At BrilliantRead Media, it is our constant endeavour to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of this, we invited Neha Gupta for an exclusive interview with us. She is the Founder and CEO of Sukh. Let’s learn more about her incredible journey, background and advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Neha:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur, please;
A lot of factors contributed to my growth as the woman entrepreneur that I am today. Being raised by a very open-minded family, I did not choose the quintessential path of studying CBSE, choosing a stream and then taking up a corporate job.
Instead, I graduated with an International Baccalaureate Diploma in hand when leaving high school, which was very unconventional at the time. I was a debater and had joined the World Scholar’s Cup, travelling to Yale University and taking part in their Tournament of Champions, winning multiple accolades. After high school, I decided to take an unconventional path yet again and not pursue a degree immediately as most do.
I started applying for internships and gained lots of work experience, solely based on my skillset. I have worked with companies like Avtaar Education, handling their digital marketing, I was a content intern at Toddle, and briefly, a junior marketing executive at MKTG Dept as we handled Hindustan Times’ account.
Gaining such experience helped me become abreast with the corporate world and working closely with the founders of these companies themselves, I was able to get the right guidance and mentorship to start thinking about my entrepreneurial endeavours.
Witnessing the growth of two great woman entrepreneurs that I worked closely with, inspired me to take a chance on myself, in spite of what the world may think. My mentors’ never hesitated to take initiative and their fearless confidence helped them grow their respective businesses to where they are today. By the end of my tenure, I had a long list of takeaways from each job opportunity, which then became my mantras for success.
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
My corporate career, albeit lasted for a short duration, was very important in my journey towards entrepreneurship. While working as a marketing executive was fulfilling in its own way, I needed a purpose to drive me even further. I needed to channel my relentless work ethic into a purpose that was both, beneficial for the people and challenging for me.
A corporate career did not give me the opportunity to affect real change. To be able to help people and to really touch their lives is a privilege I believe. I knew then, sitting at my desk while I worked for another company that I needed to channel my energies and expertise elsewhere.
‘Sukh’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving?
“Sukh” (translation: Happy) was a name that just spoke to me. Dealing with mental health issues myself in the past, I knew I needed to choose a name that aptly represents the essence of my company and how we truly take good care of our clients here.
I have had people come up to me, telling me that ever since “Sukh” came into their lives, their “Sukh” has been restored back to them. Hearing those words from satisfied clients is what drives me to work even harder for them.
Sukh is an online portal that connects you to a therapist at a very affordable price, charging Rs. 500 per therapy session, and your first session with us is absolutely free! Along with providing quality therapy to over 400 clients in 4 months, we also have confidence-building courses and an anxiety assistance booklet that has helped our audience immensely.
The four therapists who are in my team, Yashi Sonthalia, Padma Rajesh, Gargi Das and Niharika Gupta are all very qualified in their field and share our collective vision of making therapy more affordable in India. We believe that therapy should be seen as a necessity, not a luxury or self-indulgence.
What does your company specialise in?
Sukh specialises in affordable online therapy. We have 4 counselling psychologists on board with varied qualifications and specialisations. Apart from providing online therapy, we also provide helpful booklets for anxiety, confidence-building courses, etc.
What sets us apart is the affordability of our services which is unheard of currently in the Indian mental health scenario. Your first session with us will be absolutely free! Join our online mental health community in India that is inclusive for all and is truly affordable!
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
Our entire business setup is online, meaning we connect the clients to the therapists on our online platform and have no need for them to meet in person. Being a pioneering Indian company in the field of telepsychology, we have utilised the resources available on the internet and have all our sessions conducted through Zoom.
Our virtual office is equipped with the right tools to aid the therapists in organising session notes, communicating with clients and managing their session bookings. Each therapist is based out of different cities in India, hence we can all work together without having to meet in person at an office.
