Smitha Murthy: We Are India’s First Content & Storytelling Platform To Drive Awareness and Conversations Around Mental Health

We are India’s first content & storytelling platform to drive awareness and conversations around mental health.

We focus on providing culturally relevant content tailored to Indians. There is no other site in India that explores mental health from a content perspective. Sites like PsychCentral and VeryWellMind are tailored to a Western audience.

The Indian situation is unique. We want to be an enabler of positive change for mental wellness. We place great trust in the power of content to empower, educate, inspire, and bring in change.

We want to be the voice that writes on major developments in India’s mental health space and cover all the conversations that matter. We are striving to be the voice for millions of voices that have never been heard.

MyndStories is a digital storytelling platform focusing on mental health stories from India: news, features, podcasts, interviews, and insights available on web | app | mobile. We already have podcasts from Indian mental health professionals, fitness coaches, and writers. We are creating

Tell us about yourself?

I am the co-founder of a travel startup previously, a writer, and a content consultant to brands. I started MyndStories after a harrowing period following Covid in 2021, and I felt that there must be a platform for the unheard stories of our mind.

If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?

I would say, “Don’t take things too seriously,” and to laugh a little every day.

What problem does your business solve?

We believe that our mental health & wellness content platform is closely aligned with the UN SDG sub-goal of ensuring ‘Good health and well-being.’ A substantial number of Indians fail to receive adequate guidance on their mental well-being.

MyndStories can help create awareness tracked through the pieces of content we create, the stories we cover, curated group sessions we cover, and the value we provide partners when we write about their work in the mental health field.

What is the inspiration behind your business?

India is going through a mental health crisis. There will never be enough mental health professionals to match the needs of the world’s second-largest population.

But with honest, credible content, Indians need not feel alone in their search for mental wellness. With powerful, empathetic content, we can meet the gap between therapy and silent suffering.

What is your magic sauce?

We are India’s first content & storytelling platform to drive awareness and conversations around mental health. We focus on providing culturally relevant content tailored to Indians.

There is no other site in India that explores mental health from a content perspective. Sites like PsychCentral and VeryWellMind are tailored to a Western audience.

What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?

We will be India’s go-to destination for mental health-related content. We are wide-ranging, encompassing diversity, and the best resource for credible, authentic content that Indians rely on to guide their mental wellness journey with a library of 10,000+ unique pieces of content.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?

We are boot-strapped. Our main revenue for funding MyndStories comes from our sister division, LifeWordsmith, which provides content services for businesses.

However, we need investment to build a team of writers and marketing professionals who can help us to reach vast sections of India’s population. Support from funds will help us to start hiring and marketing.

We are currently struggling to build a team that can scale. We want to build a team, especially Product and Marketing, and Content. We need to create awareness and build a high-quality therapist pool for creating more Spaces sessions.

How do people get involved/buy into your vision?

We are in the process of partnering with educational institutes and colleges in India. We also want to partner with non-profits, startups in the wellness space, and local government institutions as well as corporates wishing to bring more awareness in the field of mental health.