ahead.

Web app UI partially built in Hindi. Everything else — backend, payments, crisis safety, scaling — needs to be built with grant funding.

What Exists Today
✓Web app UI — Hindi language
✓Peer matching UI flow
✓Story sharing UI
✓Anonymous identity system
✓Gamification UI — ranks, achievements
✓SOS helpline directory
✓Self-help tools (breathing, grounding)
✓Product design & architecture finalized
₹20L Grant Will Build
●Complete backend — APIs, database, server
●AI peer matching algorithm (fix + scale)
●Story posting — end-to-end working
●Crisis flagging & safety guidelines
●Payment infrastructure & redemptions
●Scale from Hindi to 11 Indian languages
●Mobile app infrastructure
●Campus beta launch — 5 colleges
Product Readiness
~30%
UI + DESIGN DONE
₹20L GRANT BUILDS THE REST →
🎓
BITS Pilani PS1
8 student projects underway
🤖
Anthropic Claude AI
Planned for matching & story analysis
👩‍💻
Solo Founder
Product, design, frontend — all solo-built
🏛️ NMHP Aligned 📞 Tele-MANAS Upstream 🎯 SDG 3.4 🌐 Digital India 📋 DPIIT Aligned
The Ask

Grant Support — ₹20 Lakhs

6-month runway to complete the platform, beta-launch on campuses, and prove product-market fit. ₹3.3L/mo average burn.

35%
Product Dev
₹7L — 1–2 devs, complete platform
15%
Infrastructure
₹3L — Cloud + AI APIs + DB
35%
Marketing & Growth
₹7L — Campus, content, community
15%
Legal & Compliance
₹3L — Safety, DPIIT, privacy

₹20L ÷ 6 months = ₹3.3L/mo burn — matches P&L projections exactly. Revenue begins M4–M6, EBITDA-positive by M12.

🏛️ Startup India Seed Fund / SISFS ✓ Open to grants & govt partnerships
Use of Funds

₹20 Lakhs. 6 months. Every rupee mapped.

Month-by-month deployment plan — from grant disbursal to revenue generation.

Month 1
₹4.5L
1 dev hire · WebRTC setup · Razorpay live keys · Campus ambassador design · Legal entity setup
Month 2
₹3.5L
Live peer chat wiring · Voice rooms MVP · 5 campus ambassador onboarding · Instagram content engine
Month 3
₹3.5L
Backend i18n for 4 languages · ML crisis detection v1 · BITS Pilani beta launch · Content push
Month 4
₹3L
Beta feedback iteration · 3 more campuses · Story virality on social · Saraathi Plus goes live
Month 5
₹3L
Scale to 5 campuses · First paying subscribers · Community flywheel starts · Data for B2B pitch
Month 6
₹2.5L
10K users · Revenue live · Product-market fit proven · Ready for public launch & next raise
Product Dev
₹7L
1 dev hire (₹4.2L) · WebRTC/voice (₹1L) · Backend i18n (₹0.8L) · ML crisis model (₹1L)
Infrastructure
₹3L
Railway hosting (₹0.9L) · Claude AI APIs (₹0.9L) · Redis + DB (₹0.6L) · Domain/SSL (₹0.6L)
Marketing & Growth
₹7L
Campus ambassadors (₹2L) · Content creation (₹2L) · Social ads pilot (₹1.5L) · Community events (₹1.5L)
Legal
₹3L
DPIIT (₹0.5L) · Privacy policy (₹1L) · Safety framework (₹1L) · Compliance (₹0.5L)

After 6 months: 10K users · Revenue live · Product-market fit proven · Platform complete · Ready for public launch

₹7L + ₹3L + ₹7L + ₹3L = ₹20L · ₹4.5L + ₹3.5L + ₹3.5L + ₹3L + ₹3L + ₹2.5L = ₹20L — both ways check out

Saraathi
"A world where no Indian
faces their worst moment alone."

Preventive. Peer-powered. People-first.
The mental wellness infrastructure India has been waiting for.

Where pain finds its people.

🌐 saraathi.ai 📧 heena@opzenai.com

Heena Agarwal, Founder · opZenai LLC · BITS Pilani PS1 — 8 Projects Underway

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