We have also been very flexible with timings and off days as per the needs of each therapist, keeping in mind that covid is still very prevalent and one may need time to attend to their family’s health or their own. That is why our therapists are encouraged to take off days and block off their slots to have some time to themselves every day while still prioritising their clients.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
Quite simply, when I see how much this service is truly needed by the people of India, through conversations, feedback or just when I witness a sense of relief in a client’s tone of voice, that is when I am reassured that what we are doing here is needed.
It was a little difficult to navigate how being an entrepreneur at a young age would play out for me. Often times I am faced with some stereotypical questions and comments about being a woman entrepreneur or my age, but I don’t judge them for their ignorance.
Instead, I adopt a solution-based approach, revealing to the naysayers that at the end of the day, those stereotypes don’t affect the number of people my team and I are helping on a daily basis.
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
When building a team, don’t base your decision on a resume solely. Talk to the person, and get to know them. A resume is not a comprehensive snapshot of a complex and skilled individual.
Provide solutions to your team instead of problems, and value a growth mindset in your work environment.
Lastly, remember to take a leap of faith! Someone once gave you an opportunity as a fresher, perhaps you could do the same. Everyone hires an experienced person, giving a chance to someone who does not get job offers easily. Not only will they value the position more, but they will also go the extra mile to take initiative at work.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
My father, Manish Gupta has been a true inspiration for me. Learning lessons from him, and watching him build his business over the years, led me to Sukh. But apart from his invaluable insight and wisdom, the mere fact that his support for me and for this initiative was unwavering since day 1 enabled me to take on the many challenges that come with a startup.
He truly believes in the power of therapy and how a good therapist can make all the difference in one’s life. He even went so far as to support me in every way he could when I needed therapy myself, I realised that he was the best person to share my idea for this company with when it first originated. His immediate and resounding “Yes, we need to do this!” will always be etched in my memory.
My Co-Founder and colleague, Anubhav Balhara has been a pillar of strength throughout the process of setting up our company. When we are faced with any challenge, we take a beat to together brainstorm a solution and execute it in the best way possible. He adds a much-needed balance to our team, helping me stay grounded when I am bubbling with ideas to see what is actually in our scope of execution and what we should reserve for the future.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
Being open to all ideas and learning to become a good listener. I witnessed the importance of listening to your team firsthand as I watched all four therapists brainstorm and come up with brilliant ideas for events, booklets, courses, future integrations, and so on.
If I hadn’t been open to receiving ideas or wasn’t a good listener, I would have definitely missed out on some very rewarding suggestions, which have now helped us improve our products and services. Receiving constructive feedback from your team is a sign of strength, that you are evolved enough to be listening to feedback and that they are comfortable enough to share that feedback with you. That is the work culture we have built at Sukh.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
I believe there are only two: perseverance and resilience. Seeing your initiatives through even when things get tough but also learning to rise back up when faced with failure. I believe these two attributes are very important.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
You don’t need a degree to pick up your phone or laptop and apply as an intern. Don’t let a lack of a degree hold you back from working hard or applying for jobs. Instead, win them during the interview by showing them what you can do.
Bonus tip: For every job I applied for, I asked the companies to give me a prompt for a sample of my work. I used to quickly utilise my skills and send a brilliant sample of my work according to their preferences, quite literally showcasing to them that I have the skills that I promised on my resume. Companies want a reliable individual who can walk the talk.
Last but not least, please share with us, what has worked well for you so far?
I believe in talking to the clients directly when they need assistance instead of passing the responsibility on to an intern or someone else. This practice has led me to not only see firsthand the problems clients face but also to help them myself at the grassroots level, as they are the ones who have helped us build Sukh by putting their faith in us and our services.
Hence, I am always available to clients 24/7 on my work number for any technical assistance. I have had clients call me at night sometimes who need assistance in booking a session immediately, or clients based out of India who have varied timezones, but the point is to be available for the client regardless of your position at the company. Being a CEO does not limit me from working at the grassroots level when needed.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
